Rolls-Royce's head of legal and company secretary, Nigel Goldsworthy, has left after his role at the FTSE 100 engineering giant was split in two.

Goldsworthy quit the Derby-based multinational at the end of December after completing a six-month handover period to allow a smooth transition to the new regime.

His former deputy, Mark Gregory, has stepped up to the head of legal role while Pamela Coles, who joined Rolls-Royce from utility company Centrica in October, has taken over as company secretary.

Goldsworthy joined Rolls-Royce's engine leasing business Rolls-Royce Capital in 2004 from Hogan Lovells legacy firm Lovells, where he was an asset finance partner.

He became head of legal and company secretary in 2012. A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said his resignation was prompted by the decision to split his role into two in order to provide more individual support to the company's board of directors.

The spokesman said Goldsworthy had resigned last summer "to pursue new challenges" but had agreed to stay on until late December in order to secure a smooth handover to his successors.

Gregory, his replacement as legal head, joined Rolls-Royce in 2008 as a legal advisor before taking on roles including legal counsel and company secretary. He was appointed as deputy legal head in 2013.

The group general counsel at Rolls-Royce, Robert Webb, joined the company in 2012 after 11 years as general counsel with British Airways. He replaced Tim Rayner.  

Rolls-Royce's legal advisers include Slaughter and May, which advised it last year on its joint venture with European engineering and defence company Safran's Hispano-Suiza arm, and Addleshaw Goddard, which was added to its panel in 2008.

in 2012, the engineering giant instructed Debevoise & Plimpton to advise it on the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO's) ongoing probe into bribery and corruption allegations involving intermediaries in overseas markets.