Albemarle hires successor general counsel

NYSE-listed Albemarle Corporation has hired Kristin Coleman as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective November 28. Coleman will report to chair and CEO Kent Masters.

Coleman succeeds Karen Narwold, executive vice president, chief administrative officer, general counsel and corporate secretary, who will retire from Albemarle effective April 4, 2023.

Coleman joins the specialty chemicals company from US Foods, where she has been executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer since 2017. She was previously senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sears Holdings Corporation, which she joined in 2014. Before that, she was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Brunswick Corporation from 2009 to 2014. Before moving in-house, she worked in private practice with law firm Sidley Austin.

Narwold has spent almost 13 years as Albemarle’s general counsel and corporate secretary. She joined Albemarle in 2010 as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary and took on her present role in 2016. According to her LinkedIn profile, her previous experience includes spending 16 years with GrafTech International as vice president for human resources, general counsel and secretary.

Masters says in a statement: ‘Karen has been a resilient executive leader for Albemarle, helping to steer the company through transformational growth. She re-engineered the legal department and compliance program, established our external affairs organization and helped lead the negotiation and closure of our $6.2 bn acquisition of Rockwood Holdings in 2015. We thank her for being a true steward of our values as she helped Albemarle become a stronger company over her tenure.

‘Kristin’s strong experience with public companies in corporate governance, legal and regulatory risk and compliance and ethics should drive long-term value for all Albemarle stakeholders.’