Ally Financial hires top executive to be based in Charlotte

The parent company of Ally Bank this week named a new chief financial officer, in a move that keeps the position in Charlotte.

Detroit-based Ally Financial said Jennifer LaClair is joining it from PNC Financial Services Group, where she’s led that firm’s business banking operation in Pittsburgh, PNC’s headquarters city.

LaClair will join Ally on Monday and succeed Chris Halmy, who is retiring March 1, Ally said. She will report to Ally CEO Jeffrey Brown, who is also based in Charlotte.

Ally, parent of online-only Ally Bank, houses many of its top executives in Charlotte, its largest employment hub. The company has said about 1,700 of its employees are in the region.

Other high-ranking executives in Charlotte include Ally’s chief risk officer, treasurer, general counsel and head of consumer and commercial banking.

In September, Ally announced plans to consolidate the financial services firm’s Charlotte-area employees in a 26-story office tower to be built at Stonewall and Tryon streets. Ally Charlotte Center, which Ally will lease the majority of, is set to be finished by 2021, the bank has said.

Halmy joined Ally in 2009 as a structured funding executive. Before that, he worked as global funding executive at Charlotte-based Bank of America. In 2013 he was named CFO at Ally after serving as corporate treasurer.

Ally named LaClair to her current role over business banking in January. Prior to that, she was chief financial officer of PNC’s business units. Before joining PNC in 2007, she worked for consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Ally Financial hires top executive to be based in Charlotte."