Assistant General Counsel of Global Ethics and Compliance, PPG
Photo by Robin DeNoma.
By Jean Hardiman
As Gretchen Roos was finishing up high school in Pittsburgh and deciding where to attend college, her parents gave her one guideline. They drew a circle with a 90-mile radius around Pittsburgh and told her to choose a college within that circle.
She chose West Virginia University (WVU) for her undergraduate degree and, after taking an inspiring class in constitutional law, decided to attend WVU College of Law as well. There, she gained the foundation for a law career in which she now counsels colleagues around the globe.
Roos serves as assistant general counsel of global ethics and compliance for PPG, a global manufacturer of paints, stains and coatings, based in Pittsburgh.
“We have over 50,000 employees in 59 countries, which presents a variety of ethics and compliance challenges,” Roos says. “I love the job because it is endlessly fascinating and never the same day to day. The ethical and compliance issues presented by the range of cultures, businesses and employees are unique and intellectually challenging. It provides an opportunity to both make a difference in individual lives and impact the culture of the company.”
For Roos, it was a winding journey to the field of law. As a child, she saw herself as a teacher. In high school, she considered social work. After earning her undergraduate degree at WVU and spending the following year working for the City of Morgantown, Roos started law school, which was certainly a different experience.
“At the outset, what was most challenging was the fact that your entire grade for the semester was based almost exclusively on your final exam,” she says. “That was a major change from undergrad, and the stress level going into the first semester finals was significant. It was a challenge to balance all
the reading and work required for class with a job I had for the city attorney’s office. On the plus side, I met my future husband in our first class on the first day of law school.”
While she knew the study of law would be interesting, Roos hadn’t given much thought to what area of practice she’d follow upon graduation. When she graduated from the WVU College of Law in 1987, she started her career in litigation at a large firm.
“While I enjoyed it, I didn’t see a sustainable career as a trial lawyer,” she recalls. “When an opportunity came to go in-house, I was attracted to both the consistency of the hours, even if still long, and the collaboration that would come with working on behalf of a single client.”
Roos has had a variety of jobs at PPG—litigation, commercial attorney, e-discovery counsel and now assistant general counsel of global ethics and compliance.
“I’ve learned from all of them—principally how to construct defensible positions and support them succinctly,” she says.
At PPG, Roos also serves as one of the diversity, equity and inclusion ambassadors for the company. She’s also co-chair of its intellectual property security committee.
Finding the balance between work and parenting was a challenge after the births of her three children, but she managed by going to a four-day work week.
“At the time, I was told that I was the most senior person in the company with a part-time schedule,” she says. “It was not easy as any reduced schedule was uncommon—and not necessarily embraced—at the time, but we had a great general counsel at the company who was very supportive, which was extremely helpful. I managed that for 18 years, when my youngest was finishing middle school, and am forever appreciative that he was willing to support me.”
It’s been a rewarding career, especially knowing the potential positive impact she can make on someone’s life.
“Ethical misconduct that is not timely and appropriately addressed can have significant repercussions for the company and, in individual cases, for the victim—not only in the workplace but in their personal life,” Roos says. “Having the opportunity to provide legal counsel in order to reduce these risks for the company and its employees is very rewarding.”
Roos stays busy outside of law as well. She lives north of Pittsburgh and enjoys the city’s sports, arts, outdoor recreation and great restaurants.
“It’s also still close to West Virginia, so I can easily visit Morgantown for football and basketball games and to visit friends,” she says.
Roos and her family are avid travelers, having been throughout Europe and to Israel, South Africa, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Cuba and, many times, to Peru, where Roos carries on a family tradition of charitable service in the city of Chimbote.
“This commitment is critical to me,” she says. “I was raised by two parents who greatly valued service to the community and particularly those in need.”
Chimbote, Peru, is a city of over 300,000 residents located eight hours north of Lima. In the early 1960s, Roos’ uncle, Monsignor Jules Roos, was one of a small group of missionary priests who learned of the extremely high infant mortality rate and lack of health care there, particularly for the poor.
“They built a three-room medical clinic to provide care for the migrants moving into Chimbote’s swelling slums,” Roos says. “Over the next 50 years, he and two nuns built the Center for Social Works—a maternity hospital that has had over 100,000 births, an outpatient clinic serving over 1,000 residents per day, a home for abandoned and neglected children and a home visiting service to take medical care on-site to those in the slums.”
Her father, Ken, was the architect for many of the buildings at the center. For 13 years, Roos has been a member of the board of the Chimbote Foundation, which provides financial support to sustain the center. Most recently, she chaired a 17-member ad hoc committee to develop a strategic plan and fundraising campaign that raised over $1 million to build a new clinic and increase the mission’s outreach and improve services to the poor of Chimbote.
“I would say that the accolade that meant the most to me was the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Papal Honor, which I received in 2017,” Roos says. “The award is the highest honor that can be awarded to the laity by the pope and was given for my long-standing work on behalf of the poor in Chimbote, Peru.”
Roos was also actively involved for several years in the American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life, serving as co-chair for two years and team captain for several more years to honor two friends that died of cancer at young ages.
She said she’s also fortunate to have been involved in pro bono activities throughout her career. Along with pro bono work for the Chimbote Foundation, she has handled protection from abuse cases and represented clients in indigent divorce proceedings. Roos also has led a Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program with colleagues at PPG in an effort to teach high school students about law in hopes of increasing diversity in the legal profession.
“My parents instilled in my four siblings and me that we were very blessed and had a responsibility to always help those less fortunate,” Roos says. “Besides causes that are very personal to me—like the Chimbote Foundation and ACS Relay for Life—my interest is in supporting causes that promote social justice, the environment and animals.”
