Linklaters has appointed Hong Kong partner Davide Mencacci as its global head of banking – the first time a partner outside of London has taken the role. 

Mencacci replaces Tony Bugg in the role, who has stepped down a year early from the position. He will return to fee-earning work. 

Davide Mencacci, Linklaters

Davide has been a partner at the magic circle firm since 2007, spending time in its Milan and Hong Kong offices. He has acted on transactions in the Asian, Italian and London market, and recent clients have included Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, UniCredit, BNP Paribas, Bank of America, and Apollo.

Linklaters' global practice has recently advised on major deals including the financing of Softbank's $100bn investment fund, advising the financing banks on Bain Capital's $18bn acquisition of Toshiba Memory – the largest-ever leveraged buyout deal in Asia – and BBVA on the world's first syndicated loan on blockchain.

Global head of finance and projects Michael Kent said in a statement: "I am confident Davide will be an excellent leader. I'd like to thank Tony for all he has done over the last three years. Under his strong leadership, he's changed they dynamics of the practice, with a shift in direction and structure, leading to a 32% increase in income. His track record speaks for itself."  

The firm has made several other senior appointments so far in 2019, refreshing several roles including French managing partner, and global pensions head.