Michael-Bryant Hicks. Photo Courtesy of Elanco Animal Health.

Elanco, a Greenfield, Indiana-based animal health division of Eli Lilly and Co. announced Thursday that Michael-Bryant Hicks, a corporate attorney with nearly two decades of experience, will begin working as the company's general counsel on May 21.

Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco, said in the announcement that he is pleased to add Hicks to the team. “I am confident he will also bring a fresh perspective to our company and our leadership team with the right lens as we look to the future of our company,” Simmons said.

In the announcement, Hicks said he is excited to begin work at Elanco, which manufactures products for pets and livestock.

“I'm looking forward to adding to Elanco's strong leadership team in a vibrant industry that's growing and full of opportunity,” Hicks said.

Hicks will be taking over for Elizabeth McGraw who has been general counsel at Elanco since 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile. McGraw will remain with Elanco until the end of the summer to help with the transition period. She will then return to Eli Lilly in a role to be determined, an Elanco representative said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Hicks, a Yale Law School graduate, began his career at Vinson & Elkins, where he represented corporate clients.

He moved in-house in 2006, working as an associate general counsel for Beckman Coulter, a medical research company, his LinkedIn profile said. In 2014, Hicks began work as the senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of the Providence Service Corp. and managed all legal matters there until 2016. Most recently, he was the senior vice president and general counsel of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

As the company's new GC, Hicks could be grappling with some major changes at Elanco.

In October, Eli Lilly announced that it would be reviewing whether to spin off or sell Elanco and would make a decision by mid-2018. The Indiana Business Journal reported in April that private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International Corp. expressed interest in placing a bid on the company.