The Minority Corporate Counsel Association, a nonprofit that seeks to advance diversity and inclusion in the legal industry, tapped Ripple Labs' general counsel as its board chair Wednesday.

New board chair Stuart Alderoty has served on the MCCA's board since 2014. He'll now lead the 17-person board's collective strategy, with a focus “on real-life training, education, research and mentorship,” he said in an email. A first-generation college and law school graduate, Alderoty said he aims to break down barriers “so the legal profession is accessible to everyone.”

“I believe in and identify strongly with the mission, and am honored to be chair,” Alderoty said in an email. “I have been actively engaged with the MCCA as a board member for nearly five years now. When the MCCA approached me about the role, I saw this as an opportunity to get even more involved and drive strategy for the advisory practice and inclusive leader program.”

MCCA president and chief executive officer Jean Lee said Alderoty was chosen for “his commitment to improving our profession [and] his thoughtful leadership on the board about breaking barriers to entry to develop a strong pipeline at all levels.”

Lee and Alderoty met around six years ago, she said, as two Rutgers University School of Law alumni. When she became MCCA CEO in 2016, she asked Alderoty if he'd like to take on more of a leadership role at the nonprofit.

“Because of the fact that he was just so committed and genuine and I thought he would be an incredible role model … [allies] are the key to any diversity and inclusion and equity strategy or program,” Lee said in an interview. He served as board chair-elect prior to his official appointment.

Alderoty has also started his role at Ripple recently, joining the cryptocurrency company in January. Prior to Ripple, Alderoty held in-house leadership roles at HSBC North America and American Express.

His appointment was announced alongside the news that Lanesha Minnix, the chief legal officer of Flowserve, has joined the MCCA's board as its 17th member. Lee said Minnix's appointment is “full circle,” as the CLO was an MCCA “rising star” in 2007.

“She expressed a lot of interest once she became general counsel in getting more involved with MCCA and so when she said she was ready I jumped on that,” Lee said. “She's been involved with us for the last couple of months and she's just been super fantastic.”

Minnix was not immediately available for comment.

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