The D&O Diary was on assignment last week with a first stop in Napa Valley in California, followed by a weekend visit to Tucson, Arizona. Although I have visited Napa several times before, it has been a while since I was last there. I had forgotten what a beautiful place it is and how much fun it is to visit.

My primary purpose for traveling to Napa was to participate as a speaker at Inigo’s 2026 Securities Litigation Panel Event. The event was held at the beautiful Four Seasons Napa Valley Resort in Calistoga, at the Northern end of the Valley. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of this excellent event again, which was first class in every respect. My thanks to Yera Patel, Ed Whitworth, Tom Ielapi, and all of their Inigo colleagues for inviting me to be a part of this event. It was a great success and a tremendous amount of fun. It was particularly enjoyable to see so many industry friends in such a pleasant setting.

It was an honor to be a part of this distinguished panel. From left to right: mediator David Murphy of Phillips ADR Enterprises; Jonathan Gardner, Managing Partner of the Labaton, Keller, & Sucharow law firm; Tom Ielapi of Inigo; me; Yera Patel, of Inigo, who moderated the panel; and Audra Soloway, of the Paul Weiss law firm. It was an excellent panel and it was great to be a part of it.
After the session, everyone gathered in the bright January sunshine for a wine tasting, followed by lunch. This was a great event for me personally, as it gave me the opportunity to meet a host of industry colleagues.
One of the great things about this event was the chance to meet so many enthusiastic readers of The D&O Diary. This group of young professionals from Marsh made a point of introducing themselves to me and sharing with me how much they enjoy the blog. From left to right: Lauren Kauffman; Sharon Sotelo; Abigail Williams; Emily Graham; Melinda Flyash; and Hilary Gates.
In addition to meeting so many industry professionals at this event, I also had a chance to catch up with some old friends as well, including my good friend Jackie Waters of AON. Many of you will know that Jackie is the immediate past President of PLUS.
I also had the chance at this event to take my annual photo with Yera Patel of Inigo. As is always the case, this year’s version is a great picture of Yera and a goofy picture of me.
It is also great at an event like this to have catch up with industry professionals and to find out what is going on in the market, including, for example, talking with Dan Lindell and Shari Cornaggia of Newfront (or should I say WTW?).
Here’s a picture with my good friend Laura Markovich of the Skarzynski, Marick, & Black law firm. Laura is one of the co-Chairs of the upcoming PLUS D&O Symposium.
I also had the chance at this event to spend some time getting to know many of the professionals at Inigo, including Diane Lenkowsky and Oshana Bentomane. Over dinner, I learned that Oshana is planning an elaborate U.S. road trip, the plans for which grew increasingly more ornate during the course of this event. She is now accepting applications for the tour driver position. (Independent wealth is a prerequisite.)
With Katie Myczek of AON, in Chicago. I first met Katie at a prior Inigo event.

Two more fans of The D&O Diary! Charlie Fox and Gabby Trinh, both of AON.

Here’s a photo with Charlotte Glessner-Fischer of Marsh. I was fortunate to sit next to Charlotte during lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Charlotte, just a delightful person.

Here’s a group photo with all of the professionals from Inigo. I particularly want to point out Becky Jackson, on the far left, who helped plan this event and who was particularly helpful to me as I prepared for and made my arrangements. Thank you, Becky!
Even in its mid-Winter dormancy, Napa Valley is so beautiful.
A view of Calistoga and of Napa Valley from above.

Before heading back home to the snow and ice, my wife and I spent a long weekend in Tucson, for some hiking in the Catalina Mountains.

For our first day hike, we explored Sabino Canyon, walking 12 miles along the steep, rocky canyon slopes covered with saguaro, cholla, octillo, and palo verde trees.
Sabino Creek, which flows along the canyon bottom, swollen by winter rains.

I have a hotel recommendation for anyone thinking about traveling to Tucson. We stayed at the Hacienda del Sol, a wonderful resort where we have stayed multiple times before. We first stayed at the hotel in 1999. The resort has expanded since then, with the addition of flashy, high-end facilities. We prefer to stay the hotel’s historic core, which was originally built as a girls’ school in the early 20th century. The original buildings have charm and character. We recommend the “Lana Turner” suite.

The central courtyard at the Hacienda del Sol.
The view from the hot tub, in the old part of the hotel property, at the Hacienda del Sol. Where tired hikers go at the end of a long day in the mountains.