Phontel
Shami
Managing Director
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
Mukilteo,
Washington
2026 Cohort
Industry
Other
Area of Expertise
Operations
Immediately Qualified to Serve
Nominating and Governance
Previous Board Experience
Nonprofit
Phontel Shami is an aerospace and advanced manufacturing executive with leadership experience at Boeing and Blue Origin, where she has led enterprise-scale operations, governance, and strategic execution across complex, capital-intensive programs. She brings a disciplined governance perspective focused on operational resilience, enterprise risk, capital discipline, and long-term value creation.
At Blue Origin, she held senior leadership roles spanning enterprise governance, operational scale, and portfolio execution. As Director of Program Operations for a proprietary space program, she led cross-functional integration across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain, implementing operational and financial management systems that improved delivery predictability, margin visibility, and executive decision-making. She also oversaw capital investments in manufacturing and test infrastructure aligned to production capacity and supplier readiness.
As a Director in Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering, she led portfolio oversight of high-value development programs with accountability for cost, schedule, and delivery performance. She strengthened enterprise risk governance, prioritized investment tradeoffs, improved financial and supplier transparency, and enabled data-driven portfolio decisions. She also served as Deputy Program Director and operations interface to NASA for the Mars Sample Return study, ensuring disciplined execution under aggressive timelines.
Previously, Phontel spent more than nine years at Boeing in senior leadership roles across operations and program execution. She served as a Director for Manufacturing, Safety and Quality and previously led the 737 and 787-10 Program Management Offices, overseeing large-scale aircraft development programs focused on execution governance, operational integration, and production system transformation.
Phontel currently serves on the boards of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance and Seafair, where she has held board and committee leadership roles including Board Chair. Her governance experience includes CEO selection, compensation oversight, cybersecurity response, enterprise risk management, and strategic planning.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and an Executive MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She is passionate about strengthening governance, scaling operational resilience, and developing future leaders.
Code of Conduct: Governing Data & Emerging Tech
Boards are no longer observers of emerging technology; they are stewards of how it’s governed. This panel goes beyond awareness to examine how directors can structure oversight, define accountability, and measure governance effectiveness in AI, data use, and digital innovation. Panelists will share practical strategies for building governance systems that ensure transparency, ethical decision-making, and responsible innovation at scale.
Speakers include: Sita Lowman, Nithya Das, Suresh Sharma, Byron Loflin
Your First Board Meeting: A Director’s Playbook
Tactics that Work: Case Studies in Navigating Shareholder Activism
Inside the Boardroom: Resilience Planning in Action
Reputation & Response: How Boards Navigate Shareholder Activism
As shareholder activism intensifies, boards face mounting pressure to defend strategy, protect corporate reputation, and engage stakeholders with clarity. This panel brings together seasoned directors to explore how boards can respond effectively while maintaining credibility, board alignment, and stakeholder trust. Hear real-world insights on navigating activism in today’s high-stakes, high-visibility environment.
Speakers include: Gaby Sulzberger, David Cahoy, Rachael Coffey, Eduardo Gallego
Navigating Global Markets: Trade, Tariffs, and Supply Chain Strategy
As global disruptions reshape business models, this panel will explore how boards can navigate the practical complexities of trade, tariffs, and supply chain shifts across regions. Panelists will share how directors are guiding companies through regulatory changes, sourcing challenges, and new market risks, while seizing opportunities for growth and operational agility.
Speakers include: Titi Cole, Mia Mends
Strengthening Oversight: Risk Management and Board Resilience
This keynote will equip directors to think globally about risk through the lens of geopolitical foresight, cross-border tensions, and long-term instability. Learn how boards can strengthen oversight and guide enterprise-wide resilience by anticipating disruption and embedding a proactive risk culture in a changing world.
Speakers include: Rodger Baker