DLA Piper has announced a new managing director, Asia Pacific from May 1. Partner and group head of finance and projects, Bob Charlton will assume the role, replacing Alastair Da Costa.
The change comes exactly one year after the Australian operations integrated into DLA Piper global, a project Da Costa was instrumental in. After five years in the top job, Da Costa is to return to the UK where he will pursue a Masters degree at the London School of Economics, while remaining as a consultant for the firm.
Charlton is a highly regarded finance and projects lawyer both in the UK and Asia with extensive experience in infrastructure, transactional and banking fields. Prior to DLA Piper he worked in Asia for many years at Clifford Chance and Freshfields.
In his new role, Charlton will work with senior leadership in the region to drive DLA Piper's Asia Pacific strategy. “Bob is an extremely able partner with an affinity with the region and who is heavily invested in the business. He is without question the best person to succeed Alastair and lead the firm's efforts in Asia Pacific," said Sir Nigel Knowles, joint CEO and managing partner of DLA Piper.
Charlton will be based in Hong Kong and plans to split his time between DLA Piper in Australia and Asia and regularly visit the firm's 11 offices in the region: Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Canberra, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Perth, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.
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