Global Counsel appoints Archie Norman as non-executive Vice Chairman
As spring in the northern hemisphere approaches, I wanted to write to let you know how the GC team has grown and expanded its capabilities in recent months.
At the senior level, our team has been strengthened by three new colleagues. Archie Norman joins us as non-executive Vice Chairman. His experience as an international business leader and British policymaker is a perfect fit for Global Counsel and we are delighted that he's in our team. Earlier in his career, he was a prominent front-line Conservative politician, and he is now the Chairman of Marks & Spencer, a role he holds alongside a number of senior executive roles. He will bring a unique perspective to GC clients who are encountering a wide range of policy and political challenges, from ESG to corporate governance.
Rebecca Park has taken up the role as Practice Lead for Financial Services. She joins us from UK Finance, the UK’s banking and finance trade body, where she was Director of Corporate Affairs. She is a lawyer by training and has previously advised investors and asset managers on a range of policy issues. She brings deep knowledge of the European retail banking sector and asset management industry.
Chris Rinkus is joining as Practice Lead for US Political Due Diligence in our Washington, DC office. He joins from the US Department of Education where he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education for Policy and Innovation. Prior to his time in the US government, Chris worked for an education technology start-up and as a senior official for the District of Columbia Public Schools.
We have also welcomed six new senior associates to our team. Anikó Zsebik takes up a role in our Central and Eastern European practice, joining GC from the Hungarian foreign service where she focused on trade and inward investment policy. Giorgio Corbetta joins our Energy practice and is based in Brussels; most recently he worked at a major European renewable energy trade association. Matt Bevington joins our UK Political Due Diligence team from a think-tank and previously worked at The Economist Intelligence Unit. Damien Sohet joins our Financial Services practice and is based in Brussels; before joining GC he was the Economic Attaché for the UK Embassy in Belgium. Felicity Hall joins our Climate and Sustainability practice from investment manager Ruffer and will be advising corporate and investor clients on ESG issues. Johnny Luk takes up a role in our UK Policy and Politics practice, having previously handled public affairs at Adecco and worked in the British government.
We are also pleased to announce that Ermenegilda Boccabella is moving to a new role at GC as an Adviser on energy and climate change policy and Denzil Davidson is taking up a new position as Adviser on EU institutions and multilateral bodies.
The focus on expanding our team capabilities shows the ambition within Global Counsel and the progress we have made in the past 12 months. Whilst covid-19 has presented us with major challenges, we have continued to grow across our offices in London, Washington DC, Brussels and Singapore. Our full-time team is now over 60 strong, with an increase in more than a dozen new colleagues since the beginning of last year.
Please join me in welcoming our new colleagues to the team.
Best wishes,
Benjamin Wegg-Prosser
Managing Director
