About me
Djenne is the General Counsel for Barilla America, the regional (U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Mexico) subsidiary of Barilla Group. A trusted, worldwide brand, Barilla is an Italian family-owned company founded in 1877, now with 8,500 employees worldwide, sales in 100 countries, and annual revenues of €3.5+ billion.
Before joining Barilla, Djenne was with National Express, the UK-based $3 billion transit company with 51,000 employees in 7 countries. She was SVP, Deputy General Counsel of the North American subsidiary, where she had been recruited by global executives to be the top lawyer. Djenne also has experience navigating transformational change in the municipal corporation owning the 50+-acre historic Navy Pier in Chicago, the global public service organization Rotary International, and one of Illinois’s largest state agencies.
In addition to her law degree from Northwestern, Djenne earned a certificate in business management from Indiana University’s business school and a bachelor’s in art history from Northwestern. A lifelong lover of art, she spent a year studying art history and French at Université Paris (the Sorbonne) in France and another year at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Djenne remains active in her communities and is a nonprofit board member.