In-house: Skyscanner lands former Deliveroo legal chief as GC and company secretary

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In-house: Skyscanner lands former Deliveroo legal chief as GC and company secretary

Recently departed Deliveroo legal chief Rob Miller has been named Skyscanner’s general counsel (GC) and company secretary following Carolyn Jameson’s departure from the high-profile travel metasearch company earlier this year.

Miller (pictured) will oversee Skyscanner’s global legal, regulatory and public affairs function, leading a team of 12 lawyers, and comes as the Scotland-based company embarks on a strategic shift. GC Powerlist-regular Jameson was at the company for six years and was involved in the company’s £1.4bn acquisition by Chinese online travel giant ctrip.com in 2016. Continue reading “In-house: Skyscanner lands former Deliveroo legal chief as GC and company secretary”

In-house: former Worldpay GC becomes FTSE 100 company’s first legal head as BlackRock’s European GC departs

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In-house: former Worldpay GC becomes FTSE 100 company’s first legal head as BlackRock’s European GC departs

Adding to a recent spate of high-profile in-house moves, Ruwan de Soyza (pictured) has joined FTSE 100 company Halma as its first general counsel (GC) and company secretary, while the highly-rated Erica Handling has left funds manager BlackRock.

De Soyza announced in November he was leaving payment processing company Worldpay after nearly eight years for a FTSE 100 technology company. Continue reading “In-house: former Worldpay GC becomes FTSE 100 company’s first legal head as BlackRock’s European GC departs”

In-house: Rio Tinto GC to retire as Transferwise and ASOS legal heads depart

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In-house: Rio Tinto GC to retire as Transferwise and ASOS legal heads depart

Multiple general counsel (GCs) have stepped down from their posts this week, including the legal heads of FTSE 100 mining company Rio Tinto, fintech company Transferwise and online retailer ASOS.

Rio Tinto said on Monday (1 July) Philip Richards will retire as group GC of the global mining giant at the end of December after two years in the role. He will be replaced by Barbara Levi, who is group legal head of M&A and strategic transactions at Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, from 1 January 2020. Continue reading “In-house: Rio Tinto GC to retire as Transferwise and ASOS legal heads depart”

Time for a change: well-regarded BAML European legal chief departs for EY

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Time for a change: well-regarded BAML European legal chief departs for EY

The long-serving EMEA general counsel (GC) at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has stepped down after 14 years to join Big Four accounting firm EY.

Sajid Hussein, a GC Powerlist regular, will join EY as a partner and GC for Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa (EMEIA) from 1 July. Continue reading “Time for a change: well-regarded BAML European legal chief departs for EY”

Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?

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Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?

‘People are so scared to talk about race in the UK,’ Linklaters senior partner Charlie Jacobs says. ‘They think it’s a landmine they’re going to walk straight into, so they’d rather avoid it entirely.’

A landmine – easy to lay but hard to get rid of – which has seen Big Law for years avoid a substantive discussion around ethnic diversity. Gender is already an uncomfortable topic for the industry, yet not so uncomfortable that it has obscured increasingly intense scrutiny of the profession’s poor record promoting female partners. In contrast, ethnic diversity at the upper reaches of commercial law is rarely addressed head-on, being submerged in the wider ‘D&I’ discussion. Continue reading “Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?”

In-house: Facebook appoints US State Department adviser as new GC

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In-house: Facebook appoints US State Department adviser as new GC

Social media giant Facebook has recruited Jennifer Newstead (pictured), a legal adviser to the US State Department, as its new general counsel (GC) after incumbent GC Colin Stretch announced his intention to leave last July.

Newstead was appointed a legal adviser to the State Department by President Donald Trump, with her new role likely to be just as challenging as Facebook faces increasing criticism for how it handles its data across its vast social network. Continue reading “In-house: Facebook appoints US State Department adviser as new GC”

In-house round-up: New GCs for Royal Mail, Sky and Deliveroo

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In-house round-up: New GCs for Royal Mail, Sky and Deliveroo

Royal Mail, Sky and Deliveroo have all made senior legal hires in a busy period for in-house recruitment.

Royal Mail has filled the void left following former general counsel (GC) Maaike de Bie’s departure to easyJet, hiring in-house veteran Mark Amsden as its group GC and chief risk and governance officer. Continue reading “In-house round-up: New GCs for Royal Mail, Sky and Deliveroo”

The head, the tail, the whole damn thing: UK firms suffer again as Global London sharks circle

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The head, the tail, the whole damn thing: UK firms suffer again as Global London sharks circle

With recent financial results displaying the added bite of US firms in the City, it appears their approach to the lateral recruitment market will continue to be just as aggressive. Paul Hastings continued to signal its M&A ambitions with the hire of Steven Bryan from Hogan Lovells, while Latham & Watkins proved again it is one of the biggest predators of the City elite after hiring Linklaters insurance partner Victoria Sander.

For Paul Hastings, the hire of Bryan is of little surprise. The firm has made no secret of its ambition to strengthen in public M&A and private equity, as seen last spring with the hires of Roger Barron from Linklaters and private equity star Anu Balasubramanian from DLA Piper. The addition of Bryan, meanwhile, sees another highly-rated M&A practitioner leave for a US firm – an area widely considered the last bastion of the institutional City firms. Continue reading “The head, the tail, the whole damn thing: UK firms suffer again as Global London sharks circle”

Comment: Beyond barbarian – Another stride as Kirkland signs private equity’s most wanted

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Comment: Beyond barbarian – Another stride as Kirkland signs private equity’s most wanted

If the news in late 2017 that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer private equity veteran David Higgins was joining Kirkland & Ellis was an insult to his Magic Circle firm, the announcement barely into 2019 that Kirkland was following up with his colleague Adrian Maguire looks like grievous injury.

The record-breaking transfer of Higgins was a symbolic reverse and a significant demonstration of Kirkland’s determination to push into mainstream sponsor work in Europe. Yet it was not entirely unexpected – there had been indications that Higgins was becoming disenchanted due to issues with Freshfields’ finance practice and a lack of a more meaningful leadership role. Where he went was more surprising than the matter of his departure. Continue reading “Comment: Beyond barbarian – Another stride as Kirkland signs private equity’s most wanted”

Dentons risks Venezuelan instability to secure Norton Rose Caracas business

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Dentons risks Venezuelan instability to secure Norton Rose Caracas business

Dentons has acquired Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF)’s 26-lawyer Caracas office, coinciding with Venezuela’s acute economic and political crisis.

As part of the acquisition, Dentons hired eight partners with a sector focus on energy and natural resources, as well as employment. Currently led by labour partner Juan Carlos Pró-Rísquez, who became NRF managing partner in the country last year, the office is set to become Despacho de Abogados miembros de Dentons, after a transition period that sees it associated with Dentons’ Colombian business in Bogotá. Continue reading “Dentons risks Venezuelan instability to secure Norton Rose Caracas business”