Insurance giant Aon has appointed Jenner & Block partner Michael Wolf as vice president and chief counsel, corporate, in a role that will see him assume global responsibility for all corporate transactions including M&A, divestures, joint ventures, partnerships and strategic alliances.
At Aon, which in January 2012 moved its corporate headquarters to London and has 65,000 staff across 120 countries providing risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, Wolf will report to executive vice president and general counsel Peter Lieb.
Prior to joining Aon, Wolf was a partner in Jenner & Block’s Chicago headquarters, where he concentrated on corporate and transactional law and led on transactions including the sale of General Motors to the U.S. Treasury. Before joining Jenner in 2003 as an associate, Wolf was with Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago.
Lieb said: ‘Michael brings the perfect set of skills and experience to achieve success in this role.
‘In a world where the magnitude, complexity and speed of risk management have increased exponentially, Michael’s seasoned leadership on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, securities compliance issues, and corporate governance will add tremendous value to our firm. We are pleased to have him join the Aon team.’
Firms that have acted for Aon include Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which advised the company on the relocation of its corporate headquarters led by corporate partner Julian Long.
A further senior in-house appointment has seen Channel 4 promote former head of legal and compliance Prash Naik to the new role of general counsel as part of an overhaul of its legal team.
Naik, who is in his 20th year with the broadcaster, having joined after just three years in private practice at now defunct firm DJ Freeman, will report to C4’s head of commercial affairs Martin Baker along with chief executive David Abrahams and chairman Lord Burns.
In his new role – alongside his existing responsibilities overseeing the legal & compliance department – Naik will now also take responsibility for the corporate legal team, working on corporate governance, data protection, freedom of information and regulatory issues.
Baker said: ‘Under Prash’s leadership, Channel 4’s legal and compliance team are rightly acclaimed as industry leaders and I’m delighted that he is taking on this new and expanded brief.’
The overhaul has seen new roles introduced, including that of controller of business affairs, which was filled last week by the BBC’s former head of legal, commercial and business affairs John Moran.
Moran began his career as a barrister in London before becoming a legal advisor within HM Treasury, joining the BBC in 1999 where he began as a legal advisor in the regulatory team.
Baker added: ‘John joins us with a terrific track record and will be invaluable in ensuring we deliver a first class business affairs service to our colleagues in the commissioning team and our independent suppliers.’
Recent triumphs for the C4 legal team led by Naik have included securing the necessary legal requirements to broadcast controversial programmes such as Drugs Live, which tested 25 volunteers taking Class A drug MDMA, and Plane Crash, which crashed a Boeing 727 to study the effect on test dummies.
caroline.hill@legalease.co.uk
francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk
