BEFORE BECOMING A LAWYER, SUZANNE RICH FOLSOM WAS THE private secretary and chief of staff to Queen Noor of Jordan. But much of her career has been spent as an in-house attorney.

Since January 2014, she has been GC, chief compliance officer and senior vice president of government affairs at U.S. Steel Corp. An American integrated steel producer, USS is headquartered in Pittsburgh and has 30,000 employees in the U.S. and abroad.

LEGAL TEAM: Folsom says there are more than 75 people on the legal, regulatory, compliance and government affairs team, and the majority of them are lawyers. Most of the attorneys and compliance experts are located in Pittsburgh, with some employees located at the company's various facilities throughout this country and abroad.

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: "From trade to labor and employment to litigation to environmental issues, regulatory and compliance to real estate matters, to the full array of corporate issues, the legal matters I oversee at U.S. Steel are expansive," Folsom says. She says USS employs dozens of law firms of all sizes and across all legal disciplines to assist her and the legal team.

DAILY DUTIES: As U.S. Steel's chief legal officer, as well as business head of the company's real estate portfolio, every day has brought a new set of challenges, many of which required her to travel to solve them. "Not surprisingly, I have spent a considerable amount of time in Washington, D.C., in my capacity as leader of U.S. Steel's governmental affairs team working on our most critical issue—addressing the trade and the illegal dumping of steel products into the U.S. market, and fighting for fair trade," Folsom says. She says a typical day also involves litigation, environmental, labor and employment issues as well as day-to-day corporate matters and always exploring mergers and acquisition opportunities. She also handles board and governance issues, global joint ventures and deals with the company's real estate portfolio.

ROUTE TO THE TOP: After graduating from Duke University, Folsom gained experience in government and the political process. Among other things, she worked on multiple presidential campaigns and was chief of staff to Maureen Reagan, co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and the first-family liaison to the Presidential Inaugural Committee for President-elect George H.W. Bush. Folsom then moved to Amman, Jordan, to work for Queen Noor and King Hussein. Her work included driving equality and women's programs across the region and around the world. Returning to Washington, D.C., Folsom attended Georgetown University Law Center before moving to New York to join Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. She subsequently returned to Washington to work first as an associate and then special counsel at O'Melveny & Myers. Folsom then served as counselor to the World Bank president and director of Department of Institutional Integrity, where she led that organization's global anti-corruption program. During the height of the financial crisis, Folsom served as vice president, chief regulatory and compliance officer and deputy general counsel for the American International Group, where she established a best practices global legal, regulatory, compliance and governance program, helping to stabilize the company. She then served as executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer for ACADEMI LLC, a global security provider to the federal government and commercial clients.

PERSONAL: Folsom has been married to George Folsom for more than 25 years. They have two children. When not working, Folsom says she loves to spend time helping her children with their creative and community pursuits as well as working on her favorite causes: global women's issues, veterans' affairs and cybersecurity.

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: Folsom says one of her deepest concerns at U.S. Steel has been the threat that state-owned foreign steel makers pose to the company and to this country's national security.

PRIORITIES: Folsom lists as top priorities the duty to mentor and sponsor others, as well as a commitment to diversity inclusion and corporate social responsibility. She says she lives by the motto that "my integrity is more important than any job, and doing what is right is always the way to go."