Nexa has named a new CEO, amid a wider leadership shuffle at the fast-growing consultant lawyer platform that has also seen it hire its first chief marketing officer. 

Firm founder and former COO Eliot Hibbert is set to take over as CEO from Nigel Clark, who is stepping back after nearly four years in the role but will continue to be a director of Nexa, the firm said.  

The COO role is now being filled by Victoria Hibbert, who is heading the operations team which is based at the firm’s headquarters in Oswestry. 

The firm has also hired John McAuley as chief marketing officer and head of talent. McAuley has previously held senior business development roles in the tech sector, including head of UK automotive business development at Expleo Group. 

Eliot Hibbert commented: “Nigel has been a key part of our growth since January 2020. During that time we have worked incredibly closely together, to grow our pool of consultant solicitors, increase our annual revenue year on year and welcome more than 20 market facing legal brands on our platform. We look forward to continuing to draw on Nigel’s expertise as a director of Nexa.”

He added: “We are delighted to welcome John to Nexa. John’s tech sector background will bring a fresh approach to Nexa’s marketing and recruitment and we are excited to have him on board as we enter a new chapter.”

Nexa was founded in 2017 and over the past three years has grown its pool of consultant solicitors from 25 to more than 150. The firm said it had also grown its annual revenue by more than 10 times and improved its operating margin year-on-year. 

Nexa offers its consultant solicitors the option to market their legal services under their own brand or use the Nexa brand, an offering it describes as unique in its flexibility. Its ‘house of brands’ model effectively allows lawyers to run their own law firms on Nexa’s platform, which provides back-office support and management of regulatory and insurance matters through its SRA-regulated entity.

Clark said: “We know there is an appetite for people to run their own legal businesses under their own name but that the practicalities and costs of setting up, running and even exiting your own law firm can overwhelm that ambition. At Nexa, we have essentially done the admin work so our solicitors only have to worry about looking after their clients.”

Nexa currently has more than 20 differentiated brands on its platform, including Sherlock Legal, run by Kirsty Limacher, which specialises in private client work, and Boldr, run by Dan Jenkins and Matt Dunne, which provides legal services for the tech space with a particular focus on Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency.