Norton Rose Fulbright is set to name South Africa chairman Sbu Gule as the new global chairman of the firm.

The agreement to name a South African partner as chair was part of the merger deal between Norton Rose and legacy Deneys Reitz when the firms combined in 2011.

Gule's one-year term as chairman, which rotates between the different member firms of the Norton Rose business annually, begins on 1 May this year.

He will succeed Australia's Adrian Ahern as head of the firm's 20-strong global supervisory board.

Gule will also step into a non-executive position on the global executive committee and work closely with the chairs of all of the combined firm's regions.

Ahern, who took over the role last year from Canada's Norman Steinberg, will continue to serve as chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright Australia and sit on the firm's board.

Norton Rose's merger with Texas firm Fulbright & Jaworski last June resulted in the expansion of its global executive committee from 13 members to 20. The full line-up currently includes six representatives from the UK, four from Canada, five from the US, four from the Asia-Pacific region and one from South Africa.

Its supervisory board, which will meet three times a year, grew to accommodate the same number of members, with six apiece in London and the US, four in Canada, three in Asia-Pacific and one in South Africa. Each have been appointed for three-year terms.

Gule was appointed as chairman of the South Africa business in April 2012 for a four-year term. He was made up as director at legacy Deneys Reitz in 2001, where his practice specialised in labour and employment law and immigration.