Melissa Sawyer is Global Head of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s M&A Group and Co-head of the Firm’s Corporate Governance & Activism Practice. In addition to advising clients on M&A transactions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, she also regularly advises on corporate governance, activism, and takeover defense matters. Melissa’s experience spans multiple industries, including consumer and retail, TMT, industrials, and life sciences. A two-time winner of The American Lawyer’s “Dealmaker of the Year” (in 2020 and 2022), Melissa has been repeatedly recognized as a leading M&A adviser. She is ranked by Chambers USA in Corporate/M&A and was named a Client Service All-Star by BTI. She was also named to The Deal’s “Women in M&A: The Powerhouse 20” and has been recognized as a Law360 MVP in Food & Beverage, one of Crain’s “Leading Women Lawyers in New York City,” “Dealmaker of the Week” by The American Lawyer and one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Dealmakers in America.” Melissa has recently advised: AT&T, Baxter International, Cornerstone Building Brands, CPPIB, CSM Bakery, Diageo, Dos Hombres, GameStop, Integra LifeSciences, OTPP, Sotheby’s, Tiffany & Co., and UnitedHealth. Melissa serves on the board of advisers for NYU School of Law’s Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance. She is an adviser on the American Law Institute’s Corporate Governance Restatement project, a member of the Editorial Board of Insights: The Corporate and Securities Law Advisor and the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.