First up, Hyundai Motor America general counsel W. Gerald Flannery has been asked to temporarily step up into the role of chief executive officer following the departure of Dave Zuchowski. Mr Flannery has been with Hyundai since 1987 and, according to the Korean automaker, has been ‘instrumental in leading the company through periods of rapid change and positioning it for steady growth.’ He will serve dually as GC and CEO until a permanent successor for Mr Zuchowski is found.

Meanwhile, social media football startup Dugout has named Adam Lovatt as its first ever in-house lawyer. Mr Lovatt has joined Dugout from digital sports media company Perform Group, where he most recently served as group legal counsel until September last year. Prior to moving in-house, Mr Lovatt trained at Scottish firm Maclay, Murray & Spens. Launched in November last year, Dugout is a social media app that connects football fans with exclusive content from football clubs and players.

Indian multinational technology company Infosys has suffered the sudden departure of general counsel and chief compliance officer David Kennedy. Mr Kennedy is understood to have stepped down this week after two years at the helm of the company’s legal department. He joined Infosys in 2014 from JDA Software, having previously headed the legal teams at tech startup Better Place and business intelligence group Business Objects. He also served as an associate general counsel at IBM between 1998 and 2007. Infosys deputy general counsel Gopi Krishnan will act in the GC role until a permanent successor for Mr Kennedy is found.

The Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) has appointed Richard D. Lara as its new executive vice president and general counsel. Mr Lara has joined the Miami-based Spanish language radio broadcaster after 18 years’ practice at boutique trial firm Mase Lara, where he was also co-owner and managing shareholder. His practice there focused primarily on complex civil and commercial litigation.

Finally, global investment firm Citadel has announced that longtime chief legal officer Adam C. Cooper will be retiring from the firm in February. Mr Cooper has been with Citadel for almost two decades and was the company’s first ever CLO. Stepping up as legal head of Citadel’s hedge fund business will be deputy general counsel Shawn Fagan. Mr Fagan joined Citadel in 2005 after serving as a partner at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott.