Lime, a transportation startup specializing in electric scooter and other transportation rental, has selected Sarah Binder, executive director of Pizza Hut, as its new global general counsel.
Russell Murphy, a Lime spokesperson, has confirmed that Binder will fill the position vacated by Lindsey Haswell as top attorney for the San Francisco-based company in May.
London-based Binder “will geographically expand our leadership team and provide valuable expertise as we enter a new phase in Lime’s journey,” said Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime, in a statement.
Binder’s move from Pizza Hut to Lime, owned by Neutron Holdings Inc., comes after the company and its micromobility competitors had a difficult year due to a shortage of commuters with workers around the world due to stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lime laid off employees in the United States and Europe, but still raised $ 170 million last year in an investment round led by Uber Technologies Inc. and Google LLC’s parent company Alphabet Inc. By the end of 2020, Lime had its first positive cash flow quarter in the four startups annual history gearing up for a possible comeback in commuting.
Like other gig economy companies, Lime is facing legal disputes over the grading of workers hired by drivers charged with charging and transporting their scooters. Kalk also operates mopeds.
Binder, a UK attorney who began her career with Clifford Chance in London and Abu Dhabi, was named Chief Development Officer for Pizza Hut’s UK and European operations earlier this year.
The pizza restaurant chain, a subsidiary of the fast food giant Yum Brands Inc., hired Binder as General Counsel for the UK and European unit in 2018 after working internally at BT Group PLC for six years. Binder held various legal, compliance and privacy roles for BT, a London-based telecommunications institution formerly known as British Telecom, where they worked for subsidiaries EE Ltd. and Plusnet PLC worked.
An automatic reply message from Binder’s Yum email address states that she is on “annual vacation before moving to a new role outside of the company.” She didn’t respond to a request for comment sent to her personal email about her decision to leave Pizza Hut for the privately held Lime.
Haswell, who is replacing Binder, is a former regulatory director at Uber who joined Lime in 2018 as General Counsel. She was promoted to Chief Administrative and Legal Officer last year. In this role, Haswell was responsible for legal, human resources, and trust and security for the company.
Haswell left Lime to become legal head of Blockchain.com, a London-based cryptocurrency data and technology company whose co-founder and CEO Peter Smith noted her hiring in a post on Medium last week.
Ting, a former chief of staff at Uber, said in the statement that he was “extremely grateful” to Haswell for “helping Lime grow and build a successful culture.”
The company appointed former O’Melveny & Myers partner and former Obama government official Danielle Gray to its board of directors last year. Gray is currently the chief legal and administrative officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield in North Carolina.
In a post on her LinkedIn profile almost a year ago, Haswell said that Gray would serve as Lime’s first independent director and “brings extensive legal, political and regulatory experience in both the public and private sectors, including various roles within of the sector, the White House and the Justice Department. “
Haswell said in a separate LinkedIn post earlier this month that she has had the ride of her life at Lime but is ready to send her scooter with Binder into the sunset to “successfully lead Lime into the next chapter” of his existence .
Haswell, who began her career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, will now lead the legal, compliance and human resources teams at Blockchain.com, officially named Blockchain Ltd. is.
Yum, the fast food company, hired Lawrence Grafau, a regional European legal director for the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand, to succeed Binder as General Counsel of Pizza Hut’s UK and European divisions in April for her promotion to Chief Development Officer.
Pizza Hut, which has been expanding overseas in recent years, has also been involved in negotiations with the bankrupt NPC International Inc. over the sale of certain restaurant locations. NPC, who filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US last year, is the largest Pizza Hut restaurant franchisee.
