Allied Universal announced that Loretta Cecil will join the organization as global general counsel, effective June 17, 2024.

In this role, Cecil will serve as the company’s chief legal officer, providing strategic legal guidance and overseeing the company’s global legal function.  She will report directly to Steve Jones, global chairman and CEO at Allied Universal.

Cecil has over 40 years’ experience as an executive and legal professional, most recently as executive vice president and general counsel for Change Healthcare Inc., reportedly one of the world’s largest healthcare IT companies. In that role, she led all legal and compliance support for Change Healthcare’s successful initial public offering in June 2019. Change Healthcare was acquired in October 2022 by UnitedHealth Group.

“Loretta’s experience leading phenomenal legal teams at publicly traded companies and technology focused organizations perfectly lines up with the future I see for Allied Universal,” Jones said. “Her leadership and mentorship will help secure our future, and I’m looking forward to working with her as a trusted advisor.”

In addition to Change Healthcare, Cecil spent more than a decade at McKesson Corp. where she served as senior vice president, governance relations and general counsel for the technology solutions business unit.  Prior to that, she was law vice president, chief counsel, and ethics and compliance officer for NCR Corp.; and general attorney for AT&T Corp.

Cecil is the recipient of the Corporate Counsel's Women, Power and Influence Lifetime Achievement Award and a two-time finalist for the prestigious Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards. She has won 13 national awards for excellence in compliance training and her corporate governance and board work has been nominated for several shareholder engagement recognitions, including by the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 and the Corporate Secretaries of America in 2015. In 2021, she led a team that was named Corporate Secretary's Best Compliance & Ethics Program, Corporate Counsel's Compliance Department of the Year, and a Value Champion by the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Cecil received her law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Envision Healthcare.

The announcement comes after the retirement of David Buckman following nearly 20 years of dedicated service to the company. His expertise, wisdom and commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on Allied Universal. He has been instrumental in creating a best-in-class legal team and shaping the legal framework that underpins the company’s operations. Buckman will serve as a resource through the end of the calendar year to help ensure a seamless transition.