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American Airlines attorney returns to Kimberly-Clark as general counsel
Grant McGee previously spent more than six years with the company Grant McGee has returned to Kimberly-Clark Corporation as senior vice president and general counsel. McGee rejoined Kimberly-Clark this month from American Airlines, where he had been vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary since May 2022. He had previously spent more than six years at Kimberly-Clark in roles of increasing seniority, most recently vice president and senior deputy general counsel. According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously spent more than four years at General Electric (GE), most recently as executive counsel for M&A. Before that he was an…
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IBM’s general counsel to retire
Michelle Browdy has been in the role for almost a decade Michelle Browdy will retire from her role as senior vice president for legal and regulatory affairs and general counsel at IBM. According to an SEC filing, Browdy has told the company she intends to step down by the end of the year. The filing had no further details and an IBM spokesperson had no further comment other than that a successor has not been named. Browdy has been in her current role since 2015. She is responsible for IBM’s global corporate governance, legal, security and compliance activities and policies,…
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Altria reveals general counsel succession plan
Murray Garnick to retire April 1 Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel of Altria Group, has told the company he plans to retire, effective April 1, 2024. Robert McCarter will succeed Garnick at that time. Tobacco company Altria’s wholly owned subsidiaries include manufacturers of both combustible and smoke-free products such as Philip Morris USA and brands such as Marlboro. Garnick leads the company’s law department and the corporate secretary’s office, regulatory affairs and regulatory sciences functions. He has been in this role since 2017. Garnick has worked with Altria and its associated companies, both internally and externally, across…
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Howard Hughes Holdings recruits general counsel
Joseph Valane joining from Revantage and Shopcore Properties NYSE-listed Howard Hughes Holdings has recruited Joseph Valane to become its general counsel and corporate secretary, effective March 18. Valane will join Howard Hughes from Revantage and Shopcore Properties, both Blackstone portfolio companies, where has been general counsel. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been with Revantage for six years, initially as assistant general counsel for corporate and business matters and later as associate general counsel, before becoming general counsel. At Revantage and Shopcore Properties, Valane has overseen teams providing legal support across Blackstone’s US real estate portfolio, including retail, multifamily,…
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Target’s legal and compliance chief to retire
Don Liu has been with the retailer since 2016 Don Liu, executive vice president and chief legal & compliance officer (CLCO) with Target Corporation, has told the company he intends to retire during 2024. According to an SEC filing, Liu intends to remain CLCO until a successor is appointed and is expected to be a strategic adviser for a transition period. In his current role, he oversees all legal, compliance and corporate governance matters for the company and is corporate secretary.Liu joined Target in 2016 from Xerox Corporation where he had been executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary…
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Micron hires legal chief
Michael Ray was previously general counsel at Western Digital Micron Technology has hired Michael Ray as the company’s senior vice president, chief legal officer (CLO) and corporate secretary. Ray reports to Micron president and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. He is responsible for the company’s global legal, compliance and intellectual property (IP) functions. Ray previously spent more than 23 years at Western Digital. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was most recently senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. His earlier positions at the company included vice president for legal services and vice president for corporate law. Michael Ray Before joining…
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AMD hires general counsel from Lam Research
Ava Hahn succeeds Harry Wolin, who is retiring In early 2021, individual investors – including many amateurs – got together on Reddit and other social media platforms to buy shares of struggling companies like GameStop, AMC and others to create what the SEC called the ‘meme-stock phenomenon’. The result became a Wall Street vs Main Street story, the likes of which inspired books and movies. For IR professionals, the lesson is that companies needed to reconsider the power of retail shareholders, an investor segment that many issuers and other investors had largely ignored for decades. At the time, that lesson…
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Leidos names next general counsel
Dan Antal joining from Rolls-Royce Defense and North America Fortune 500 science and technology company Leidos has appointed Dan Antal as its next general counsel, effective April 1. Antal is at present general counsel for Rolls-Royce Defense and North America. He will succeed Jerald Howe, who had announced his planned retirement from the company. Howe will remain general counsel until March 31 and will continue in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition until March 15, 2025.According to his LinkedIn profile, Antal previously spent more than seven years with Leidos before joining Rolls-Royce in 2021. During his previous spell…
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Arvinas hires general counsel
Jared Freedberg was previously general counsel at Intercept Pharmaceuticals Nasdaq-listed Arvinas has hired Jared Freedberg as general counsel for the clinical-stage biotechnology company. Freedberg was most recently general counsel at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for managing all legal activities, including corporate and board governance, compliance, securities, contracting, intellectual property strategy and management, M&A, business development and litigation management.Before that, he was general counsel and corporate secretary at Immunomedics. He had previously been general counsel for specialty generics and vice president for legal, business development and licensing at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Jared Freedberg According to his LinkedIn profile, Freedberg previously…
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Cargill hires HPE general counsel
Rishi Varma will join Cargill later this month Cargill has hired Rishi Varma as corporate senior vice president, chief legal and compliance officer, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective January 29. He will succeed Anna Richo, who will become corporate senior vice president and strategic adviser to the general counsel and CEO until her retirement in September.Varma is joining Cargill from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) where he is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. During his 11 years at HPE, he has overseen corporate governance, M&A, commercial contracting, supply-chain matters, litigation, intellectual property and corporate securities. He also…