Gordon K. Davidson

Public markets slow down but Davidson doesn't. With the window closing for initial public offerings, he's been focusing on mergers, acquisitions and "a lot of counseling on touchy or complicated confidential issues."

Davidson counsels the boards of established corporations such as Cisco Systems Inc., Facebook Inc. and Symantec Corp., as well as late-stage private companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc.

This year, he's helped Symantec change course and narrow its focus into the cybersecurity space. He guided the company through its $7.4 billion sale of its data storage unit, Veritas, to Carlyle Group LP, a well-known private equity fund. Later in the year, he helped Symantec acquire cyber defense technology firm Blue Coat Systems Inc. for $4.65 billion.

Symantec's previous offerings focus on protecting personal computers, Davidson explained, and Blue Coat will expand the services Symantec can provide. "Blue Coat brings complementary protection in the cloud," he said.

Davidson has also been very active in the semiconductor market, which is experiencing a strong trend toward consolidation. "It became clear that Chinese companies had set as a priority investment in the higher level of the value chain, including design of semiconductors, not just manufacturing," he said.

— Joshua Sebold