Snap Inc general counsel (GC) Chris Handman has stepped down from his position to spend more time with his family, after three years at the US company.
California-headquarted parent company Snap Inc owns social media camera application Snapchat, which allows users send instant image messages, and was co-founded by chief executive Evan Spiegel in 2011.
Handman joined Snap Inc as GC in May 2014, after 14 years as a litigation partner at Hogan Lovells’ Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation group in its Washington DC office.
Despite standing down from the GC role, Handman will remain working at the company as an adviser.
Snap Inc’s deputy GC and chief compliance officer Dominic Perella will serve as the company’s GC on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.
Perella has been deputy GC since March 2015, and before then he also worked in Hogan Lovells’ US litigation department for eight years.
In a statement, Snap Inc said: ‘We are grateful for all of Chris’s hard work and contributions to Snap. He has built an incredible legal team, played an integral role in taking the company public, and has been a valued member of Snap’s leadership. We wish him all the best; he will always be an important part of the Snap family.’
Handman oversaw the company’s March 2017 initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.
The float valued the company, at $28bn. US firm Cooley advised Snap Inc on the IPO, led by corporate and securities partner Eric Jensen.
Snap Inc’s San Francisco in-house team was led by Handman and associate general counsel Atul Porwal.
IPO documents revealed that Handman’s base salary for 2016 was $475,000.
