Clyde & Co insurance head Simon Konsta has been appointed as the firm's new senior partner following an uncontested election.

The election was triggered by current senior partner James Burns' move to a new role as head of Americas, a post he will take up on 1 November.

Konsta was previously the senior partner of legacy Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which merged with Clydes in 2011. He joined Clyde & Co's global management board after the merger and was made global insurance head in 2013.

His role as senior partner will include chairing the firm's global management board, as well as working with its regional boards, management team and chief executive Peter Hasson.

Konsta said: "One of the great strengths of this firm is that it has long been committed to a clear, sector-based growth strategy. My primary focus will be on maintaining that while broadening out our client programme across all sectors and regions so that we are ready for the next phase of our growth."

Hasson said Konsta has been "appointed senior partner on the back of unanimous support from the global board, as well as strong backing from across our regions and practice areas".

He added: "Having Simon as senior partner working with our global board and our increasingly important regional management teams provides us with a strong framework for future growth."

The firm reported global revenues of £447.3m for 2015-16, up 13% on the preceding year, while profit per equity partner rose 1% to a new record figure of £665,000.

The firm expanded its geographic footprint during the course of the financial year, launching in Scotland through a merger with local firm Simpson & Marwick and bringing on board a 30-lawyer team in Australia from Lee & Lyons. In May, the firm launched an office in Miami, its sixth in the US.

Burns, who has held the senior partner role for three years, already spends much of his time in the firm's San Francisco office.

The newly created role of head of the Americas will see him take on responsibility for the firm's expansion across Canada, the US and Latin America. He will remain on the global management board, as well as acting as a relationship partner for a number of clients.

He will work alongside chief strategy officer William Isaac, who is relocating to the US.