US materials company ATI has hired Vaishali Bhatia as general counsel, replacing chief legal and compliance officer Elliot Davis who is retiring later this year.

Bhatia joins from diversified energy company HF Sinclair, where she was GC and secretary. She will take up the GC role at ATI from 20 March and will lead all aspects of the legal function for its aerospace and defence business, including corporate governance, compliance, corporate social responsibility strategies and risk management. She will also take on the chief compliance officer role and report directly to CEO and chair Robert Wetherbee.

Dallas-based ATI makes high performance materials and components such as speciality alloys and isothermal forgings for the aerospace and defence industries.

Wetherbee said: “Vaishali is a strategic business partner with experience across a range of complex legal and compliance matters. Her track record in demanding markets with long-standing and deep customer relationships will help her to guide ATI as we develop our aerospace and defence leadership.”

Bhatia spent more than a decade at HF Sinclair and its associated businesses, having been part of the HollyFrontiers and Holly Energy Partners team that acquired Sinclair Oil in 2021 and then created parent company HF Sinclair in 2022. Bhatia initially joined HollyFrontiers and Holly Energy Partners in 2011 as counsel, working her way up to assistant GC in 2017 and then GC in 2019. Prior to her in-house career, she spent just over five years as an associate at Jones Day.

Elliot Davis, meantime, is set to officially retire from ATI at the start of October but will step down from his legal chief role on Bhatia’s arrival, serving as special advisor for legal and compliance to help ensure a smooth transition.

Davis retires after more than 15 years with the company, having served as chief legal and compliance officer since 2011. He originally joined as assistant GC in 2008 before becoming GC in 2010. Prior to joining ATI, he was a partner at K&L Gates, where he spent almost two decades in its corporate, M&A and securities group.