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NEWARK, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) has named Michele C. Meyer-Shipp vice president and chief diversity officer. In this role, she will be responsible for leading and directing all diversity and inclusion initiatives for the company, and for ensuring ongoing compliance with federal and state equal employment opportunity/affirmative action laws and requirements.

"Advancing our work in this important area requires strong leadership, and Michele is ideally suited for this role. She has a unique blend of experience in the diversity and inclusion and EEO/affirmative action space, as well as a recognized passion for this work."

aPrudential has a proud heritage of embracing diversity and inclusion as a key part of our business strategy,a said Sharon Taylor, senior vice president, Human Resources. aAdvancing our work in this important area requires strong leadership, and Michele is ideally suited for this role. She has a unique blend of experience in the diversity and inclusion and EEO/affirmative action space, as well as a recognized passion for this work.a

Meyer-Shipp joined Prudential in April 2010 as vice president and counsel in the Employment and Labor Law Group. In this role, she provided legal advice, counsel, training and investigative support to several lines of business on a variety of employment and human resources related matters.

Prior to joining Prudential, Meyer-Shipp served as General Counsel of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, an Instrumentality of the States of New York and New Jersey. Previously, Meyer-Shipp spent four years at Merrill Lynch. In her last role, she led the diversity and inclusion efforts of the Global Wealth Management business.

Before Merrill Lynch, Meyer-Shipp served as Director of the State of New Jerseyas Division of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Prior to joining the ranks of public service, Meyer-Shipp was in private practice with the law firms of Collier, Jacob & Mills, P.C. and Lowenstein, Sandler, P.C. in Roseland, N.J. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University School of Law.

Meyer-Shipp graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1995. She served as Law Clerk to the Honorable James H. Coleman, Jr. of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Meyer-Shipp is an active member of several professional associations including the Association of Corporate Counsel, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, National Employment Law Council Conference, and Society for Human Resource Management. Recently, she was honored as one of the aMost Powerful & Influential Women of the Tri-State Areaa by The Tri-State Diversity Council.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $961 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2012, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudentialas diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudentialas iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit [ http://www.news.prudential.com/ ].