Reporting to SEKO’s President & CEO, James Gagne, and as a high-visibility member of the SEKO Executive team based at their global headquarters in Itasca, Illinois, this new role supports the CEO with execution of strategic initiatives across all portfolio companies.
Char joined SEKO Logistics in 2014 as Director, Legal after five years as Corporate Legal Counsel at NNR Global Logistics. She has held the post of General Counsel, Vice President at SEKO for the past seven years, managing legal issues for the company’s worldwide entities, as well as maintaining responsibilities for the Human Resources and Compliance teams. Char’s global legal work for SEKO incorporates corporate governance, commercial transactions, litigation management, contracts, and other legal affairs for the organization, with a core focus on business facilitation and risk mitigation.
Char also serves as Corporate Secretary for the Board of Directors and is an active participant in the legal community, including her role as President (Elect) for the Association of Corporate Counsel, Chicago, as well as her participation and leadership in a variety of other community and volunteer initiatives.
“SEKO is entering a new phase of growth which will be greater than any time in our history. Our Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Officer is going to play a pivotal role in enabling us to implement our vision and achieve our annual goals, and I couldn’t be happier that Char has accepted this responsibility,” James Gagne said. “She understands what makes SEKO different and better for our clients and is deeply ingrained in the SEKO culture. As an important member of our leadership team since 2014, Char has made a valuable contribution to a record period of growth, which stems from the out-the-box service and technology solutions offer to our global clients. She will be a catalyst for everything we plan to achieve in the coming years.”
As Chief of Staff, Char’s responsibilities include building and leading the daily operations of the Executive office and working collaboratively with the C-suite team to ensure goals are met. She will lead cross-functional strategic initiatives, facilitate special projects, and ensure action items are executed on behalf of the CEO - acting as an information funnel, filter, and facilitator with internal and external stakeholders, and ensuring alignment with the priorities of the organization. She will also manage key relationships and build a process to track and nurture key stakeholders, investors, and clients, while serving as a thought partner and strategic advisor to the CEO.
Additionally, as Chief Legal Officer, Char leads the corporate legal strategy to promote and protect the company, overseeing legal counsel and all legal affairs for the global organization, and maintaining proper corporate interactions with the relevant local, state and federal governmental bodies, legislatures and the community-at-large. As well as leading internal audit and corporate global compliance programs, she will also retain oversight of employment issues and overall responsibility for SEKO’s HR and Risk Management functions, contributing to the building of effective recruiting, training and performance optimization strategies along with leadership development.
“I could not be more excited for this opportunity, and to be a part of the future growth strategy at SEKO,” Char added. “SEKO is such a unique company and has earned its reputation as an entrepreneurial organization, moving fast and yet ever focused on the needs of our clients. We continue to find ways to grow while allowing for creativity when it comes to the distribution needs of each of our clients, harnessing technology, data and digitization so we can optimize both our company’s performance as well as driving success for the client. It is a really exciting environment to be a part of, and I am honored to step into the new leadership role of Chief Legal Officer and Chief of Staff. The future is bright for SEKO and I am confident we will continue to exceed expectations for our clients, our employees and our shareholders.”
