ALISTAIR Lang, who has been chief executive at East Anglian law firm Birketts since 2001, is to stand down from the role at the end of May, it was announced today.
He will be succeeded as chief executive from June 1 by Jonathan Agar, who is joining Birketts from a major international financial services provider based in London.
Mr Lang joined Birketts in September 2001 following a lengthy career at Bank of Scotland, latterly as its regional director in East Anglia where he oversaw the opening of new offices in Ipswich in 1993 and Cambridge in 2000.
During his time at Birketts, the firm has expanded from its base in Ipswich with the addition of offices in Norwich, Cambridge and Chelmsford, through a combination of organic growth and merger, and has increased its turnover from £6million to more than £28m.
Mr Lang said: “I am grateful to have spent nearly 12 years with this great law firm, and deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to lead it along with senior partner Nigel Farthing for the last six years.
“I am very proud of what my Birketts colleagues have accomplished together during a decade of both successes and challenges.”
He added: “I and the senior leadership team have laid out a vision for the firm that will guide Birketts for many years to come, and this gives me great confidence about Birketts’ future success.”
Mr Farthing said: “I would like to thank Alistair for the energy and enthusiasm he has brought to Birketts. He has been a key driver in our successful development over the period of his tenure.”
He added: “At the time of his appointment in September 2001, it was a bold move for a law firm to appoint a CEO from outside the profession. That decision has paid off, as evidenced by the considerable growth in terms of headcount, turnover and reach.”
Mr Agar, who is chief operating officer for the corporate and investment banking finance division of his current employer, has also held positions at Fidelity International and Schroders Investment Management and earlier in his career served in the British Army for six years with the Royal Green Jackets.
Mr Farthing said: “We are incredibly excited to be welcoming Jonathan to the Birketts team and his track record in strategic organisation design and implementation will be key to navigating the firm through a dynamic and evolving industry landscape.”
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