Eversheds Sutherland has appointed corporate partner Keri Rees to head up the firm’s global company commercial practice group following Keith Froud’s appointment as managing partner, Legal Business has learned.
Midlands-based Rees (pictured), whose clients include Weinerberger, Rolls-Royce, Abbey Protection Group and The Grass Roots Group, currently leads the Midlands corporate team across Birmingham and Nottingham.
Meanwhile, the current head of Eversheds UK private equity team, Richard Moulton, will take over as head of the firm’s corporate and M&A team. A position also previously held by Froud.
Listed in the Legal 500 as a leading individual for corporate and commercial in Birmingham, Rees along with corporate partner Steven Hacking assisted Eurocell with its £175m main market initial public offering.
Recent transactions include Joules’ UK AIM market listing in May last year for £140m, the £180m disposal of Wiggle, the $54m acquisition of CareFusion by Natus Medical across 12 jurisdictions, advising HSS and management on the acquisition by Exponent PE and subsequent bolt on acquisitions and the sale of LPC Group to Sofidel s.p.a for an undisclosed sum.
Legal Business first revealed in November last year that Froud would take over as managing partner in May following the merging of both the managing partner and international managing partner roles.
Former international managing partner Ian Gray has been given the new role of executive partner, with a broad remit which includes being responsible for firmwide client strategy. Gray is currently the client partner for the firm’s sole adviser mandate with FTSE 100 water company Severn Trent, as well as the relationship with Vodafone.
Ranson, Froud and Gray will all sit on the firm’s global executive team along with legacy Sutherland managing partner Mark Wasserman partners Victor Haley and Thomas Gick; however Gick will be replaced in April by Cynthia Krus.
The global executive is overseen by a global board of ten people with equal representation from each firm. On the legacy Eversheds side Ranson, Froud and chairman Paul Smith sit on the global board along with two rotating members from their international board and regional managing partner team. Gick will sit on the board for legacy Sutherland alongside Wasserman, Robert Pile, Eric Tresh and Ben Clark with Krus replacing Gick next month.
kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk
Read more on the merger in: ‘Eversheds realises long-held US ambitions by combining with Sutherland’
