Deidre Richardson joined Terminix in July 2021 as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. She joined the company from Chico’s FAS, where she was chief legal and compliance officer and corporate secretary for the publicly traded retailer and operator of the Chico’s, White House Black Market, and Soma brands.
Richardson has a long track record of success as corporate legal counsel of multi-unit organizations, and leadership roles with oversight of complex regulatory environments, deals and disputes, and communication strategy. She has spoken extensively on the topics of trademark and copyright law, intellectual property, and diversity in advertising, and was named to the 2019 “Nation’s Best” list by LawyersOfColor.org.
While at Chico’s FAS, Richardson helped develop and implement operational systems and processes designed to accommodate growth, profit and customer acquisition objectives. In addition to oversight of all Legal, Risk Management and Global Compliance functions for the company’s 1,300 stores and 18,000 employees, she also supervised the staff dedicated to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programming.
Prior to joining Chico’s, Richardson served as lead corporate counsel for Restaurant Brands International, the operator of Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, where she oversaw all legal affairs related to IP and licensing, marketing, media and sales, and compliance and responsibility programs. Previously, she was corporate counsel at Michelin North America, where she spent six years managing legal affairs related to credit, franchise agreements, IP, R&D, risk, audit and labor relations. She also spent seven years as an entertainment business attorney.
Richardson holds a juris doctor degree (JD) and B.A. from Georgetown University and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.