Professional Bio

Thomas Merchant is deputy general counsel and head of compliance at Franklin Templeton, where he oversees global regulatory compliance, internal audit, internal controls review, and legal contracts review, leading nearly 200 employees worldwide. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2020 when it acquired Legg Mason, where he had served as general counsel. Merchant has led legal aspects of more than twenty-five acquisitions and dispositions, including a $3.7 billion transaction with Citigroup. He began his career as a corporate associate at Shearman & Sterling and earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law (1993). He and his wife, Jill, are proud Penn State parents, and he actively mentors students and supports the Paterno Fellows Program.