Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions

Robert Profusek, head of Jones Day's M&A practice, advises substantial businesses, focusing on M&A and takeovers, restructurings and corporate governance matters. Mr Profusek is currently a member of the boards of directors of two NYSE-listed companies. The American Lawyer named him M&A Dealmaker of the Year in 2005. He was featured twice in The American Lawyer's monthly Dealmaker column, and is included in Euromoney's Best M&A Lawyers in the World, Law Business Research's The International Who's Who of M&A Lawyers, Marquis' Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law, The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA. He is a regular guest commentator on CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg TV.

Mr Profusek's representative M&A transactions include: Potash's successful defense against BHP's unsolicited tender offer, the Continental-United Airlines merger of equals, Total's tender offer for SunPower, Cliffs National Resources' acquisition of Thompson Mining, and Procter & Gamble's reverse Morris Trust split-off of its Pringles business and joint venture with Teva Pharmaceuticals for its global OTC medicine business. Prior transactions include Nextel's merger of equals with Sprint; Ernst & Young's divestiture of its consulting business through merger with Capgemini; and numerous transactions for WL Ross & Co, including the acquisition, IPO, and sale of International Coal Group; the merger of International Steel Group and Mittal Steel; and its build-ups in automotive components, textiles, and mortgage servicing.

Mr Profusek has a BA from Cornell University and a JD, summa cum laude, from New York University, where he was notes and comments editor of the Law Review and was awarded the Order of the Coif.