Eaton announced that Lucy Clark Dougherty has been named general counsel, effective January 27, 2025. Dougherty will succeed Taras ?Terry? Szmagala Jr. as executive vice president and chief legal officer upon his retirement, effective April 4, 2025.
In this role, Dougherty will serve as counsel to Eaton?s executive management team and its Board of Directors, and will lead the company?s global Legal organization, including the Corporate Governance and Compliance functions. Dougherty will report to Paulo Ruiz, president and chief operating officer, Eaton, and will join the company?s executive leadership team upon her appointment to executive vice president and chief legal officer, effective April 5, 2025. Dougherty joins Eaton from Polaris, an American global powersports manufacturer, where she served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary.
In this role, she led the company?s global legal, government relations, trade, and product compliance organization and served as a member of the executive leadership team. Prior to this appointment, Lucy held various deputy general counsel and leadership roles with General Motors. Earlier in her career, Dougherty served as counsel inside the U.S. Department of Justice and as associate general counsel in the Office of Homeland Security before being named chief legal officer of the Department of Homeland Security and counsel to the secretary of Homeland Security.
Dougherty holds a bachelor?s degree in history from Yale University, a master?s degree in history from the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She currently serves on the board of directors of Hertz Global Holdings.