With four different legal tech companies announcing executive appointments over the last week, including two to top sales spots, the timing leads me to wonder whether this is because companies are staffing up for the Legalweek conference that is just around the corner. Whatever the reason, here is a roundup of the newest additions to legal tech c-suites.

Eric Bouchard Joins Axiom As Chief Financial Officer

Eric Bouchard, formerly chief financial officer at Nestlé Health Sciences, has joined the legal services company Axiom as its new CFO.

The Montreal-based Bouchard had been at Nestlé since 2019 and, before that, was CFO at Atrium Innovations. He previously served in a series of financial executive roles, including as vice president of finance at Bombardier Transportation.

At Nestlé, Axiom said in an announcement, Bouchard was a vital member of the finance team who brought best practices and principles to  health sciences, including support and value-added analysis that measurably improved the performance of the company’s commercial and operational teams.

Exterro Hires Paul Valentino As Chief People Officer

E-discovery and risk-management company Exterro named Paul Valentino as its chief people officer. Valentino moves to Exterro from Proofpoint, where he had been chief people officer for six years.

At Proofpoint, Valentino helped the company earn repeated commendations for exceptional company culture, including recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area and one of the Best HR Teams at the 2023 Comparably Awards. He previously worked in HR roles at Velodyne Lidar, Rambus, Juniper Networks, and Synopsys.

The company said that Valentino will report directly to Exterro CEO Bobby Balachandran and will be instrumental in attracting and retaining top talent, implementing leadership and capabilities development, and integrating change management as the company continues to grow.

Merlin Names Jim Bocchino Chief Revenue Officer

The e-discovery company Merlin Search Technologies has hired Jim Bocchino, a 30-year veteran of the e-discovery industry, as chief revenue officer.

Bocchino was most recently with Nuix, where, as vice president of corporate sales, he provided strategic sales leadership for a team of enterprise sales executives, strategic account managers and solution consultants in enterprise e-discovery software, cyber security and forensic investigations.

Prior to Nuix, Bocchino served in numerous senior leadership positions with Epiq, most recently as regional vice president of sales overseeing a team of five area sales directors and 33 sales executives focused on corporate, government and Am Law 200 markets.

He joined Epiq in 2017 following its acquisition by DTI, where he had worked since 2004. At DTI, Bocchino was responsible for developing the national accounts program and leading the national accounts sales team to record growth.

Relativity Promotes Steve Couling As Chief Sales Officer

In an internal promotion, the e-discovery company Relativity has named Steve Couling as its chief sales officer.

Couling has been with Relativity since 2012, when he was its first employee hired outside North America, and he has helped support its international growth ever since, the company said.

Over the last 12 years, Couling played a leading role in establishing and advancing Relativity’s global footprint, the company said, and he has overseen the development of teams and offices in the U.K., Australia, Poland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Ireland.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.