Ally Financial has appointed a legal expert to lead its newly created Legal & Corporate Affairs Office. The Detroit-based bank welcomes Hope Mehlman as Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer, effective Dec. 2.
Heading up the new office, Mehlman will be responsible for overseeing all regulatory and legal matters at Ally Financial, including compliance, government relations, environmental sustainability, and community reinvestment.
Mehlman’s career spans over 20 years in retail and commercial banking. Most recently she served as Discover's chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to Discover, she served as general counsel and corporate secretary at Bank of the West, corporate secretary of BNP Paribas USA, and executive vice president, corporate secretary, chief governance officer, and deputy general counsel of Regions Financial, where she also served as senior compliance officer.
“Hope has a proven track record as a strong leader, building and evolving legal and compliance teams to enable business performance,” Ally CEO Michael Rhodes said. "Anticipating changes to regulations and laws through a unified approach will continue to be a critical focus at Ally, and Hope's exceptional thought leadership and business influence will help us deliver even greater impact in this next chapter.”
Mehlman has received a number of professional accolades. She was named General Counsel of the Year by Women, Influence and Power in Law in 2024, and in 2023, she was inducted into the Corporate Governance Hall of Fame by Governance Intelligence.
Mehlman was the 2023 recipient of the "William H. Avery Award for Equal Access to Justice" presented by Legal Aid Society, Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University Law School, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law.
