A Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based health care system announced Jan. 3 that a former partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth is its new legal leader.

Frank Emory is now Novant Health Inc.'s executive vice president and chief legal officer. In his new role, which he started in December, according to his LinkedIn profile, he will oversee the legal, government relations, risk management, corporate audit and compliance teams. Emory will report directly to CEO Carl Armato.

Emory replaces Peter Brunstetter as the legal head of Novant Health. A spokesperson for the health care system did not respond Monday to a phone call seeking comment on why Brunstetter left the company.

Armato said he is excited to have Emory join the executive team.

“Frank has more than 30 years in practice with extensive experience in the financial services industry, as well as publicly traded and privately held companies, including large health care organizations,” Armato said in a press release. “I am confident he will lead Novant Health in this area very well.”

Emory previously worked at Hunton in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was partner and co-head of the litigation and labor group. At the same time, he served as the director of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Emory was also a partner at Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

Emory currently serves as the chairman of the board of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, a position he was appointed to by Gov. Roy Cooper. According to the news release, Emory has served on the North Carolina Board of Transportation and was the first African-American and youngest chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission.

Novant Health is a nonprofit integrated system of 14 medical centers that services communities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, according to its website.