LeapFrog Investments has hired Stuart Bedford as General Counsel to oversee all legal functions.

Bedford joins LeapFrog from Linklaters, where he was Head of the London Corporate Division and the Private Equity Group.

Commenting on his appointment, Bedford said: “LeapFrog is seizing the largest long-term investment opportunity in the world today, 4 billion emerging consumers, who are now on the grid thanks to mobile telephony.”

“It is good business to invest in companies that deliver essential tools to these people, and it also serves an enormous social need. This compelling proposition of outsize Profit with Purpose has inspired me and many others to take the leap. I’m delighted to join this extraordinary team,” he said.

In his diverse career, Bedford has led over $40bn of transactions across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe – including major M&As, IPOs and placings.

His two decades of legal experience span financial services, food and beverages, mining, infrastructure and energy.

He has led relationships with Carlyle, TIAA-CREF, Khazanah, Temasek and Standard Chartered Principal Finance. Earlier in his career at Linklaters, he was Head of the Corporate Division for Asia.

Andrew Kuper, CEO and founder of LeapFrog, said: “Stuart is a star performer and exceptional leader in his field globally, bringing deep pattern recognition and multi-market capabilities. His distinctive expertise further strengthens LeapFrog’s governance, risk management and transaction capabilities.”

Bedford joins a team of 75 across 6 offices in Europe, Africa and Asia.

LeapFrog’s founding General Counsel, Tom Brunner, will stay with the business.

“We are delighted that Tom will continue as a Partner, drawing on his nearly 50 years of experience and wisdom to support our leadership team across the world,” said Kuper.