She was the firm's first-ever CEO
Cooney Lees Morgan has announced the retirement of Cecilia Burgess as CEO.
Burgess was the first to lead the firm as CEO in 107 years. She had been in the role since October 2021.
As CEO, Burgess was key to the firm’s establishment of a new management structure. She also helped to bolster the business’ support areas.
Her career in professional services has spanned more than 35 years and includes stints at Bell Gully and PwC NZ, where she was COO. She also spent time at Linklaters in their Hong Kong and London offices, where she was global head of business development, as well as at MinterEllison, where she was business development director.
Burgess has developed and supervised teams, helped boards and management teams to craft and implement strategies, assisted client teams with managing their relationships, and tackled diversity, inclusion and sustainability initiatives.
Last year, she was recognised as Law Firm Leader of the Year (<100 Lawyers) at the NZ Law Awards. Under her leadership, Cooney Lees Morgan was also named an Excellence Awardee in the LEAP Legal Software Mid-Size Law Firm of the Year category at the awards.
Following her retirement from a fulltime role, Burgess will concentrate on part-time governance and consulting positions.
