St. Paul, Minn. - Merrill Corporation, a global diversified communications and document services provider, today announced the promotion of Brenda Vale to vice president, Human Resources. Vale will be based in St. Paul and serve as a corporate officer of the company, reporting directly to Rick Atterbury, Merrill's president and chief operating officer. She will succeed Kathy Larkin who has been promoted to senior vice president of operations for the Company's Document Management Services business. "We are delighted to add Brenda to our executive management team. Brenda brings to this position a unique perspective having worked closely with Merrill's diverse businesses and their operational challenges and opportunities," said Atterbury. "Brenda will play a strategic role in ensuring we continue to attract and retain exceptional talent within Merrill." "In my new role, I will be focusing on integrating Human Resources into the businesses of Merrill as a true operational business partner," said Vale. "We share the belief that people are the key to Merrill's future success and that Human Resources must be partnered in the planning and execution of our business goals and targets." Vale joined Merrill in 1998 in a Human Resources capacity. Most recently, Vale was the company's vice president of Strategic Sourcing where she was instrumental in leading many cost-saving processes and initiatives and establishing strategic business partnerships with key vendors. Vale holds a B.A. degree in Business from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas (1998).