Former American Express VP and Senior Counsel Charlita Cardwell Dies at 46
Cardwell, a vice president and senior counsel at the American Express Co. in New York City for more than a decade, has died at the age of 46. She was active in several professional organizations promoting diversity and inclusion.
January 27, 2020 at 11:58 AM
5 minute read
Charlita C. Cardwell, a vice president and senior counsel at the American Express Co. in New York City for more than a decade, died on Jan. 16, according to a public notice. She was 46 years old.
She left American Express in April 2018, a spokeswoman said.
Cardwell provided "strategic thought leadership to American Express OPEN, the highest-rated and fastest-growing business unit of American Express," according to her LinkedIn profile. Cardwell said in a statement at the time of her departure that she left the company to focus on her family's investment holdings company, philanthropic endeavors, and to spend more time with family.
Laureen E. Seeger, chief legal officer at American Express, said in an emailed statement: "Charlita made an impression on our organization in many ways during her career in the General Counsel's Organization. She embraced the mission of her clients to help small businesses and was an effective and valued colleague. She also demonstrated her commitment to promoting diversity in business and civic sectors through her terrific support of and work with organizations like the Council for Urban Professionals. Charlita truly represents what it means to be a trusted colleague and friend."
Laurie N. Robinson Haden, senior vice president and assistant general counsel at ViacomCBS Inc., and founder and CEO of Corporate Counsel Women of Color, posted the following statement on her LinkedIn page: "It is with sadness that I share the passing of CCWC Member, Charlita Cardwell after a long battle with cancer. She was a beautiful light. We will forever remember her smile, kindness, and impact on those around her."
Jillian Joseph, managing director and associate general counsel at TIAA, who met Cardwell when Joseph was a law student, said, "She was by far one of the best attorneys I have ever worked with and was steadfast in her representation of her clients for many years. She always garnered the utmost respect and admiration from her internal and external clients at American Express and she was a role model and a mentor for many of us who were women of color in corporate legal departments. She was always there with her professional and personal support."
Tangela Richter, corporate secretary and chief governance officer of American Express, said in an interview on Friday that while she did not work with Cardwell directly, they met years ago and were personal friends. When Richter joined American Express in 2016, Cardwell helped her get acclimated at the company and in New York City, she said.
"She was talented, she was thoughtful, she was dedicated to her career," she recalled. "She was warm, she was just beautiful and so well put together. Really elegant and really refined. If you met her daughters, you would see she was able to raise these daughters who are on the road to being exceptional young women."
Shauna Bryce, an attorney and founder of Bryce Legal, a career services boutique for lawyers based in Washington, D.C., who met Cardwell through professional events, said in an interview, "It is a loss for everybody. I feel for her family and colleagues and lawyers of color and other lawyers who won't have her mentorship."
Before joining American Express in April 2007, Cardwell was assistant general counsel, general counsel and corporate secretary at Foodbuy LLC, a unit of Compass Group in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was the chief mergers and acquisitions counsel, according to her profile.
Cardwell began her career as a finance associate at the predecessor of the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York City. She later transitioned to the firm of Dewey Ballantine, which later became Dewey & LeBoeuf, which is now dissolved.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Cardwell served as president of the Black Law Students Association and was a member of the school's post-admissions committee, according to the alumni magazine of Wake Forest University, from which Cardwell graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. She was also a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire.
In addition to the Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Cardwell also had been leadership board chairwoman of the Council of Urban Professionals, an organization that supports the promotion of women and people of color into leadership positions, according to the group's website. She belonged as well to several other social and charitable groups, including The Links Inc., an international volunteer service organization of professional women of color.
In a 2012 posted interview with the council, asked what was her proudest achievement, she answered: "As I look back, I am quite proud of, with God's help, having the resilience and strength to overcome the tragedy of witnessing the events of 9/11, my apartment being destroyed and losing my worldly possessions in those events."
Cardwell is survived by two young daughters and her husband, Martez R. Moore, who is the chairman and CEO of Moore Frères & Co. LLC, a technology, media and telecom investment firm.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllGoogle Fails to Secure Long-Term Stay of Order Requiring It to Open App Store to Rivals
'Am I Spending Time in the Right Place?' SPX Technologies CLO Cherée Johnson on Living and Leading With Intent
9 minute read'It Was the Next Graduation': How an In-House Lawyer Became a Serial Entrepreneur
9 minute readRenee Meisel, GC of UnitedLex, on Understanding and Growing the Business
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Amid 'Existential War for Talent', Paul Weiss Promotes Both Equity and Non-Equity Partners
- 2After Regime Change, Syria Remains Liable in US Federal Courts for Alleged Assad-era Terrorism Support
- 3Prosecutors Want Tom Girardi to Serve 14 Years In Prison. His Lawyers Don't Want Him Behind Bars.
- 4Atkins Likely to Bring Pro-Business, Light Regulatory Touch to SEC, Say Agency Observers
- 5The Boom Continues: These Firms All Opened New Florida Offices in 2024
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250