Kim M. Rivera, the chief legal officer and general counsel for HP Inc., manages the company’s worldwide legal department and is responsible for all aspects of legal, government affairs, compliance and ethics. She has 20 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies regarding significant corporate transactions and governance, securities, compliance, risk management, audit and litigation matters.
She also serves as a member of HP’s inaugural Global Diversity Advisory Board, comprising the company’s senior thought leaders from around the globe who are driving actions that advance its vision of belonging, innovation and growth.
Under Rivera’s leadership, HP is disrupting the system, with the intention of creating more opportunities for diversity in the legal profession. In 2016, she was one of three Fortune 500 general counsels who publicly called on outside counsel to scrutinize law firms’ diversity demographics and inclusion policies as part of the ABA president’s Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission. In 2017, she implemented HP’s innovative “diversity holdback” requirement, allowing HP to withhold a percentage of its U.S. law firm fees for as long as a firm does not meet diverse staffing requirements. The program ignited a national conversation about the effectiveness of law firm diversity and inclusion efforts.
Her commitment to diversity and inclusion, and her dedication to supporting the Latino community and underrepresented groups are the driving forces behind Rivera’s very visible support of overall diversity. Her goal is to create and drive culture that will build teams in Legal and across the company that are rich in diversity and inclusive of everyone.
Passionate about giving back to the community, Rivera has served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the California Latino Community Foundation and the Denver Metro Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She is a frequent speaker on diversity and inclusion in business and in the legal profession, with emphasis on women in leadership.
Rivera’s advice to others building careers? “Be curious, never judge a book by its cover; turn who you are into your most powerful tool for achieving your goals and objectives.”
My all time favorite boss is still looking good and sucsesful. Good to see you are doing great. I like the way you wear your hair. From a voice from the past.