Charlita C. Cardwell/courtesy photo

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.