US personal care company Kimberly-Clark Corporation has rehired Grant McGee to become its general counsel, replacing chief legal officer Jeff Melucci, who will now focus on his role as chief business and transformation officer.

McGee rejoins from American Airlines, where he spent just under two years as deputy GC and corporate secretary having left Kimberly-Clark in 2022. As GC, he will lead all legal, public policy, government affairs, compliance and security matters for the company, serving as primary legal advisor to the board and executive leadership team. Kimberly-Clark, which is based in Irving, Texas, owns household brand names including Kleenex, Andrex and Huggies nappies, and makes paper towel dispensers often found in public lavatories.

Mike Hsu, Kimberly-Clark’s chairman and CEO, said: “We are fortunate that Grant is returning to Kimberly-Clark. He is already a well-known and well-respected leader at our company. He has the depth of legal and enterprise experience needed to serve as general counsel, and I look forward to partnering with him as we continue to accelerate the next phase of our growth strategy.”

McGee spent just under seven years at Kimberly-Clark during his first spell with the company, initially joining as associate GC before working his way up to deputy in 2017 and then senior deputy in 2020. Prior to his time at Kimberly-Clark, McGee spent just over four years at GE, where he was executive counsel for GE Aviation’s M&A activities and GC for GE Aviation’s Mechanical Systems and Power business units. He started his career in private practice at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, where he specialised in M&A and securities.

He said: “Kimberly-Clark has a clear, purpose-led growth agenda. I’m looking forward to working with Mike, Jeff and the rest of our teams around the world to bring that purpose to life for the benefit of our consumers and stakeholders.”

McGee will report directly to his predecessor Melucci, who has been at Kimberly-Clark for more than a decade, first joining as deputy GC before becoming GC in 2017 and then CLO and chief business development officer in 2020. Melucci was also previously at GE Aviation, where he worked alongside McGee as GC for Aviation Systems and Aviation Business Development. He started out as a litigation associate at Frost Brown Todd.