The Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Inc. (MCCA) announces the election of Simone Wu of Choice Hotels International, Inc. as chair-elect of its board of directors. She has served on the MCCA Board since February 2007 and will replace the current chair, Mary Snapp of Microsoft Corporation, in 2013. Ms. Snapp is the corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for the Legal & Corporate Affairs Department for Microsoft.
Ms. Wu serves as senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief compliance officer for Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors. She provides leadership to the business as the primary legal advisor to the company’s senior management team and board of directors, and serves as an integral part of the leadership team. As general counsel, her responsibilities include advising on all legal matters, including major domestic and international contracts and transactions, and matters relating to securities compliance, SEC filings and governance, licensing and litigation.
Prior to joining Choice Hotels in February 2012, Ms. Wu served as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for XO Communications, a leading nationwide provider of advanced IP communications, managed network, and IT infrastructure services. She has also held legal and business executive roles at MCI and AOL, and has practiced corporate transactional and communications law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Ms. Wu is also a member of the boards of the Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Inkwell.