In the oil and gas industry, Alex Cestero has become GC, senior vice-president and secretary for Frank’s International. After completing a BA from Rice University and a JD from Stanford law school, Cerstero spent several years at law firm Vincson and Elkins and Bracewell & Giuliani, before joining Price International, rising to become its deputy GC.

Also in the oil industry, Kinga Doris is the new GC for Liquified Natural Gas Ltd. Maurice Brand, CEO of LNG Ltd, said: 'LNGL is growing and diversifying its activities and operations in three countries, with the potential for further expansion later this year. With this growth comes increasing complexity in legal, compliance, and regulatory matters requiring senior leadership and broad business experience.' 

Construction and outsourcing firm Balfour Beatty has appointed Chris Mercer as general counsel for its global business. Mercer, who has been with Balfour since 2011, replaces Chris Vaughan as head legal officer for the FTSE 100 firm. The Lawyer reports that Vaughan, who resigned in June, had been with the company since 2007, joining from brewers SAB Miller. After a lengthy career at BP's in house legal department, Mercer worked as a partner for Upstream Law.

Over in Silicon Valley, NASDAQ listed cloud computing services provider Support.com has chosen Michelle Johnson as GC, taking over from Greg Wrenn who held the position for five years. Johnson has moved over from Oracle, where she was managing counsel for the acquisitions division. Elizabeth Cholawsky, president and CEO of Support.com, said: 'I am pleased to have Michelle join our team. She has a proven track record in guiding legal operations of public companies and managing complex transactions to completion.'