King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has recruited its second female leader in Australia for a newly created role which involves overseeing client engagement.

Sharon Cook, the former head of Australian indpeendent outfit Henry Davis York (HDY), will join the firm in February 2015 as managing partner for clients, to work alongside the current manager of Australia, Sue Kench.

The appointments of the two women follow a string of management exits from KWM since mid-2013, around the time of the tie-up with SJ Berwin, which included the last country chief Tony O'Malley, head of corporate and tax Tim Blue, and managing partner for Australian disputes Beau Deleuil.

Upon Cook's arrival, the firm will have a five-person executive group for the domestic practice, which will be headed by Kench but also include Berkely Cox as leader of banking, finance and disputes; Scott Gardiner to oversee projects and real estate and Tim Bednall, managing M&A and tax.

Cook, an insurance litigator, began her career with Mallesons Stephen Jacques, spending 12 years with the firm in its Sydney and London offices, while also doing a stint with Herbert Smith while in Europe.

She joined HDY in 1997 as a non-equity partner, and by 2008 was appointed head of the firm, a role she held for six years. During that time Cook helped transition HDY into a top independent Australian outfit, amid a shift in domestic circumstances caused by international entrants and the associated global law firm mergers.

In August, HDY announced the partnership had elected Michael Greene as the new MP, for a term of three years effective 1 January 2015.