FedEx Announces Retirement of Legal Chief Christine Richards
FedEx Corp.’s chief legal officer is retiring Sept. 30.
The company on July 20 announced the retirement of Christine Richards, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. Her successor will be named later.
Richards, 62, a FedEx employee since 1984, has led legal, regulatory, governmental affairs and security groups since 2005.
Richards
FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
She’s on the $60 billion company’s five-member executive committee as well as the strategic management committee.
Richards and FedEx on July 19 entered into an agreement that includes a one-year noncompete covenant and a one-time, $753,900 payment to Richards after her retirement, according to a FedEx filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Christine Richards has provided bold and innovative leadership in successfully addressing a wide variety of critical legal, regulatory and security challenges and opportunities for FedEx,” FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith said in a news release.
“Her untiring work ethic and in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the business have made her service as a counselor and business partner invaluable,” Smith said.
Richards will become the second member of Smith’s inner circle to retire within a year. Michael Glenn, executive vice president, market development and corporate communications, retired at the end of 2016.
Richards is responsible for ensuring that FedEx and its subsidiaries’ global activities are in compliance with international, federal, state and local government regulations, her corporate bio says.
The release credited Richards with leading “the aggressive legal strategies that protected the FedEx brand from misguided government investigations and legislative threats. She also led multiple successful business negotiations and acquisitions, including most recently the completion of the acquisition of TNT.”
She was corporate vice president, customer and business transactions, before her current position.
Richards serves on boards of Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Fuqua School of Business at Duke and the State Collaborative on Reforming Education.
