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Jan 08, 2018

Hallmark appoints new general counsel and secretary

Jill Marchant to join the company later this month

Greeting card company Hallmark has hired Jill Marchant as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective January 16.

Marchant will succeed Brian Gardner, who is retiring from the company and will depart March 31, according to Hallmark. In her new role, Marchant will be responsible for providing legal and business advice to the company and its portfolio of businesses on a range of issues such as financing, contracts, litigation, acquisitions, mergers and general corporate legal matters. Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark also operates three cable channels and a publishing unit, among other things.

Marchant most recently served as general counsel on the executive committee of agriculture lending co-operative Farm Credit Mid-America. Before that, she was general counsel for Texas Roadhouse, advising executives and the board of directors regarding the company’s more than 400 restaurants. She has also held leadership positions in the legal departments at Dine Equity, Applebee’s and Honeywell.

'Jill has been a valuable asset to the Farm Credit Mid-America team. She had the expertise required for the general counsel position and led the legal department from a place of passion and purpose,' Bill Johnson, president and CEO of Farm Credit Mid-America, says in a statement. 'While we will miss Jill, we wish her all the best as she returns to Kansas City.'

‘Jill brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this role, which will serve Hallmark well as we continue to drive our overall performance and focus on the success of our portfolio of businesses,’ Hallmark Cards president Dave Hall says in a statement. ‘I look forward to Jill applying her great skills and experiences to lead Hallmark’s strong legal team.’

Ben Maiden

Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...