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Clayton Utz’s new chief executive partner revealed
A decision has been made on who will lead the firm in 2023.
Emma Musgrave
After much speculation, Clayton Utz has confirmed Emma Covacevich will be the firm’s next chief executive partner. As expected, she will serve a three-year term in the top job, which will officially kick off on 1 July 2023.
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The decision follows a board vote earlier this month, which featured two contenders who put themselves up for the role — Ms Covacevich and current chief executive partner Bruce Cooper.
Ms Covacevich kicked off her career with the BigLaw firm back in 1999 before being promoted to partner in 2007. For the past two and a half years, she’s been Clayton Utz’s deputy chief executive – clients and markets and also leads the firm’s energy transition offering.
Clayton Utz board chair Karen O’Flynn said Ms Covacevich was well placed to lead the firm through its next stage of growth.
“Emma has grown up with Clayton Utz and understands intimately what it takes to build a successful practice, as well as a successful business,” she said.
“She has demonstrated a keen strategic understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing our clients, and the leadership capabilities that will be required to respond to these.
“We congratulate Emma on her appointment, which represents both a significant milestone for her, and for our firm, as the first female CEP in Clayton Utz’s history.”
Commenting further, Ms O’Flynn thanked outgoing chief executive partner Bruce Cooper for his leadership over the past three years.
“Bruce took on the CEP role at a challenging time given the pandemic, and has led with confidence, decisiveness, and innovative thinking in how we engage our clients and our people.
“We are grateful for his contribution as CEP and for his previous two terms as deputy CEP – clients and markets, when our business experienced considerable growth. He has contributed to the firm’s continued growth and evolution in so many ways,” she said.
