Baker McKenzie has refreshed its global practice group and industry leadership teams, as well as extended the terms of three group chairs.

Four areas have seen new appointments: the global technology, media and telecoms industry group, the global industrials, manufacturing and transportation industry group, the global capital markets group, and the energy, mining and infrastructure group.

London tax partner Kate Alexander takes over as tech group chair from Rome-based Raffaele Giarda; Dusseldorf-based anti-trust partner Nicolas Kredel takes over as industrials chair from Frankfurt’s Nikolaus Reinhuber; London finance lawyer Adam Farlow takes over as capital markets chair from City colleague Helen Bradley; and London-based projects lawyer Richard Blunt and Chicago-based deals lawyer José Morán are appointed co-chairs of the energy and mining group.

Milton Cheng, Bakers’ global chair, said all of these groups are important areas of growth for the firm.

“Technology, media and telecommunications is a key focus for Baker McKenzie, as the sector continues to drive digital transformation globally through the development of products and services that impact every part of the economy,” Cheng said.

He added that the global energy transition is accelerating, increasing demand for its energy, mining and infrastructure and projects team.

Meantime, Bogota-based Claudia Benavides Galvis will continue as chair of the firm’s global dispute resolution practice group, while London’s Jonathan Peddie continues to head up the global financial institutions industry group and Amsterdam-based Antonio Russo remains chair of the global tax practice group.

Last month, Bakers appointed 52 new partners in its summer promotions round, adding to the 23 North American partner promotions in January. That is slightly more than last year’s 67-strong round, but below the 84 who made the cut in 2020. This year’s promotions were focused on M&A, tax and dispute resolution, with lawyers across 25 jurisdictions getting the nod.

The firm also announced plans to refresh its Johannesburg leadership team in May, with South African head of competition and antitrust Lerisha Naidu becoming managing partner of the office at the start of this month. The new management team is completed by head of employment and compensation Johan Botes and corporate partner Marc Yudaken.

Earlier this week, the firm said it was scheduled to spin out its Moscow and St Petersburg offices by October, having signalled the move in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'The intention is for the newly independent firm to be Baker McKenzie's preferred law firm in Russia,' the firm said in a statement.