For more than half a century, Harvey Gulf International Marine has plied the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, servicing oil rigs and platforms with its boats and barges. These days, those vessels can be seen doing the same far across the Atlantic and on the other side of the Panama Canal. But as its […]
Features Region: Southeast
Dan Schwarzenbach – Sunland Construction
While squishing through the oozing mud, the marsh buggy trundles slowly through the murky shallow waters. This excavator on two pontoons needs to touch the ground in order to operate. Then the excavator’s bucket reaches out and disappears down into the brown water with a loud dunk. It scoops up the muck under the marsh, […]
Tim Phillips – American Cancer Society
Tim Phillips can’t emphasize it enough: The American Cancer Society’s mission is a lifesaving one. And while the Naval veteran and experienced attorney was attracted to this noble charge—as well as the unique, underlying legal challenges—he hadn’t been impacted by the insidious disease. That was, until 2009 when a close friend and fellow veteran was […]
Lucas Gambino – Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED Inc.
It was 3 a.m. Lucas Gambino was sitting in the passenger seat of an 18-wheeler loaded with products. The driver beside him was experienced with—and fully used to—this time and this route. As for Gambino? “I was not,” he says with a laugh. Nevertheless, the general counsel got up and did it—and learned far more […]
Janine Hudson Rea – Builders Mutual Insurance Company
If nothing else, Janine Hudson Rea isn’t afraid to try something new. Three times during her career, she’s been hired by companies to be their first general or claims counsel. All three times, relevant industry experience wasn’t a determining factor. In fact, when hired by Builders Mutual Insurance Company to be its general claims counsel, […]
Kristen Hughes – Elevate Textiles Inc.
When Kristen Hughes joined thread manufacturer American & Efird LLC as a corporate counsel in 2014, she didn’t have a five-year plan. Then again, if you told her she would be shepherding five acquisitions and would see an eventual promotion to full-on general counsel for the global company, she would honestly say she didn’t see […]
Kevin McCoy – C2 Essentials Inc.
Doing business as a small to mid-sized company, it can be hard to come up with the extra cash to set up a full-service HR department to handle everything from payroll processing, to recruiting, to benefits administration and HR compliance training. That’s what Jackie Asencio realized over a cup of coffee at her kitchen table […]
Jennifer L. Ervin – Shelby County Schools
Most homecoming celebrations involve wearing school colors, singing the school song, a pep rally and then the big game. For Jennifer L. Ervin, homecoming has been a bit more involved. As general counsel and chief legal officer from 2016-19 for the Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee, she managed all the legal operations for the […]
Eileen Kett and Paola Mora – Club Med North America
They’ve managed the legal department of Club Med North America for a combined 40 years. Together, they’ve helped pave the way for some of the company’s most high-stakes initiatives: a massive renovation of Club Med Cancun Yucatan in Mexico in 2006; a 2010 upgrade of Sandpiper Bay in Florida; and several expansion projects in the […]
Chris Schindler – Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc.
To paraphrase a popular adage, you can take the man out of Kentucky, but you can’t take Kentucky out of the man. The pull of his roots was so powerful, in fact, that after nearly 25 years at venerated D.C. law firm Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells)—where Chief Justice John Roberts once practiced—Chris Schindler […]
