by Susan Gemmill

In the twenty-first century business world, where corporations have come under scrutiny, there are more and more companies paying attention to their civic responsibilities. One company, ING, has made this a guiding principal. ING Americas invests significant time and effort contributing to communities across the nation; particularly in those areas where they have corporate offices. They deliberately and purposely take positive steps to be fully engaged. The reality is that for every Enron, Tyco or WorldCom, a majority of companies project the opposite of what we’ve come to expect; a “good citizen” corporation, if you will. ING is such a corporation. It goes beyond the day-to-day quest for the bottom line and reaches into the community to participate and educate. In short, ING is a company that aspires to raise everyone’s standards. Their hiring practices and corporate volunteerism are a direct reflection of this attitude.

ING is a global financial services company of Dutch origin with 112,000 employees in over 50 different countries and more than $500 billion in assets. The company assists clients with their banking, asset management, insurance and retirement planning needs. Today it also boasts one of the most clever and creative ad campaigns. Corporate headquarters remain in the Netherlands while ING Americas calls Atlanta home.

Although it is generally the CEO who sets the tone and standard for a corporation, another position that is key to good citizenship is that of the legal counsel. The CEO depends upon his/her legal counsel to help steer the ethical course of the company. At ING Americas, that person is Rhonda Mims, Vice President and Counsel for ING Americas External Affairs.

“I like the culture that our CEO, Tom McInerney, sets here,” explains Mims. “We consider ourselves to be fresh thinkers, always on the cutting edge, and his vision is for us to be ahead of the game. When we look at a problem… to look at it from a fresh perspective; to deal with it in a different way.” Mims finds McInerney approachable and reasonable and patterns her own corporate persona after his example, “Tom is a very smart person in a powerful position who isn’t arrogant,” she says. “ And, I feel that he is trying to advance my career.” That’s a good man to have in anyone’s corner.

In her capacity as Counsel, Mims instructs senior management and other employees with ING on what they can and cannot do with regard to the giving and receiving of gifts and entertainment. When it comes to business ethics, Mims is crystal clear: “Make sure that you are always following the rules very carefully; there should never be a gray area. If there is a question, you can’t do it.” In this function, Mims has to keep up with what’s going on in the 50 states as well as the municipalities. This is just a fraction of her duties at ING.

“The External Affairs Division is comprised of Federal and State Government Affairs,” explains Mims, who has been with the company since 2000. “Community Relations falls within this same division.” As part of her responsibilities in government affairs, Mims works with people in several Midwestern states tracking and drafting legislation. “I concentrate on Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin; basically the Great Lakes region.” She also lobbies on behalf of the company when it’s appropriate and oftentimes handles regulatory filings in states where ING is registered to lobby.

Mims’ love for government affairs began in elementary school. After a 4th grade class trip to the State Capitol of South Carolina in Columbia, she returned home and declared to her parents that she wanted to work in government. “I just fell in love with it,” Mims recalls, “I loved being in the capitol. I don’t know why government fascinates me so. I always liked history as a child, the way government functions, and I guess that just evolved into the whole political process. It’s an exciting world for me.”

Mims didn’t get into government straight away, however. In high school, she tried journalism on for size ultimately ruling it out as a career choice. Finally, while in college, she returned to her first love. “I fell back on my government interest and studied political science,” says Mims. She received both her Bachelor of Science Degree and her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina. Her decision to go to law school rather than pursue a Masters in Public Administration was characteristically made after careful consideration. “I thought law would open more doors; that I could get into the business world if I eventually wanted to go that route,” Mims explains.

In fact, whenever Mims is intrigued by something, she develops a plan and pursues it. She credits her law school training in analytical thinking as a means to determine the best route to a goal. “If you are trying to get into a new area,” Mims advises, “The best way to sell yourself is to tap into the resources you have already acquired in order to get you to the next point.” As her career developed Mims stayed in touch with government contacts she had made along the way.

From 1995-1997, Mims was head of the Prosecution Division for the State of South Carolina Office of Attorney General. In that capacity, she oversaw the prosecution of securities and tax violations and the development of several community-oriented programs. Her boss at the time was former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon.

“In 1994, after being elected to my first term as Attorney General for South Carolina, I appointed Rhonda to my transition team,” Condon recalls. “I asked her to head up our Prosecution Section – ultimately giving her responsibility for approximately 35 employees. At the age of 27, Rhonda was probably one of the youngest individuals to have such a huge responsibility and she handled it with ease.”

In addition to handling some high-profile cases around the state, Mims led the Prosecution Section in developing a Youth Mentor Program, School Violence Program, Victim/Witness Program, and a Violence Against Women Program. “Rhonda is without a doubt a capable individual,” beams Condon. “I would be glad to have her on my team anytime.” In support of that sentiment, in 1997, Mims received the Daniel R. McLeod Award for outstanding service to the State of South Carolina and for her efforts in prosecuting white-collar crimes for the state’s Department of Revenue.

Prior to joining ING, Mims served as a litigation attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and as a Senior Attorney with the National District Attorney Association’s American Prosecutor’s Research Institute (NDAA/APRI). Living in Washington D.C. served as inspiration for Mims. “To witness a motorcade or notice the presence of helicopters preceding Air Force One is something you can’t take for granted. There’s also something about the monuments that really touch my heart.”

Working in the city with the heaviest concentration of lawyers in the nation had a lasting effect on Mims. “You are exposed to the brightest and the best and realize that you have a chance to compete with them,” she says. “It helps you grow and build your self-confidence. It’s an incredible experience.”

Very early in her career, as a prosecutor for the state of South Carolina, Mims was engaged in a high profile, televised trial. In addition, during the OJ Simpson trial, Mims was asked to make regular on air commentary remarks on the case. “I still have opportunities to deal with the media,” she explains, “and it still intrigues me.”

There have been and continue to be many role models in Mim’s life. Her maternal great-grandfather was a farmer and entrepreneur who acquired a lot of land which was, Mims recognizes, “significant for an African American during the early 1900s.” He was also a community leader and involved with the NAACP. Her maternal grandfather was the epitome of the ultimate family man. “In spite of working long hours,” remembers Mims, “he was able to devote a great deal of time to the rearing of his children and grandchildren.” Over the last four years, Mims watched as her grandmother fought multiple diseases with “an enormous amount of strength, style and grace.” Her death gave Mims an opportunity to reflect on her childhood, “I can truly say it was the best.” The legacy from her paternal grandfather includes having a church in North Augusta, S.C. named after the family, “The Mims Baptist church is close to 100 years old,” Mims explains, “and they are now building a new church.” It is a legacy that is still striving.

“My parents, Robert and Annie Mims, are my biggest role models,” says Mims. “I model my behavior after both of my parents. My mother is my confidant, counselor and, of course, an incredible mother.” Mims has also learned a lot from her father. “He has an incredible work ethic – he never gives up. He gets what he wants but he works for it. He’s either at meetings, at church or doing something for others without thinking about it. I think I learned my work/life balance from my Dad but mostly, I would like to pattern myself after him; how he cares for others. I haven’t made it yet.” Perhaps, one of Mims’ greatest assets is her modesty.

Within the company, Mims has many champions such as former General Counsel Kathy Murphy. “I like the fact that she’s relatively young and able to handle huge responsibilities. I can relate to her on that standpoint and can usually bounce questions off of her,” says Mims. Robert Bolchoz hired Mims to be an assistant attorney general in South Carolina. Today, he handles government affairs for ING in the southeast. “He always makes great recommendations,” says Mims thankfully, “I can always rely on his sound judgment.” Kevin Brown is the senior vice president for External Affairs at ING Americas and Mims reports directly to him on government and external affairs. “He’s a great sounding board, hs been around a lot and knows the political game,” she says. “I can usually rely on him for questions I can’t take to anybody else.”

This being an election year, Mims has seen more filing activity than usual. “We are always trying to predict what’s likely to happen if a different party takes office,” she says. Mims reserves Sunday mornings for church and then the news shows and papers so that she can keep up-to-date on what’s going on in the nation and the world that will affect the industry.

Mims’ counterpart, Robert Bolchoz in Hartford, Connecticut, handles the state of Georgia. Because ING is headquartered in Atlanta, Mims works together with Bolchoz on matters that cover the entire state, tracking issues that might be “hot” for the city on behalf of the company such as water and the G8 Summit.

Mims is also President of the ING Foundation, head of Community Relations and Treasurer/Administrator for ING’s Political Action Committee (PAC).

As President of the ING Foundation, Mims is responsible for the governance and administration of the Foundation. 𠇏inancial literacy is a major focus of the Foundation,” Mims explains. 𠇊 large segment of my job is to identify grant opportunities. We dedicate approximately 30% of our funding to financial literacy initiatives for women, children and other underserved populations.”

Among the bigger national organizations that ING supports are Operation HOPE Banking on our Future, Junior Achievement, the Young Americans Banking Program, the YWCA Money Conference and the National Convention on Community Justice (NCCJ).

John Bryant is the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, an organization whose mission statement is “Combating poverty through education.” Bryant works closely with Mims and says, “Rhonda Mims is that rare leader who has both vision and the ability to act on it. She is not a Black leader, but a good leader who happens also to be Black – and proud of it I might add. One of the few presidents of a major foundation in this country, Rhonda is not overly impressed with herself, always making herself available to serve others. It is with this in mind that we recently confirmed her as our newest director-elect to our Northeast Regional Board of Directors for Operation HOPE. In short, Rhonda is a leader sincerely and passionately committed to making a difference in our community.”

As Head of Community Relations, Mims oversees the Community Relations Advisory Committee grant review process. ȁI’m responsible for corporate charitable sponsorships, the 9 ING volunteer teams across the nation, the development of an overall company U.S. community relations strategy, the United Way campaign and the administration of our Community and Volunteer Matching Gifts Program.”

In the publication, ING in Society, the company highlights what it does globally in the communities where it does business. 𠇏or the US, we try to figure out what is important to our customers, employees and to the nation as a whole,” Mims explains. “What we’ve discovered is that financial education is lacking in the educational system.” As she sees it, the biggest gap is that between high school student and college. Mims is motivated by the facts. College students leave college with the burden of student loans. To add credit card debt to that burden is destructive. “You start off your life behind the Eight ball,” she says, “I’m going to try and do something about that, eventually.”

A search of ING’s website reveals a commitment to financial education in three categories: Community, Education and Workplace. In addition, the company has a strong volunteer program. In 2003, ING employees across the nation volunteered over 8,000 hours to efforts such as Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club and delivering meals to the homebound elderly.

As for being a young African American woman who has achieved a high-powered job, Mims easily acknowledges what it took for her to get where she is. “Hard work, flexibility, good parenting and, of course, the blessing from God and being in his favor.” She is going to accomplish a lot more before she is through. Blessed with tremendous support from both business and personal relationships, and an unwavering faith, Mims continues to pave the way for the rest of Corporate America. From trying DUI cases to briefing Attorney General Janet Reno, to advising senior staff at ING Americas, Mims is clear about her place in the world.

“I think people can easily let positions and power go to their heads,” Mims observes. “It’s important to me to have a great job and to have a wonderful work environment but it’s not the complete story of who Rhonda Mims is.” She likes what she does, enjoys her work and loves being with family and friends. Currently, Mims is hitting the gym in preparation of her winter wedding to James Simpson and reading Bill Clinton’s autobiography, My Life. In her down time, Mims enjoys watching Law & Order Special Victims Unit (fiancé Simpson claims she is addicted to the show) and shopping. “I also love to travel!” she adds exuberantly.

As John Bryant says whole-heartedly, “Rhonda Mims is, without question, a Woman Looking Ahead!”