Divya Mehta – KONE Americas

By design, elevators and escalators go up and down. That motion is the perfect metaphor to describe Divya Mehta’s ride as the general counsel for KONE Americas because she got promoted to that position in January 2020, right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Divya Mehta | KONE Americas | General Counsel

“The pandemic gave me the opportunity to quickly add value my value in my new role,” Mehta tells Vanguard during an interview in September.

KONE, a global company based in Finland that manufactures elevators and escalators in over 60 countries, has more than 60,000 workers. Over 7,000 of those employees are in the Americas (U.S., Canada and Mexico), which is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Mehta joined the organization in December 2013 and has spent over a decade ensuring the company’s legal foundation is as strong as the technology behind its products and services.

When Mehta last spoke to Vanguard in late 2019, she was continuing to get a handle on the challenges related to the varying laws, rules and regulations in the more than 100 North American jurisdictions where KONE operates.

The past few years have been extraordinary—and tumultuous—marked by unprecedented challenges and a cascade of complex situations that demanded rapid and innovative responses, often leaving little room for anything else.

Pressing the right buttons

As the pandemic began, Mehta found herself quickly immersed in handling the company’s COVID-19 response. From determining whether operations could continue to define policies and procedures for essential workers, the complexity was staggering. She delved into uncharted territories—compiling guidance based on risk assessments and drafting compliance documents and procedures that had never been prepared before. Decisions regarding vaccinations and safety protocols were met with mixed reactions, yet Mehta managed to build the trust and respect of her organization and peers.

Initially, Mehta couldn’t focus on anything other than the immediate crisis. Internal discussions were vital, with frequent conversations with the Senior Vice Presidents of Human Resources and Employee Health & Safety to ensure the well-being of the workforce. It was a period where compassion, empathy and understanding became her guiding principles.

To manage the avalanche of responsibilities, KONE established an internal COVID-19 task force. This team played a crucial role in guiding the company through the labyrinth of evolving health orders from various jurisdictions. Initially, Mehta and a paralegal meticulously tracked these orders themselves. Internally, they had to determine the best course of action for the company, which involved leveraging her legal expertise, business acumen and insights from the business and outside counsel.

Eventually, collaboration with National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII), the premier elevator and escalator industry association, provided daily updates to help consolidate the different directives across various regions.    In addition, the task force relied heavily on CDC guidance to address specific questions like what the protocol should be if someone contracted the virus at a meeting.

“Externally, relationships with outside counsel were crucial for benchmarking against other companies’ practices, facilitating informed and balanced decisions,” Mehta explains.

Mehta was also an active member of the NEII government affairs committee, of which she recently became the chairperson, involving her with strategy and recommendations to the NEII Board over compliance and regulatory issues. The unique complexities of managing union labor added another challenge; policies and procedures had to be developed as an industry with union leadership to deal with potential absenteeism among union members, and strategies were devised for alternative staffing solutions. Each day came with unique challenges, amplifying her learning curve exponentially.

Being a leader

The initial uncertainty of her role evolved into a more established confidence as she learned to tackle more significant risks and highly confidential matters. By 2023, Mehta was integral to a company reorganization, uniquely positioned as the sole legal expert involved in the Americas Organization Design Team. The experience provided invaluable lessons in strategic thinking, granting her a clear path beyond mere crisis management toward more sustainable and long-term objectives.

Today, with her team fully staffed, Mehta focuses on high-priority projects such as integrating AI into contract management and improving the contracting process. These advances align with KONE’s new company strategy between 2025 and 2030, aimed at implementing streamlined approaches in legal, risk and compliance. Mehta manages a team of 13 attorneys, and over 30 support staff across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“We are always looking for ways to be more efficient and adopt best practices while enhancing our technical expertise in collaboration with our business colleagues,” she explains.

A key component of Mehta’s strategy is mitigating risk, particularly concerning liability and litigation. Educating the organization about the reasons behind lawsuits and how to impact outcomes is paramount, she says. Each experience builds toward managing unique risks not seen in other companies or industries.

Moving up

An avid runner who has completed a couple of marathons, many half-marathons/10 milers, and even a couple of 200-mile relay races with a KONE team of 11 other employees, Mehta earned a degree in general engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School. She spent almost three years in the Illinois attorney general’s office as an assistant attorney general and was in private practice for over five years.

After graduating college, she went to work for General Electric Industrial Systems in their technical sales leadership program. There, she rotated through various parts of the business, learning how they all worked together—she eventually ended up in an outside sales position. While at the company headquarters in Connecticut, she worked with several in-house lawyers, an experience that prompted her to go to law school.

“I wanted to be a patent lawyer but couldn’t find a job after law school. It was tough figuring out what I wanted to do with my law degree,” Mehta recalls. “But every job I’ve had has utilized my engineering and legal expertise.”

While Mehta’s role is demanding, she is committed to maintaining a work-life balance—a priority she has appreciated even more since the pandemic. Flexibility in the workplace has become a key value at KONE. Mehta leads by example, often taking time to bring her kids to an amusement park or otherwise spend time enjoying life, like playing basketball or hanging out with her extended family.

“I feel like I missed out a lot early in my career,” she admits, but she is determined not to let that happen again. “It is not enough to say that family is a priority. It has to be acted on.”

As she reflects on her journey, Mehta acknowledges the importance of every experience in shaping her approach to leadership. Her background in engineering, combined with her legal expertise, has positioned her uniquely to navigate the ups and downs at KONE.

“Every experience leads you to become better than you were before,” she says. “Despite the hardships of the past few years, Mehta has emerged stronger, more confident and better prepared for whatever comes next.”