Sphera, a big player in the growing field of helping companies manage ESG risks, has hired Michelle Beckers as its first general counsel.

As the company’s top lawyer, Beckers will hone Sphera’s legal strategy to support the expansion of the company, which has more than 3,000 customers across more than 100 countries.

The attorney started her new role this week, a company spokesperson confirmed Friday.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining Sphera as more and more businesses worldwide seek innovative and reliable ESG solutions,” Beckers said in a statement.

“The global marketplace is complex with varying regulatory requirements across different geographic regions. I look forward to supporting Sphera’s continued expansion into the ESG sector and leveraging my expertise in complex contract negotiations and regulatory compliance.”

Founded in 2016, the company offers software, data and consulting that helps clients manage and mitigate ESG risk in such areas of environment, health, safety and sustainability.

Beckers joins Chicago-based Sphera after serving an associate general counsel of Progress, which provides software for the development of business apps. Prior to Progress, Beckers held legal roles at marketing company InnerWorkings as well at software support company Rimini Street.

In September, private equity funds managed by investment management company Blackstone acquired Sphera for $1.4 billion. Sphera was previously owned by private equity firm Genstar Capital. 

Explaining the deal in July, a senior managing director at Blackstone, Eli Nagler, said, “The increasing importance of environmental, social, governance issues to businesses globally is a key thematic investing focus for Blackstone.”

“Sphera has established itself as a market leader in the ESG software and solutions space, and we’re excited to partner with [CEO Paul Marushka] and this best-in-class management team to continue to accelerate their impressive growth trajectory,” Nagler added.

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