Former AOL lawyer and executive Michael McGowan has been tapped to serve as the first general counsel of Verus International Inc., a global consumer food products supplier that scored a marketing agreement with Major League Baseball earlier this year. 

McGowan arrives at the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based firm with more than two decades of experience in corporate legal departments and boardrooms. He most recently served as the GC of Cava Group Inc. and oversaw the restaurant company's $300 million acquisition of the Zoes Kitchen restaurant chain in 2018.

"Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to be a senior leader for several amazing growth stories. That is one of the reasons I joined Verus at this key point in its business acceleration," McGowan said Sept. 26 in a statement that announced his hiring.