C&W legal chief victim in boardroom shake-up
Reuters' Andrew Garard appointed as new general counsel
May 28, 2003 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
Dan Fitz, the global general counsel at Cable & Wireless (C&W), has become the latest casualty of a wide-ranging management shake-up at the troubled telecoms giant.
Fitz, who is set to leave the group at the end of June, has been with C&W for more than 10 years. He will be replaced by Reuters' deputy general counsel Andrew Garard.
Fitz, who succeeded Elizabeth Wall as general counsel to the group four years ago, was told the news earlier this month a few days before it was announced to the group as a whole.
His departure is believed to be directly linked to a shake-up of the board earlier this year and the departure of chief executive Graham Wallace.
Fitz became general counsel to the group shortly after Wallace was appointed chief executive. In April Wallace stepped down from the board after he presided over a period of sustained loss for the company. Last year saw C&W shares lose 87% of their value as the group slid out of the Ftse 100.
The company conducted a boardroom reshuffle which, unusually, saw the legal function fall under the remit of newly-appointed executive deputy chairman Rob Rowley.
Rowley joined C&W last September after more than 20 years at Reuters, where he is understood to have worked with incoming general counsel Garard.
Speaking to Legal Director, Fitz said: "There is a new management team in place and they wish to bring on board a new team… it is always good to work with people you know.
"As a general counsel you have to be aware that with a new regime your job is one job that may go."
Fitz said that he has no immediate plans about where he would go next.
His departure coincides with the news that two senior legal advisers on the team, Graeme Akhurst and Christine Slight, are also leaving the group, although Fitz said the departures are unrelated to his move.
The C&W legal function has seen its numbers slashed in the past three years. A 70-strong team four years ago, it is now believed to number only 25 lawyers.
Garard is set to join the group on 2 July. He was unavailable for comment.
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