People moves: Sarah Apple joins Holley Performance Brands as its new corporate secretary

NYSE-listed Holley Performance Brands has named Sarah Apple as SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Prior to joining the company, Apple served as associate general counsel at REV Group, where she led key initiatives involving SEC reporting and M&A. Before this, she also held roles at the likes of Regal Rexnord where she served as a strategic advisor and business partner to senior executives across global operational matters, compliance initiatives, SEC reporting, board governance and large-scale strategic transactions.

Apple succeeds Carly Kennedy, who has left the company after serving as EVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. 

‘Sarah brings a strong combination of public-company governance experience, strategic legal leadership and operational insight that will support Holley’s continued growth and long-term value creation,’ says Matthew Stevenson, president and CEO of Holley Performance Brands.

Elsewhere, Vista Gold, a gold mining and exploration company, has appointed Julie Jones as general counsel and company secretary of Vista Gold Australia.

Jones enters the role with over 20 years of legal and executive leadership experience across ASX100 companies, global mining operators and industry organizations. During her tenure, Jones has held senior leadership positions at the likes of Gold Road Resources, Australian Strategic Materials, Matrix Composites & Engineering, Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA as well as Iluka Resources. Earlier in her career, she practiced with a leading Australian law firm and the West Australian State Solicitor’s Office.

‘I am pleased to welcome Julie to our team,’ says Frederick Earnest, president and CEO of Vista. ‘Her appointment further strengthens our executive team in Australia at an important stage in the advancement of Mt Todd. Her broad legal and corporate leadership experience will also be instrumental as Vista executes its strategic plan for the development of Mt Todd.’

Over at NYSE-listed Clearway Energy it has been confirmed Kevin Malcarney will retire from his position as EVP, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Malcarney has been in the role since 2018, overseeing the Clearway Energy legal and compliance teams and supporting governance and strategic initiatives.  

As of June 1, 2026, Michael Brown will succeed Malcarney as SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary. Brown most recently served as VP, assistant general counsel and corporate secretary at The New York Times.

Before this Malcarney acted as deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Clearway Energy, from 2018 to 2021 and in senior legal roles supporting NRG Yield from 2014 to 2018.

‘We are incredibly excited to be welcoming Mike back as the next general counsel of Clearway Energy. Over his many years of work with us at NRG and Clearway, Mike helped craft the business architecture and capital base that comprise Clearway today and served as an astute strategic partner to peers across our leadership team,’ says Craig Cornelius, the company’s CEO.

Next up, Nasdaq-listed Jaiyin Group has appointed Dan Qi as its new chief risk officer, effective June 1.

Qi succeeds Yifang Xu who has resigned from her position as chief risk officer for ‘personal reasons’ but will continue to serve as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Qi currently serves as the company’s head of risk policy, a position she has held since September 2025. Before this she held key risk management roles at WeBank from 2015 to 2025. Earlier in her career she held risk management roles at Alipay, where she specialized in international payment risk control, and at Guangfa Bank Card Center, where she focused on asset risk prediction and post-credit card collection strategies.

‘We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Xu for her dedicated service and significant contributions to the Company during her tenure,’ says founder, director and CEO Dinggui Yan. ‘We look forward to Qi’s expertise in big data risk management strengthening our risk management capabilities and supporting the Company’s sustainable growth.’

Lastly, global mining group Rio Tinto has named Trudi Charles as its news chief legal officer, governance and corporate affairs.

Charles, who currently served as deputy general counsel and SVP legal, supply, trading and shipping at BP, is to succeed Isabelle Deschamps as of August 1.

She has spent more than 20 years at BP in various senior legal roles across its downstream and supply, trading & shipping businesses. Before this, Charles spent almost eight years with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in London and Hong Kong.

‘Trudi brings deep legal experience and strong commercial insight. I look forward to having her join the executive team and lead our legal, governance and corporate affairs teams,’ says CEO Simon Trott.