Eaton names Lucy Clark Dougherty general counsel; Taras “Terry” Szmagala Jr. to retire

• Dougherty to succeed Szmagala as chief legal officer effective April 5, 2025

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intelligent power management company Eaton (NYSE:ETN) today 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.

“Over his nearly 18 years with Eaton, Terry has distinguished himself as a results-focused and community-minded leader,” said Craig Arnold, chairman and chief executive officer. “Terry has built and led a strong Legal team that brings deep expertise and value to our businesses while demonstrating an exceptional commitment to improving the communities where we operate. I thank him for his service to our company and wish him well in retirement.”

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.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come.

Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.