Starbucks has appointed Rachel Gonzalez, formerly chief administrative officer for Sabre Corporation, as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, reporting to president and CEO, Kevin Johnson. Ms Gonzalez will lead  the Law and Corporate Affairs department, support the Starbucks Board of Directors and serve as a member of the company's executive leadership team. In her previous role at Sabre, Ms Gonzalez led a global team responsible for human resources, corporate communications, legal strategy, regulatory affairs, corporate compliance, and government affairs. She joined Sabre in 2014 as general counsel. Prior to joining Sabre, Gonzalez served as general counsel and corporate secretary with Dean Foods in Dallas, Texas and prior to that as group counsel with Affiliated Computer Services. She was also a partner with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where she focused on corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, SEC compliance and corporate governance.

Michael Jaffa has been appointed as general counsel and senior vice president of business affairs for global brand management company Genius Brands. He will report to chairman and CEO Andy Heyward.  In his new role, Mr Jaffa will oversee the negotiating and shaping of business transactions in the areas of development, production, licensing, finance and distribution of Genius Brands' content catalogue, including Rainbow Rangers, Llama Llama, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab, Baby Genius and more. He will also spearhead the business and legal operations of the Company's digital channels, Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, Kid Genius Plus for Amazon and the Baby Genius channel. At DreamWorks Animation Television, Mr Jaffa served as Head of Business Affairs and was responsible for all studio business and legal affairs matters, including the negotiation and drafting of hundreds of development, production, acquisition, talent, digital and music agreements.  Previously, he was the vice president of Legal & Business Affairs for Hasbro Studios. Mr Jaffa has also represented various clients, including Sony Pictures Animation and MGM Studios.

SoundCloud has hired Antonious Porch as its new general counsel. Mr Porch will lead the legal affairs and public policy strategy for the audio company. He joins from Shazam, where he held the same post. Prior to that, he worked at Viacom. 'As the world’s largest open audio platform, SoundCloud is at the center of some of the most forward-looking legal discussions and content opportunities in music today,' CEO Michael Weissman said. 'Having led the legal teams at premier consumer digital music and media companies, Antonious is the ideal addition to ensure SoundCloud leads the way for audio creators and listeners to experience all forms of audio from around the globe–from original tracks to the latest remixes.'

Utah enterprise technology learning company, Pluralsight, has appointed Matthew Forkner as general counsel for Pluralsight. 'Matt has been integral in helping some of the biggest names in the tech industry manage risk and global compliance, and complete transformative transactions over nearly 15 years,' said Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight. 'We are so excited to have his expertise and guidance as part of our legal team. He will provide invaluable leadership with his experiences in Silicon Valley and the tech industry as we aim to close the tech skills gap for businesses and individuals worldwide.' Prior to joining Pluralsight, Mr Forkner was vice president deputy general counsel at GoDaddy. He gained his legal expertise at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati (WSGR) and Fenwick & West. Both firms specialise in advising technology and enterprise software companies.

Merck has appointed Jennifer Zachary as general counsel. Ms Zachary, who succeeds Michael Holston, will be responsible for Merck’s global legal, security and aviation, and environmental, health and safety organisations, and be a member of Merck’s executive committee. Ms Zachary is currently a partner at Covington & Burling in the firm’s food, drug, and device practice group where she advises a wide range of manufacturers and industry trade associations on FDA’s requirements for the development, manufacture, and distribution of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, biologics, and medical devices. She began her career in FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, where she served as an associate chief counsel for enforcement from 2005 to 2011.