The latest corporate to boost its in-house legal capabilities through a high-profile recruit is Boston Consulting Group (BCG) which has appointed Ulrike Schwarz-Runer from property development company Grosvenor as global general counsel.
Specialised in cross-border corporate and M&A transactions, corporate governance and legal risk management, Schwarz-Runer (pictured) will be responsible for the firm’s legal affairs and report to chief executive Rich Lesser. She will also be a member of the firm’s executive committee, as well as other core management committees and company boards.
Schwarz-Runer, who will be based in London, joins BCG having previously served as general counsel and board executive at Grosvenor, one of the UK’s largest privately held businesses, and a sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East. A member of the 2013 GC Power List, at Grosvenor she was particularly focused on her role as a member of the company’s board.
The property development company recruited Schwarz-Run from government-owned Dubai Holdings as its first general counsel in 2010. Before her stint at Dubai Holdings, was a corporate lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and US firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, as well as an executive director at Goldman Sachs in New York, London and Frankfurt.
In October last year it emerged BCG had lost its UK legal chief Jeremy Barton to accountancy giant KPMG where he was appointed UK general counsel and succeeded longstanding head Vanessa Sharp.
Lesser said: ‘As we continue to grow and to expand our capabilities to support our clients in a changing business environment, I am very pleased to have Ulrike join our team. Her international background and diverse leadership experience will be key to success in our continued pursuits across industries and regions.’
Other big moves within the in-house community of late includes group general counsel (GC) Clare Wardle who was recruited by new soft drink entity Coca-Cola European Partners as GC and company secretary.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
