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Law360 (April 13, 2020, 6:00 PM EDT) -- The general counsel at Ascena Retail Group Inc. has left the business, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, less than two weeks after the Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant parent company announced furloughs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wendy Hufford, the senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary who joined Ascena in October 2018, departed from the company Friday, according to the Wednesday SEC filing.
"Upon execution and non-revocation of a separation agreement and general release with the company, Ms. Hufford will be entitled to severance benefits under the company's Executive Severance Plan," Ascena said in the filing.
Ascena did not immediately respond to request for comment as to the reason Hufford left Ascena, her future career plans and her possible replacement at the company.
Hufford's departure comes as the majority of consumer-facing businesses have either closed indefinitely or are open with limited operations, such as delivery or curbside services.
In the wake of the escalation of the novel coronavirus, the Mahwah, New Jersey-based Ascena, which also features brands including Loft and Lou & Grey and operates about 2,800 stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, decided to furlough "all store associates and close to half of its corporate associates," according to a March 30 announcement.
Similar to other companies, Ascena has also reduced compensation for certain individuals. Executives and corporate associates above a certain salary took cuts ranging from 10% to 50%, depending on base pay, according to the March 30 announcement.
Before she joined Ascena in 2018, Hufford worked at Boehringer Ingelheim USA, where she was the chief operating officer of the legal department and vice president of U.S. litigation, risk management and human resources.
A graduate of Yale Law School, she also worked in-house at Cardinal Health Inc., a division of GE, and what is now ITT Inc., according to her LinkedIn profile.
Earlier in her career, Hufford had a stint in private practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
As companies across sectors respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, some are making changes to their in-house departments. For example, general counsel at Marriott International and Macy's are among the top corporate lawyers who in recent weeks started shouldering pay reductions to share the pain and help their businesses stay afloat amid the outbreak.
--Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
