Lam Research Corporation announced that Ava Harter has joined its executive leadership team as senior vice president and chief legal officer. Reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Archer, Harter will oversee all of Lam's legal functions as well as government and regulatory affairs. Harter most recently served as executive vice president and chief legal officer at Whirlpool Corporation where she held enterprise-wide responsibility for global legal matters, as well as security and claims for the company.

Previously, she served as General Counsel at Owens Corning and oversaw legal, corporate affairs and government affairs. Prior to that, Harter held substantial legal roles at General Electric and Dow Chemical. She also worked at the law firms of Jones Day and Thompson Hine and was an adjunct professor at the Case Western Reserve University Law School.

Harter holds a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law, a master's in sociology from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor's in political science from Northwestern University.