NYSE-listed Planet Fitness has appointed Sarah Powell as general counsel, effective November 17.
A 25-year legal veteran, she served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at GoTo Foods (formerly Focus Brands).
Prior to GoTo Foods, Powell served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Advance Auto Parts. Earlier in her career, she served on the legal team at Delhaize America.
‘I am excited to welcome Sarah and her deep franchising experience to Planet Fitness, where she will play a critical role on our executive leadership team, delivering strategic legal counsel that helps drive growth for the company,’ says Colleen Keating, CEO of Planet Fitness.
Meanwhile, US nuclear power provider NuScale Power hasnamed James Canafax as its new chief legal officer and corporate secretary.
Canafax replaces Shahram Ghasemian who assumed the role in July 2025. No reason for Ghasemian’s resignation has been given.
Canafax most recently served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at Maritime Partners. Before this he served as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at BWX Technologies.
‘James is an outstanding addition to the NuScale leadership team,’ says John Hopkins, president and CEO at NuScale.
Elsewhere in a Form 8-K filing, Stanley Black & Decker has confirmed that Janet Link, the company’s senior vice president, general counsel and secretary is to step down from her role on November 30 ‘to pursue a professional opportunity outside the company’.
In France, insurer AXA has made several changes within its leadership team in order to prepare its next strategic cycle.
As of December 1 Karima Silvent, a member of AXA’s management committee and currently group chief human resources officer, will become deputy general secretary, taking charge of human resources, audit, compliance, AXA EssentiALL and GIE AXA and reporting to George Stansfield, group deputy CEO and general secretary.
Over in Canada, TD Bank has namedBrian Callanan as US general counsel, effective December 1, 2025.
Callanan joins TD from Liberty Strategic Capital, where he has been senior managing director and general counsel. Before that he was general counsel of the US Department of the Treasury playing a key role in major initiatives related to economic policy, national security and financial regulation.
Before that, he worked in private practice as a litigator, where he represented clients across a range of industries in appellate and regulatory litigation and government investigations.
Elsewhere, Caroline Boutwell has joined CSC as a senior global subsidiary coordinator, where she will manage the corporate compliance, governance and transactional needs of international entity portfolios.
Boutwell, a 2022 Corporate Governance Award-winner, formerly served as global head of legal entity management at Nasdaq.
Earlier in her career, Boutwell held roles in sales and account management across Nasdaq, Monster Worldwide and Oracle Corporation.
‘I’m thrilled to be joining CSC and contributing to their global mission,’ says Boutwell. ‘I look forward to helping clients navigate complex subsidiary governance landscapes with confidence and clarity.’
Everest Group has confirmed the appointment of Anthony Vidovich as EVP and general counsel, effective on or before January 5, 2026.
Vidovich succeeds Ricardo Anzaldua who will retire following a transition period to ensure a handover of responsibilities.
He was most recently global head of insurance legal at AIG. Prior to AIG, he held executive leadership roles at XL Group and The Hartford.
Global manufacturer Alleima has named Christian Swartling as its new EVP and general counsel, starting on January 19, 2026.
Swartling currently holds the position SVP of group legal at Stora Enso and will be a member of the Alleima Group executive management.
‘Christian has a strong foundation in industrial law and corporate governance. He brings deep expertise in navigating complex regulatory environments, managing international transactions, and supporting strategic initiatives across manufacturing and sustainability-driven sectors,’ says Göran Björkman, President and CEO of Alleima. Finally, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol confirmed in a blog post that Pilar Ramosis to serve as the coffee chain’s new EVP and chief legal officer, succeeding Brad Lerman.
Pilar will join the executive leadership team and serve as an advisor to the board of directors.
She joins from TelevisaUnivision, the Spanish-language media company, where she serves as EVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. Before this she held several senior positions at Mastercard, most recently as EVP and general counsel, North America