Coca-Cola Enterprises has appointed Jeff Kirsh as its new vice president legal and company secretary for Great Britain.

Kirsh will take up the role at the beginning of the year and has been appointed internally from the US arm of the soft drinks manufacturer and distributor.

Kirsh will replace Eva Bishop, who was recently hired by drinks company William Grant & Sons as their first-ever general counsel.

Bishop will take up her new post with the company in January and will be working closely with Kirsh until her departure.

Kirsh has been with Coca-Cola since 1993, initially joining the company as corporate counsel for Coca-Cola Beverages in Canada. He was since worked in a number of senior roles for the North American arm of the business.

News of the hire follows a number of high-profile general counsel appointments in the last few days.

Current HBOS legal head Harry Baines was named as the new general counsel and company secretary for the bank on completion of its merger with Lloyds TSB in January, while Sharifah Bailey was named as Robert Cummins' replacement as head of business and legal affairs for MTV Networks International at the end of last month (30 October).

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