Professional Services 2025: CLAY, RUTH ‘PAIGE’

In 2024, Clay became global sales and client engagement leader for Marsh McLennan in addition to being a senior partner for its Mercer subsidiary. She develops sales and client engagement strategies for the Fortune 500 professional services firm’s four businesses, which collectively have more than 85,000 employees in about 130 countries; Mercer is one of those businesses. In May, Mercer announced it had acquired Secor Asset Management.

Prior to joining Mercer in 2011, Clay was senior vice president of global human resources at Encore Capital Group and chief people officer for Capital One Bank. She also was vice president of operations for Capital One, running large customer service centers in Virginia and Florida.

Clay serves on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board, which she chaired in 2020, and on the advisory board for Virginia Tech’s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs.

She has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Clay is certified by the Society for Human Resource Management as a senior professional in human resources, is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and earned an NACD Directorship Certification.

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