Lennox Hires 12-Year Company Veteran as CLO, Bucking Hire-From-Outside Trend
Monica Brown, chief legal officer of Lennox. Courtesy photo
Lennox International on Wednesday said longtime Chief Legal Officer John Torres is retiring and will pass the legal reins to VP and Deputy General Counsel Monica Brown in January.
Brown won’t be jumping from the furnace into the frying plan, thanks to the Dallas-based HVAC manufacturer’s decision to hire from within, bucking the trend of companies going outside for legal chief hires, believing that the job has grown so complicated and the consequences of making the wrong hire so dire that hiring someone who’s never done the job before is overly risky.
The recruiting firm Russell Reynolds Associates found that 61% of Fortune 500 companies filled GC openings externally last year, compared with the 50% that did so in 2020. Russell Reynolds attributed the shift to the scarcity of candidates who’ve demonstrated they have the soft skills the job now requires, such as adaptability and building relationships with regulators and peers.
Brown joined Lennox in 2012 as assistant general counsel of the residential division. The company brought her aboard from Jones Day, where she had handled complex litigation for nearly 13 years.
In 2021, Lennox promoted her to assistant general counsel of securities and corporate governance. She’s been VP and deputy general counsel since January 2023.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Howard University and earned her law degree from the University of Texas.
“The seamless transition is a testament to our disciplined succession planning and strong bench of talent,” Lennox CEO Alok Maskara said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have Monica stepping into the role, and I look forward to working with her in her new capacity.”
Maskara credited outgoing executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary Torres, who has been with Lennox for 16 years, for leading acquisitions and divestitures to boost the company’s North American growth.
Torres earned $1.75 million last year, including a salary of $547,500, according to the company’s proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The CLO changeout is occurring at a time Lennox is performing well. Also on Wednesday, the company reported that third quarter quarter sales rose nearly nearly 10%, to $1.5 billion, and profit climbed 84%, to $239 million.
Lennox, was founded in 1895 by Dave Lennox, the owner of a machine repair business for railroads. Today, it has 12,600 employees and sells heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems in more than 70 countries.
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