Interim Chief Legal Officer & Executive Vice President, Global Government Relations

A North American company entering a pivotal growth phase, driven by international expansion, strategic investment, and transformative corporate initiatives, is seeking an interim Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Government Relations. The role reports directly to the President and CEO and involves advising the Board of Directors across legal, governance, compliance, and government affairs. The engagement is expected to run 6 to 12 months, with a strong possibility of transitioning to a permanent appointment, and accommodation or relocation support is provided for the Denver, Colorado location.

The mandate covers strategic legal counsel, M&A transaction execution, public-company governance under U.S. and Canadian securities law, cross-border regulatory compliance, environmental and permitting oversight, trade and sanctions frameworks, intellectual property strategy, and enterprise risk management. The successful candidate will also build and scale a high-performing global legal and government relations function, managing external counsel, government relations advisors, and legal spend across multiple jurisdictions.

• Serve as principal legal advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and executive leadership team across all material legal and governance matters.
• Lead legal strategy for acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, and other cross-border transactions, including due diligence and post-closing integration.
• Oversee U.S. and Canadian securities law compliance, disclosure controls, insider trading programmes, and Board governance practices.
• Direct government relations strategy across federal, state, provincial, and international jurisdictions, building relationships with policymakers and regulators.
• Develop scalable compliance frameworks covering export controls, sanctions, anti-corruption, environmental, data, and supply chain regulation.
• Build, lead, and develop the global legal, compliance, governance, and government relations organisation, including management of outside counsel and advisors.

• Demonstrated experience as a public-company general counsel or chief legal officer with a strong track record in complex M&A and cross-border transactions.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. and Canadian securities law, stock exchange requirements, and public-company governance obligations.
• Experience leading government relations, trade policy, sanctions, and regulatory affairs across multiple jurisdictions.
• Background in environmental, permitting, health and safety, and manufacturing compliance within resource, processing, or industrial sectors.
• Proven ability to manage litigation, arbitration, and enterprise risk programmes at scale.
• Ability to operate effectively as a board-ready executive with strong commercial judgement and organisational leadership capability.

LHH is a global talent solutions and advisory firm that connects organisations with executive and professional talent across interim, fractional, and permanent placements. In this instance, LHH is recruiting on behalf of a North American headquartered company operating across resource, manufacturing, and industrial sectors with operations spanning multiple international jurisdictions.