NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has named Timothy P. Harris as executive vice president and general counsel, succeeding Susan Blount, who is retiring from Prudential in January of next year after a distinguished 30-year career at Prudential, the last decade of which has been as general counsel. Harris will assume his role on October 1 and report to Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld.
“Prudential has benefited greatly from Susan’s sound judgment, expertise and leadership for three decades, and we are deeply grateful for her distinguished service to the company. Over the past 20 years in particular, she has worked closely with the Board of Directors on a broad range of matters, including Prudential’s historic demutualization in 2001 and many complex issues that followed our becoming a publicly held company,” said Strangfeld.
“It is a great credit to Susan that we have a talented bench within our law and compliance departments, and can seamlessly transition the role of general counsel to Tim,” Strangfeld added. “Over the course of his 27 years at Prudential, Tim has helped guide our businesses through significant changes and business initiatives. His most recent assignment as deputy general counsel and chief legal officer for Prudential’s U.S. Businesses has prepared him well for his new role.”
Blount joined Prudential in 1985 as an attorney in the company’s commercial real estate operations and was appointed general counsel in 2005. She was elected executive vice president in June 2013. She began her career as an associate at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago.
Throughout her career, she has made significant contributions to promoting diversity in the legal profession. Under her leadership, Prudential’s law department has been recognized for its commitment to diversity and inclusion by organizations such as the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the National Association of Women Lawyers. Blount has served on the Board of Trustees of Montclair State University for the past 18 years. She has also served on the boards of a number of civic and professional organizations, including NJLEEP, a Newark-based program that uses law-related educational programming to prepare inner-city high school students for college.
Harris, who joined Prudential in 1988, was appointed deputy general counsel and chief legal officer for Prudential’s U.S. Businesses in 2008. He was named chief operating officer of Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs in 2014. Prior to assuming his current role, Harris was chief investment counsel for Prudential and previously served as chief legal officer for Prudential Annuities. Before joining Prudential, he was an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York. Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Georgetown University and earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of June 30, 2015, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.
