Laura Stein
Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs
and General Counsel
Mondelēz International
Laura Stein is Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Mondelēz International, a global snacking leader empowering people to snack right, with iconic brands including Oreo, belVita, and Ritz biscuits; Cadbury, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum. In her role, Stein oversees the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate reputation and ESG agendas, including public and government affairs, internal and external corporate communications, sustainability, community, foundation and security efforts.
Before joining Mondelēz International in January 2021, Stein led The Clorox Company’s global corporate affairs and legal functions as Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Affairs, with oversight of legal, compliance, risk management, internal audit, communications, government affairs, corporate responsibility/ESG, community affairs, crisis management, business continuity and security. She co-sponsored the cybersecurity program and sponsored the women’s employee resource group. Prior to her time at Clorox, Stein served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the H.J. Heinz Company, where she had oversight of legal, compliance, enterprise risk management and security matters. She sponsored Heinz’s women’s leadership group and was a director of Heinz Foundation.
Throughout her esteemed career, Stein has exemplified the highest ideals of the citizen-lawyer with her dedication to public service and her passion for equal justice and diversity.
At Mondelēz, Stein and her colleagues partner with purpose-led non-profit organizations and strategic law firm partners to provide pro bono services to youth, immigrants (including the Ukraine Advice Project), the homeless and sexual assault victims, among other pro bono work. Together, they are enhancing Mondelēz ’s global pro bono program, including launching a Latin America pro bono initiative in 2022. At Clorox, Stein had a key role in shaping the company’s corporate responsibility ethos. During her tenure, Clorox’s legal department transformed its pro bono efforts from largely individual pro bono matters worked on after hours to a formal pro bono program. Clorox’s pro bono participation grew to 50% of all U.S. legal staff in 2013, assisting victims of domestic violence, representing tenants in housing disputes, and providing reentry support to formerly incarcerated people, among other initiatives.
Stein has brought her wisdom, business acumen, and leadership to several public interest organizations. She serves on PBI’s Board of Directors and as co-chair of PBI’s Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board. She has served as chair of Equal Justice Works, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, and as vice-chair of the East Bay Community Law Center. Stein also has contributed her time and talents to the CEELI Institute (Central and Eastern European Law Initiative), the American Law Institute Council, the Leaders Council of the Legal Service Corporation, and the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, among others.
Stein is a director of JDE Peet’s, a Dutch public company that owns beverage brands, mostly coffee, tea and hot chocolate. She is a former director and former chair of the Pension Investment Committee and the Environmental, Safety and Security Committee of Canadian National Railway. In addition, she is a former director, former lead independent director and former chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of Franklin Resources, Inc., a global investment management organization known as Franklin Templeton, and is also a former director of Nash Finch Company.
Stein received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She has lived in Europe and China and speaks English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, as well as some French and Portuguese.
PBI is grateful to Laura Stein and Mondelēz International for their pro bono leadership!