NEW YORK, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI) today announced the appointment of Lucy Fato, 47, as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective August 4, 2014.

She succeeds Kenneth M. Vittor, who will be retiring pursuant to the company's longstanding retirement policies for senior executives. Mr. Vittor has 33 years of outstanding service with the company, including leading the legal department as General Counsel since 1995.

"Lucy is a highly accomplished attorney and leader. Her broad experience, business acumen and strong record of building legal teams strengthen our deep and talented management team," said Douglas L. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of McGraw Hill Financial.

"I want to thank Ken for his numerous and important contributions, leadership and sound advice during his successful career with us. We wish him the very best," said Mr. Peterson.

Since 2005, Ms. Fato has served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Prior to joining Marsh & McLennan Companies, she was a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York.

Ms. Fato is a member of the board of directors of Amref Health Africa. She holds bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.

About McGraw Hill Financial:
McGraw Hill Financial is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 29 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

Investor Relations: http://investor.mhfi.com

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Contacts:

News Media:
Jason Feuchtwanger
Director, Corporate Media Relations
(212) 512-3151 (office)
jason.feuchtwanger@mhfi.com

Investor Relations:
Chip Merritt
Vice President, Investor Relations
(212) 512-4321 (office)
chip.merritt@mhfi.com

SOURCE McGraw Hill Financial