The reset of the Solicitors Regulation Authority continued apace today with the appointment of two new executive directors.

Alan Evans has been recruited as general counsel for risk and compliance while Kate O’Neill joins to lead on communications and external affairs.

The SRA and its chief executive Sarah Rapson have expressed the need for a new broom of leaders to guide the organisation through a change in priorities and performance.

Recruitment campaigns for the final two new roles, executive directors of supervision, and of market risk, data and insight, began last week.

Evans comes to the SRA from HM Revenue and Customs, where he was general counsel and director general of the legal group. He has advised the tax body on corporate governance, legal compliance and risk, professional standards and ethics. He previously worked at the environment and business departments and before working in government practised commercial litigation in the City of London.

Until recently, O’Neill was director of stakeholder engagement and corporate affairs at the Financial Reporting Council, where she established the communications teams in early 2020.

Previously, she was the head of corporate development at Jupiter Asset Management where she was responsible for corporate strategy, investor relations and communications. O’Neill was the managing director of investor relations at Lloyds Banking Group during the financial crisis before becoming a partner at Brunswick and then at Maitland communications agencies. She had originally qualified as a lawyer before moving into the financial services sector.

Welcoming the new joiners, Sarah Rapson, SRA chief executive, said: ‘Establishing a stronger leadership team and simplified leadership structure is crucial to achieving the scale of change needed at the SRA. That said, there is still a lot of work ahead of us to become a modern, proportionate regulator that is both trusted and effective.’