General Mills appoints Rick Palmore general counsel

MINNEAPOLIS General Mills on Wednesday appointed Roderick Palmore executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance and risk management officer, effective Feb. 11, 2008. Palmore will have responsibility for the company’s worldwide legal activities, corporate ethics and compliance, and corporate security.

Palmore most recently served as executive vice president and general counsel at Sara Lee Corporation. He was named to the most recent issue of Inside Counsel magazine list of the “50 Most Influential In-House Counsels,” and had a broad impact on the legal profession through his leadership of “Call To Action,” an initiative he helped launch three years ago to improve the minority representation and mobility within law firms providing services to major corporations.

Palmore succeeds Siri Marshall, who retired effective Jan. 1, 2008. Marshall joined General Mills as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary in 1994, guiding the company’s worldwide legal activities. In addition to serving as the company’s general counsel and corporate secretary, Marshall also served as chief governance and compliance officer.