Baker McKenzie has announced a number of changes to its leadership teams with immediate effect, including former Germany and Austria Managing Partner Constanze UlmeEilfort's r-becoming a member of the firm's Executive Committee and taking over as Chair of the firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee from Claudio Prado.
Constanze Ulmer-Eilfort stepped down from her Managing Partner of the firm's German and Austria offices position earlier in the year, and on July 1, 2017 Frankfurt-based Partner Matthias Scholz took over for a term of three years, with Vienna-based Stefan Riegler taking over day-to-day responsibility for the Austria office. Scholz's management team includes Vienna-based Partner Georg Diwok and Frankfurt-based Partners Axel Metzger and Hariolf Wenzler.
As part of its recent announcement regarding Ulmer-Eilfort's becoming a member of the Executive Committee, Baker McKenzie also announced that London-based Partner David Allen would be taking over from Michael Fieweger as Global Chair of the Firm's Private Equity Practice and that Mini vandePol is stepping down as Chair of Compliance & Investigations, with co-chairs Joanna Ludlam, based in London and William (Widge) Devaney in New York succeeding her. In addition, Erik Scheer and Jaime Trujillo have taken over the Chair role of the Firm's EMEA and Latin America regional councils, replacing Gary Senior and Claudia Prado.
Speaking after this announcement, Baker McKenzie's Global Chair Paul Rawlinson welcomed the new Executive Committee members, Regional Chairs, and Practice Group leaders to their new positions, saying: "We have had plenty to be proud of this year — record client demand for our services, a great crop of new lateral hires, the launch of our market-leading innovation initiative, and our long-term strategic investments in New York, London and China paying off — so I look forward to seeing how our new leadership team will continue to drive our success. I would also like to sincerely thank Gary, Claudia, Michael and Mini for the exceptional leadership they showed in their respective regions and practice groups, supporting the needs of our people and our clients around the globe."
