Anna Cole-Bailey rounds up the latest senior corporate in-house moves
A string of general counsel (GCs) have made career changes of late, including high-profile names such as the long-serving Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) European legal chief Sajid Hussein and Rio Tinto GC Philip Richards.
Respected GC Powerlist regular Hussein left BAML in June after 14 years as EMEA GC, joining Big Four audit firm EY as a partner and GC for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. Hussein fills the shoes of Herve Labaude, who retired from EY after 25 years at the firm, while Ike Osaki, BAML’s GC for Latin America, has relocated from New York to London to take up Hussein’s position.
Hussein told Legal Business it was ‘time for a change’ after nearly 20 years in the banking industry. From London, he oversaw a 150-strong legal team supporting the firm’s global corporate and investment banking division and global markets. BAML said Hussein had played a critical role in preparing the organisation for Brexit. He is also well-regarded for his work on diversity and inclusion initiatives – supporting Aspiring Solicitors – as well as annually assessing partner law firms on their black, Asian and minority ethnic and gender statistics. Major transactions the BAML legal team supported under Hussein’s watch include Comcast’s $39bn acquisition of Sky; Unilever’s €3.3bn acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer nutrition business; and RWE’s sale of innogy to E.ON for approximately $74bn.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto group GC Richards is due to retire from the FTSE 100 mining company at the end of December after two years. 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. Richards, a former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner who featured in this year’s GC Powerlist, ran a legal team of 150 people. Major work over his time included a high-profile bribery investigation in West Africa and litigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding allegations of fraud for overstating the value of Mozambique coal assets.
Meanwhile, well-regarded TransferWise GC Jenifer Swallow is moving on after nearly four years. Another GC Powerlist regular, she said she would take some time out before deciding on her next move. She was the first in-house lawyer TransferWise hired and grew the legal team to seven people, including four lawyers. The company has yet to announce a replacement.
Further afield, Andrew Macklin has joined financial services provider Apex Group as its first-ever global group GC. Apex has expanded over the past 18 months following a number of bolt-on acquisitions, with Macklin hired as part of the company’s plans to branch out beyond asset management to institutional provider services. Macklin was most recently interim head of legal at Monzo Bank and previously a partner at White & Case and Latham & Watkins.
Meanwhile, Thomas Cook GC Alice Marsden will be moving to FTSE 100 housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey as its new group GC in November. Marsden was an associate at Latham for six years before moving to Thomas Cook as group senior legal counsel in 2014 and becoming GC in 2016. The travel company has in turn made its head of legal for continental Europe, Rainer Altfuldisch, interim GC, while Marsden takes over from James Jordan, who is retiring as group legal director at the housebuilder.
Finally, Andrew Magowan has left ASOS as its legal head after a lengthy seven-year stint at the online fashion retailer. Anna Suchopar, ASOS’ group legal director, has been appointed interim GC while the company looks to fill Magowan’s post. Magowan joined ASOS from industrial aviation services provider Bristow Group, where he was a legal director.