JA Worldwide Board of Governors Spotlight: David Oskandy
September 15, 2020
David Oskandy joined the JA Worldwide Board of Governors in June 2020. As General Counsel and Secretary for Avanade, David served as chief counsel, board secretary, compliance lead, and Corporate Citizenship Chair for the over $2 billion Microsoft–Accenture joint venture.
A graduate of Northwestern University, David earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School. Inspired by the likes of Adlai Stevenson and Newton Minow, who combined public service with private law practice, David was drawn to the legal profession because of its breadth and flexibility, particularly in terms of his professional aspirations. He has built a career as an international business lawyer, garnering experience in leading people, solving problems, and building initiatives across geographic, cultural, and professional boundaries.
Prior to Avanade, David worked as Partner and Global Lead Counsel for Business Consulting and M&A for multi-disciplinary services firm Andersen, Vice President and General Counsel for Latin America and Canada for manufacturing and technology conglomerate Honeywell, and Associate General Counsel of Global Commercial Operations for consumer goods company Wrigley.
“So many kids and their parents—all around the world—hunger for the high-quality instruction and support JA uniquely provides with first-rate management and an extraordinary corps of devoted volunteers. With the digital revolution at hand, we now have the possibility of scaling to reach a much larger number of kids more quickly and more efficiently than ever before, engaging them with virtual instruction to augment the programs we deliver in-person, and binding them together as a global community. I’m truly honored to be a part of this opportunity and contribute in any way I can.”
Throughout his career, David has found the most gratification in collaboration. One of the most recent highlights comes from his time at Avanade, where he collaborated with CEO Adam Warby (who is also Board Chair of JA Europe and a member of the JA Worldwide Board of Governors), and a diverse task force from around the company to craft its corporate citizenship approach. “The joy we shared,” he said, “in achieving our goal and watching the impact on our people and other stakeholders made all the effort more than worthwhile.” In fact, it was his role as Corporate Citizenship Chairman at Avanade that introduced him to JA.
According to David, he was drawn to JA Worldwide by “the mission, the people it serves, and the people behind it. We vest high hopes in future generations to improve upon our generation's contributions—we need to give them the tools to make that possible by enabling them to reach their full human potential.”
JA Worldwide is honored to have David Oskandy serve on our Board of Governors.