Baker & McKenzie has appointed corporate partner and former executive committee member Poh Lee Tan as managing partner for China and Hong Kong following an overhaul of the firm's executive committee.

Tan (pictured) replaces corporate partner David Fleming as managing partner of Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. Fleming will remain in Hong Kong, but will now focus on client work.

Changes to the executive committee announced at last week's partnership meeting saw San Francisco and Palo Alto-based Peter Engstrom and Hong Kong-based Tan replaced by Chicago corporate partner Philip Suse and Hong Kong finance partner Winston Zee. The two new members are expected to serve four-year-terms.

Meanwhile, Tokyo-based executive committee member Jeremy Pitts has been elected chairman of Bakers' Asia-Pacific regional council, while Chicago-based Philip Suse has been elected chairman of the North American Regional Council, effective immediately.

Engstrom is also set to take up a new management role in addition to his client and practice responsibilities, although details of this are yet to be announced.

The partnership conference marked the end of John Conroy's term as chairman. He has been succeeded by Eduardo Leite, who was elected earlier this year. Previously, Leite served as the managing partner of Brazil, as well as chairing the firm's global steering committee for energy, mining & infrastructure.

Commenting on the leadership changes, Leite said: "We are confident that Phil and Winston's experiences and leadership skills will further our vision of delivering service with fluency to clients. Peter and Poh Lee's leadership, especially through the most difficult economic crisis, has helped to advance the firm's strategy and the current success in Asia and North America."

Conroy will return to client work, while also serving as head of global strategic initiatives, a role in which he will be responsible for client relationship development, talent growth and corporate social responsibility initiatives.