Private equity giant KKR has hired a partner from its key legal advisor Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as its next general counsel who will later also take on the role of chief legal officer.
New York-based partner and co-head of M&A Kathryn King Sudol has been appointed general counsel, succeeding David Sorkin who becomes chief legal officer before transitioning to an advisory partner role at the end of Q1 2023. At this point, Sudol will assume the CLO role, a KKR statement added.
Sudol has been at Simpson Thacher for 24 years, according to the KKR statement. Sorkin, meanwhile, has been KKR’s general counsel since 2007.
Simpson Thacher is a longstanding advisor to the private equity group, having recently taken lead roles on its £1.75 billion acquisition of U.K. power generation company ContourGlobal and its €33 billion bid to buyout Telecom Italia.
Both new roles will begin from September 6, the statement added.
Co-CEOs of KKR, Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, said in the statement: “Katie has worked very closely with KKR and members of our senior team both in the U.S. and internationally for many, many years.
“She is a preeminent lawyer and a dynamic leader who is a perfect fit with KKR’s culture. We are delighted that she has decided to join KKR, and we are excited to work with her as a strategic partner for years to come in achieving our growth objectives.”
They added: “David steered us forward as we became a public company, helped drive our growth into new businesses and regions, and built the strong legal and compliance teams, as well as internal audit and enterprise risk teams, that support every aspect of our business around the world. We look forward to continuing our longtime partnership with him in his next chapter at KKR.”
Alden Millard, chair of Simpson Thacher’s executive committee, said: “Katie is a phenomenal lawyer and we are grateful for her tremendous contributions to Simpson Thacher throughout her nearly 25-year tenure with the firm. We wish Katie every success and look forward to continuing to work with her and the entire KKR team.”
