Timothy Harris, executive vice president and general counsel with Prudential Financial.

Timothy Harris, the general counsel and executive vice president of Prudential Financial Inc. since 2015, has announced his plan for retirement, according to the company Monday.

The Newark, New Jersey-based global investment firm named Ann Kappler, the current senior vice president, deputy general counsel and head of external affairs, to the top lawyer spot. She will start her new role Sept. 1 as Harris plans to stay through the first quarter of 2021 with the company during the transition.

"It's been a privilege to lead the law, compliance, business ethics and external affairs function during these past few years. That's why I find it difficult to balance the sadness of leaving, with the intellectual certainty in my decision to retire," Harris said in a statement to Corporate Counsel. "But I leave knowing the function is in good hands with Ann and in a strong position to help the company build a very successful future."

Since joining the company in 1988, Harris has served in multiple high-ranking legal titles. Before becoming general counsel, Harris served as the head of law, compliance, business ethics and external affairs. He was appointed deputy general counsel in 2008 to be the legal head of the company's U.S. businesses and later earned the role of chief operating officer. He's also been the chief investment counsel from 2005 to 2008 and earlier the chief legal officer of Prudential Annuities and the chief legal officer for Retirement Services and Prudential Asia. He even served as chief risk officer for Prudential Investments.

Before Prudential, Harris was a lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York. He is a Georgetown University Law Center graduate.

Ann Kappler.

Kappler joined Prudential in 2009. A former general counsel of Fannie Mae, she was also a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Jenner & Block. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

"I have deep admiration and respect for Tim as a leader and recognize the great responsibility before me in assuming the role as Prudential's general counsel," Kappler said in a statement to Corporate Counsel. "I am both honored and energized by this opportunity to build on our promising future for the betterment of the company, its employees and the customers we serve."

In 2018, Kappler told Corporate Counsel about how she works on the diversity and inclusion initiatives for Prudential's legal department.

"A culture of diversity and inclusion is ingrained in our DNA and is paramount to our success. Having a diverse and inclusive in-house team makes us stronger, more resilient and insightful," she said. "At Prudential, we believe that to truly foster diversity in the legal profession, we must take a multifaceted approach. We offer internships and fellowships to increase opportunities for diverse individuals. We also have several programs focused on building diversity in the talent pipeline."

Updated July 28 with comments from Harris and Kappler.