Adtalem Global Education announced that Stephen Beard, senior vice president and general counsel, has been named chief operating officer and general counsel, effective January 9, 2019. Beard is a versatile and proven leader who has spent his career working with companies across multiple industries managing an array of business, strategy, risk and legal disciplines. He joined Adtalem in February 2018, overseeing Adtalem’s global legal, governance and risk, and security matters. In his expanded role, Beard will now also lead the company’s strategy and innovation, corporate development and investor relations activities as well as focus on operational processes to further align company initiatives and corporate development efforts with the needs of students and customers. Previously, Stephen was executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., where he directed global legal operations for the company and oversaw a variety of enterprise support functions including strategy and corporate development.