NYSE-listed Regions Financial Corporation has hired Tara Plimpton as senior executive vice president and general counsel, succeeding Boots Gale.
Gale is taking on a senior advisory role until his retirement later this year, according to the company. Before joining Regions in 2011, he was a founding partner of Maynard Cooper & Gale in Birmingham, Alabama.
Plimpton now reports directly to Regions president and CEO John Turner. Among other things, she leads the company’s legal, government affairs and corporate governance teams.
She previously spent 17 years with General Electric, where she was general counsel for a number of the company’s divisions. She most recently worked as vice president and general counsel for GE Global Operations, managing a team of more than 450 professionals in charge of key compliance, trade, IP labor and transactional support for GE.
According to Regions, other changes taking place in connection with the move include the expansion of Hope Mehlman’s role. Mehlman, who is chief governance officer, now also serves as corporate secretary. In her expanded role, Mehlman – who was named governance professional of the year (large cap) at Corporate Secretary’s 2019 Corporate Governance Awards – reports directly to Plimpton and works with the board on Regions’ governance principles and practices.
‘Boots joined Regions in 2011 during a challenging time for the financial industry, and his wise counsel played a critical role in how we navigated the organization through an evolving regulatory environment,’ Turner says in a statement. ‘I deeply appreciate [his] leadership and many contributions to Regions as well as the important role he will play while Tara transitions to her new responsibilities as general counsel.
‘Tara brings extensive legal and operational experience in highly complex and regulated industries to Regions. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in law department operations, including litigation and compliance, as well as government and community affairs. Tara is a strong leader and will be a tremendous addition to our team at Regions, and we look forward to working with her.’
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...
