Susan Fitzsimmons has served as Vice President and General Counsel of Christensen Development since 2019. Christensen Development has helped transform the commercial core of Central Iowa. The firm is taking a leading role in raising the urban profile of Greater Des Moines through its expertise and experience in creating new buildings and repurposing business properties. Prior to joining Christensen Development, Fitzsimmons served as Vice President and General Counsel of Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Inc., from 2009 to 2018. Fitzsimmons earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa and her Juris Doctorate from Drake Law School. She is a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.
Fitzsimmons was Vice President and General Counsel of Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Inc., serving from 2009 to 2018. Ruan is a Des Moines based transportation company with 230 locations nationwide and over 5000 associates. In her role at Ruan, Fitzsimmons provides legal oversight to the compliance, risk management, insurance procurement, environmental, contracts and real estate functions of Ruan’s transportation-related family of companies. She also provides legal support to the World Food Prize Foundation.
Throughout her career, Fitzsimmons has been an active volunteer and has served on a number of non-profit boards. She currently serves as President of the MercyOne Foundation board of directors. She is Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines’s board of directors and is a member of the ChildServe board of directors. In 2021 Fitzsimmons also served as a Chair of the United Way of Central Iowa’s Tocqueville Society.