Marcy Sharon Cohen, General Counsel and Managing Director with ING Financial Holdings Corp.

MARCY COHEN IS THE CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER AND MANAGING DIRECtor of ING Americas and is a member of the ING Americas Regional Management Team and its risk and compliance committees.

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin headquartered in Amsterdam. Cohen says ING Americas has offices throughout the United States as well as in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Columbia. Her responsibilities include providing leadership, guidance and support to ING on major strategic initiatives, corporate governance, regulatory affairs and transactional matters.

LEGAL TEAM: Her team consists of 16 employees, including 14 lawyers. Eleven of the lawyers are now located in New York City.

"It's a very diverse team: 65 percent are women and 40 percent are originally from other countries," she says. "We are globally focused, collaborating and responding to requests on a daily basis from colleagues in ING's global network."

Cohen says the ING Americas legal department serves as a resource center not only for ING's business in the Americas but also around the globe where U.S. law or U.S. market practice is involved in a transaction or other matter.

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: "We use several global and local law firms for additional support," she says.

DAILY DUTIES: Cohen says, "My day starts rather early and ends late," due to the time differences of a global network. During the rest of the day, she meets with colleagues from legal and management on a wide range of matters, responds to email from business units and provides advice on various legal issues. "I get and respond to dozens of emails a day," she says.

As a member of the regional management team, Cohen also attends various meetings with other executives of the company. That includes meetings on risk management, regular management updates and specific transactions.

ROUTE TO THE TOP: "I set my sights on becoming in-house counsel to a responsible corporate entity while in law school," Cohen says.

After graduating from law school, Cohen began her career at a medium-sized law firm in New York City. She says she "quickly had to learn the ropes" as she found herself across the table from lawyers from major global firms on various complex corporate and litigation matters. She then secured a position at the U.S. subsidiary of a foreign bank as the first in-house attorney for its U.S. operations.

Among other positions, Cohen served in senior roles at various major global financial institutions, was deputy general counsel at a large U.S. bank and joined the U.S. operations of major German and French financial institutions before joining ING in 2005.

PERSONAL: Cohen, who is married, says she enjoys working out, visiting museums in and around New York City and traveling. "My real passion is taking photographs of cultural landscape around the world," she says, adding that 27 images from her 2017 tour of northern Japan were displayed at the Umbrella Gallery in lower Manhattan.

LAST BOOK READ: "Due to the diversity of my interests, I tend to read several books at once," Cohen says. One of the books she read recently was "Principles: Life and Work," by Ray D. Dalio, founder of the Bridgewater Associates hedge fund.

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: "Fortunately, not too much—that is, provided I remember to turn off my iPhone," Cohen says. "The key to getting a good night's sleep is having a knowledgeable, highly capable and experienced team of in-house professionals and outside counsel that can tackle the most complex problems faced by our company and our industry."

PRIORITIES: Cohen cites a number of priorities, including providing the resources necessary for her team to act as a strategic partner to the business and collaborating with colleagues in the front office and other functions of the company. Notes Cohen, "Each time we collaborate with others we optimize the capacity of the members of the legal team to extend beyond their comfort zone, grow and, in turn, stretch the boundaries of the organization."