Richard Steele began his tenure as Moody’s Corp.’s senior vice president and general counsel on Sept. 5.

Steele, who previously served as the GC of Moody’s Analytics, joins the corporation’s executive leadership team in his new role.

He will oversee the global legal and compliance functions for the parent company of credit rating giant Moody’s Investors Service, according to a Moody’s press release.

Steele succeeds John Goggins, who is retiring after more than 24 years with the company.

Background

Steele has extensive experience at Moody’s, having joined Moody’s KMV in 2006 as chief legal officer. 

He then was named general counsel of Moody’s Analytics when it was formed in 2008.

In that role, Steele led more than 30 acquisitions, divestitures or strategic investments from 2008-2022, according to his LinkedIn page.

He also guided Moody’s Analytics go-to-market strategies as the company “evolved from a distributor of credit research to a leading provider of data, analytics, and insights as part of Moody’s global integrated risk offerings,” according to the company press release.

“Rich has played an integral role in the creation and expansion of Moody’s Analytics throughout the past 15 years, providing critical legal support for new product development, sales, and acquisitions,” said Rob Fauber, Moody’s President and CEO, in a prepared statement. 

“His long history supporting the growth and evolution of our business, his deep experience with intellectual property and technology matters, including as a key adviser for important aspects of our artificial intelligence strategy, and his thorough understanding of the litigation and regulatory landscape will help ensure Moody’s is well positioned for the future,” Fauber continued in his statement about Steele.

Moody’s is actively recruiting for Steele’s prior position as GC of Moody’s Analytics, a spokesman said. 

Prior experience

Before joining Moody’s, Steele held several senior in-house legal positions at firms specializing in financial technology, software, and venture capital, including MSCI Barra.

He also previously worked as a corporate lawyer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Steele represented a range of public and private high-tech companies in venture capital, mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions, the Moody’s press release said.

CFO post

The general counsel position is not the only executive post in which there has been a recent transition at Moody’s.

The company announced in August that CFO Mark Kaye was resigning effective Sept. 5.

Caroline Sullivan has since stepped in to serve as interim chief financial officer.