Hogan Lovells is changing its international leadership and is combining some of its major practices groups and regions as part of a wider global shake up, the firm announced.

Three partners are stepping down from the firm's international management committee, including current U.K. and Africa managing partner Susan Bright who will take on a new responsibility as global managing partner for diversity & inclusion and responsible business.

She will remain U.K. managing partner until the end of the year, and will then be replaced by London-based global banking head Penny Angel.

Current Europe managing partner, Paris-based Marie-Aimee de Dampierre, will take on the role of EMEA managing partner.

The firm's current regional partner of the Americas, Cole Finegan, and current regional managing partner of Washington D.C, Eve Howard, are also stepping down from the global committee. Finegan will continue in his role as Denver office managing partner while Howard will serve as global head of the combined capital markets practice.

Meanwhile, in reducing its practice groups from five to three, the firm is combining its corporate and finance groups, which will now be known as the corporate and finance group. It is also combining several other groups to make the global regulatory and intellectual property, media and technology (IPMT); and litigation, arbitration & employment groups.

The firm is also combining certain regions, again reducing these from five to three. The changes will see the Americas and Washington D.C. comprise one region, while the others will be Europe (including the U.K.), the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and South East Asia, China, Japan and Australia.

All changes are effective from July 1, when current CEO Steve Immelt and deputy CEO David Hudd step down to let Miguel Zaldivar and Michael Davison take over their respective roles for an initial four-year term.