Microsoft’s general counsel Jonathan Palmer has been promoted to the role of corporate vice president and chief legal officer, succeeding Hossein Nowbar.
Nowbar confirmed that he had left the technology giant this month in an email sent earlier this week.
Palmer joined Microsoft in 2010 as a senior attorney and has since held such roles as assistant general counsel and vice president and deputy general counsel – head of litigation.
Prior to joining the software maker, Palmer was managing partner for the Asian offices of Heller Ehrman, a now-defunct law firm that heleft in 2008to join Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
In a LinkedIn postNowbar writes: ‘As the world stands at a new inflection point – with AI, quantum, and space exploration poised to transform the global economy – I am excited to carry forward the learnings I developed over my career’. He adds that he is looking forward to sharing his next position.
Elsewhere, British American Tobacco (BAT) has confirmed that Jerome Abelman will be stepping down from his role as director, legal and general counsel and leaving the company on December 31.
Abelman will be succeeded by Paul McCrory, BAT’s current director of corporate and regulatory affairs, as of January 1, 2026.
McCrory has been a member of BAT’s management board since 2023 and with the company for over 18 years.
During his tenure, he has held roles within the BAT group. He previously held various positions at Société Générale and Herbert Smith Freehills.
In Dallas, Texas, financial services company Comerica has promoted Kristina Janssens to the role of senior executive vice president and chief risk officer, effective as of September 19.
Janssens currently holds the position of EVP and chief compliance officer, having joined the company in 2023. Before this she worked for Flagstar Bank as EVP, chief compliance and privacy officer.
In her new role, Janssens will report directly to Comerica chairman, president and CEO Curt Farmer, as well as to the enterprise risk committee of the company’s board of directors.
Meanwhile Compass, a US real estate brokerage, has named Ethan Glass as its new chief legal officer. Glass previously led teams in the US Department of Justice that investigated and sued Multiple Listing Service organizations for anticompetitive conduct.
He most recently served as head of the global antitrust and competition practice at Cooley.
‘I’m honored to join Compass, a company committed to empowering agents and ensuring homeowners retain control over how their properties are marketed,’ says Glass.
Separately, Alaska Air Group will promote Kyle Levine to the role of EVP, corporate and public affairs, chief legal officer and corporate secretary.
Levine currently serves as SVP, legal, general counsel and corporate secretary,and has been with the group since 2006.
He has held the chief legal post for 10 years and led the legal functions for the company’s Virgin American and Hawaiian Airlines acquisitions.
Over in Australia, ANZ Bank has confirmed that Kevin Corbally will step down from his role as group chief risk officer, taking up a new role as managing director, capital management institutional.
Corbally held the role as chief risk officer since 2018 and in his new position will be responsible for implementingimproved capital management within the company’s institutional business.He will report to ANZ’s group executive, institutional, Mark Whelan, and sit on the institutional bank’s leadership team.
The search for a new group risk officer is underway with Corbally to remain in the position until a replacement is found.