Dive Brief:
- Discover Financial Services announced Wednesday that it has hired Hope Mehlman as its chief legal officer and general counsel. Most recently, Mehlman was EVP, GC and corporate secretary of Bank of the West, as well as corporate secretary of BNP Paribas USA.
- Before joining Bank of the West, Mehlman worked for nearly 15 years at Regions Financial. This included time serving as executive vice president, corporate secretary, chief governance officer and deputy general counsel.
- “Hope’s experience working in the financial services industry and supporting business strategy will enable her to contribute to Discover’s success and effectively lead our regulatory and legislative efforts,” said Roger Hochschild, Discover’s CEO and president, in a press release.
Dive Insight:
Mehlman is considered an industry leader in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and her expertise in that realm will benefit the financial services company, the Discover press release said.
Nearly 60% of legal leaders listed ESG issues among their top five risks in a report released earlier this month by FTI Technology and Relativity.
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion is often part of companies’ ESG initiatives.
Along those lines, Mehlman held leadership roles in building diverse and inclusive work environments at Bank of the West, including as co-executive sponsor of the bank’s Women’s Initiative and executive sponsor of its Association for Pan-Asian Excellence Resource Group, Discover said.
In addition to her CLO and GC roles, Mehlman will serve as a member of Discover’s Executive Committee.
Mehlman has previously served as co-chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Institutional Investors.
