Pinsent Masons has named financial institutions head John Cleland as its new managing partner after he won the firm's first contested election for the role in nearly 16 years.

Cleland will take over from long-standing incumbent David Ryan on 1 May for a four-year term. He defeated Adrian Barlow, group head of property, and Richard Masters, head of client operations, in a three-horse race for the top job.

"The firm is now entering a crucial period in which profitable growth will be the key to our continued success," said Cleland. "I look forward to working with [senior partner] Richard Foley and the senior management team towards achieving our vision of becoming an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate, namely advanced manufacturing and technology, energy, financial services and infrastructure"

It is understood that one of the candidates was eliminated in a first round of voting, after none of the candidates secured an overall majority. This led to a run off between the two highest polling candidates, which closed on Friday.

The voting involved all of the firm's international offices, with fixed share and equity partners all receiving an equal share of the votes.

Ryan, who was initially voted in as managing partner of legacy Pinsent Curtis in 1999, announced in October that he would stand down when his current term is up in April.

Cleland has been a partner at Pinsent Masons since 1997, and sources have praised his efficieny and attention to detail since taking over the financial institutions group, which covers banking, restructuring and financial regulatory teams. 

Ryan said: "My congratulations to John, and I am delighted to be handing over the reins to him. John has without doubt the strengths and capabilities required of the role. I'm looking forward to helping him to make the transition and continuing to work with him in the senior leadership team."

As the poll was conducted under the auspices of the Electoral Reform Society, the breakdown of voting is not known to anybody within the firm.