First up, former Kirkland & Ellis partner Mark Knight has been appointed as the first ever general counsel of Pillarstone. Founded in 2015, Pillarstone is a spin-off of US investment giant KKR which focuses on turning around underperforming and non-core European bank assets. Mr Knight is joining the young company from the London office of Kirkland & Ellis, where he most recently served as a partner in the firm’s restructuring team. His full-time appointment to Pillarstone comes after Mr Knights undertook a secondment with the company as a Kirkland partner.

Meanwhile, the Coca Cola Company has hired former Pernod Ricard senior legal advisor and head of compliance Ingrid Cope as its new head of legal for the UK and Ireland. Ms Cope is joining the fizzy-drink giant after four years with Pernod Ricard, the company behind iconic alcohol brands including Havana Club rum, Absolut Vodka and Beefeater London Gin. She has held a variety of other in-house roles, including stints at the H J Heinz Company and briefly at the Office of Fair Trading. Before moving in house, Ms Cope was a lawyer with Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Leading law firm Addleshaw Goddard has lost its general counsel Simon Callander to UK fashion retailer SuperGroup. Mr Callander is joining the company as general counsel and company secretary after just two years at the helm of Addleshaw’s own legal department. Mr Callander trained with legacy firm Dentons Wilde Sapte before accepting his first in-house role at Ernst & Young. His other in-house roles have included as interim GC for Equifax, as head of business services at Towers Watson and as EMEA general counsel and, later, as global head of commercial law for Watson Wyatt.

US Government information solutions provider Vencore has hired Kevin Boyle as its new senior vice president and general counsel. Mr Boyle will assume management of Vencore’s contracts, procurement and property management organisations, as well as overseeing ethical practice at the company. He joins Vencore from his most recent position as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary as Alion Science and Technology Corporation. He brings more than 20 years’ legal experience to his new position, having also held GC roles at a variety of companies including MCR, Vangent and General Dynamics Information Technology.

Finally, online SME lender Growth Street has announced the appointment of April Nardulli as its new general counsel. Ms Nardulli’s appointment comes alongside that of Chris Weller, who has been appointed as the company’s new commercial director. She has held a variety of roles at fintech companies in London, joining Growth Street from her most recent position as senior regulatory counsel for RateSetter.