Stephanie Apostolou has been elected general counsel and secretary of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Koppers and Koppers Holdings, effective March 1.
Apostolou is at present deputy general counsel and assistant secretary with the NYSE-listed company, which is a global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds.
Her promotion follows the announcement that Steven Lacy, chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary of Koppers will retire at the end of this year after a 20-year career with the company. In the period between March 1 and December 31, Lacy will hold a new position as assistant to the president of Koppers.
Apostolou joined Koppers in 2011 as corporate counsel and became deputy general counsel and assistant secretary in January 2019. In that role she has managed legal matters such as litigation and claims, compliance, environmental and regulatory matters. She also supports and co-ordinates the company’s corporate governance function and matters relating to the board.
Before joining Koppers, Apostolou worked in the corporate and securities practice group of law firm Reed Smith.
Lacy joined Koppers in 2001 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Over the years he added responsibility for human resources, corporate purchasing and IT, and became chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary in January 2018.
Lacy says in a statement: ‘The time is right to transition into an advisory role preceding my retirement. Koppers will be in great hands with Stephanie as its new general counsel, and I hope to bring several important pending projects to a successful conclusion before my departure. It has been my privilege to serve Koppers these many years.’
‘It’s an honor to take on greater leadership responsibilities at Koppers,’ Apostolou states. ‘I am very grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me. Steve has been an invaluable mentor and role model for me throughout my career and has built an excellent, dedicated legal team within Koppers.’
President and CEO Leroy Ball states: ‘Steve has played a tremendous role in the evolution of Koppers from the time he joined the company 20 years ago. He helped to lead the company’s return to the public markets in 2006, held a key role in several significant acquisitions, and has been a trusted adviser on many projects, large and small… Stephanie has a great legal mind and has demonstrated sound business judgment during her time at Koppers.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
