On Jennie Howard’s first day working in the legal department at Kraton Corporation in September 2015, she was rushed into a boardroom where the CEO was announcing an acquisition that would double the company in every way – people, plants, revenue.
“I hit the ground running and was responsible for helping to close the deal and securing the nearly $1.7 billion of financing, which consisted of a notes offering, a term loan, a tender offer and an ABL,” Howard told The Texas Lawbook in a recent interview. “This was on top of learning the standard ropes at a new company.”
Three months later, the deal closed successfully. Then, it was time for integration. Kraton made Howard the legal department’s leader for the engagement council in its corporate headquarters, responsible for fostering employee clarity, trust and collaboration.
“This was all on top of an ever-expanding role in a resource-constrained legal department, taking on new areas of responsibility like sustainability and litigation,” she said. “Closing and integrating the acquisition was an important matter in my career that allowed me to grow personally and professionally.”
Howard’s successes kept coming. Last year, for example, she handled a major refinancing for the company that included a private offering of about $370 million and a cash tender offering of $90 million.
Citing Howard’s extraordinary work as a young lawyer, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have announced that she is a finalist for the Rookie of the Year in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.
“At Kraton, she quickly earned the respect of the tax and finance team for her legal acumen and practical approach to resolving issues,” wrote Baker McKenzie partner Denmon Sigler in nominating Howard for the award. “In her eight years of practice, she has developed into an excellent lawyer.”
Since joining Kraton three-and-a-half years ago, Howard has added several responsibilities, including:
- Filings with and disclosures to the SEC and the NYSE relating to significant events, earnings and proxy statements;
- Legal matters relating to the Kraton’s treasury operations;
- Public offerings of Kraton securities, both debt and equity, legal compliance with respect to all transactions involving the company’s debt and equity securities; and
- Stock plan administration.
“With excellent management and communication skills, Jennie oversees the internal legal counsel responsible for US procurement contracts and strategy and coordinates with outside counsel,” Sigler said.
Born in London, Howard and her family moved to Texas when her father, who was in oil and gas finance, was offered a job in Houston.
“All my parents knew of Texas at the time was what they saw on the TV show ‘Dallas.’ We moved here for a three-year stint, but have now been here 29 years,” she said. “Still very British though … despite all owning cowboy boots.”
Howard was a history major at Durham University and then took two weeks to travel to a remote village in Kenya to do volunteer work with local children.
“During my time there, I learned that high school in Kenya is not funded by the government and so most children in this village stop education at age 14,” she said.
When she returned to Houston, she created a 501(c)(3) to raise scholarship funds for the students. Over the course of five years, she raised funds to send 16 Kenyan students to high school.
Howard had no lawyers in her family and no one pushing her to join the legal profession.
“I never had an ‘ah-ha’ moment with this decision. It was a slow progression,” she said. “Every time I read an article about an IPO or a company being fined on antitrust or bribery violations, it piqued my interest.
“I also remember one time on a flight, I was geeking-out with a logic puzzle book and the guy next to me made a quip about taking the LSAT,” she said. “I looked into it and thought it’d be fun to do the puzzles while being timed. Again, big nerd. Lots of little things like this played into my decision to consider law as a career.”
She earned her law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in 2011.
“I absolutely loved law school – loved the thinking and the adrenalin,” she said.
Howard followed law school with nearly four years at Andrews Kurth – now Hunton Andrews Kurth – working on capital markets and private equity transactions – before taking that expertise to Kraton.
Soon after she started at Kraton, Howard experienced a life-changing event.
“After a five-year fight against cancer, my mum passed away,” she said. “We had an extremely strong bond and so, naturally, this was impactful on my life as a person.
“Upon reflection, it was, and continues to be, extremely impactful on my life as a lawyer,” she said. “My mum was an advocate of initiative, integrity, fairness, humility and relationships. Following her passing, my perspective of my career and my interaction with others changed.”
“I am no longer solely results-focused,” Howard said. “I am focused on how I can inspire people along the way and provide a legal service while embodying the values that she embodied.”
Howard’s record of public service is extraordinary. In addition to her Kenya experience, she was also instrumental in facilitating assistance to company employees and Houston residents affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Kraton employees and family members volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and donated funds and food to provide more than 83,000 meals to local residents. The company raised $28,000 for the Red Cross and $3,500 for employees impacted by the storm.