People moves: Elon Musk’s xAI appoints former DOGE legal chief James Burnham as general counsel

James Burnham has been named as the new general counsel at Elon Musk’s technology company xAI.

Revealed in short mention at the end of a press release, Burnham joins following his tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as general counsel.

Prior to this he also held roles like senior associate counsel at The White House under the Trump Administration and counselor to the attorney general at the US Department of Justice.

Burnham succeeds Robert Keele who stepped down as head of legal at the company in August, after just over a year in the role.

Meanwhile, US uranium mining company Ur-Energy has confirmed that – as part of its leadership succession planning – acting general counsel and corporate secretary Penne Goplerud will retire on January 6, 2026.

Goplerud has served in the role since 2011, prior to which she acted as outside counsel to Ur-Energy beginning in 2005 before officially joining the company as associate general counsel in 2007.

Alex Ritchie will succeed her as general counsel and corporate secretary on January 6, 2026, with Goplerud staying on for short time to ensure a smooth transition.

Ritchie enters the role with over 25 years of experience in both private practice and as senior corporate counsel for the US subsidiary of an international oil and gas company.

‘I want to personally thank Penne for her unwavering dedication to Ur-Energy over the past 20 years and her teacher’s heart that has always been willing to mentor me and many others,’ says John Cash, chairman and CEO of Ur-Energy.

Elsewhere, Forward Industries has announced the appointment of Georgia Quinn as general counsel. She enters the role with over two decades of experience, most recently serving as chief legal officer at Securitize.

Before that, she spent over four years at Anchorage Digital as general counsel and as an advisor, was general counsel of CoinList and spent three years as CEO and co-founder of legal technology platform iDisclose.

‘Georgia brings a unique track record of building compliance frameworks for some of the largest and most innovative companies across the digital asset ecosystem. With laws and regulations shifting around the world, her ecosystem experience will be key to strategically expanding Forward’s footprint,’ says Kyle Samani, chairman of Forward Industries. 

In Vancouver, Canada, Solar Alliance Energy has confirmed the promotion of Jawad Chughtai, the company’s CFO, to the position of corporate secretary.

Chughtai joined Solar Alliance as CFO earlier this year and succeeds Monique Hutchins, the company’s former corporate secretary who has resigned.

The board and management team of Solar Alliance thanked Hutchins for her contributions to the company and wished her ‘continued success’.

Finally, Nasdaq listed First Bank has appointed Bridget Welborn as its new chief risk officer and head of legal. 

Welborn most recently served as senior counsel, banking, privacy and data security at Wyrick Robbins. Before this, she was chief privacy and risk officer at State Employees’ Credit Union. She also held senior leadership positions at First-Citizens Bank and Trust Company.

‘We are thrilled to welcome Bridget to our executive leadership team,’ says Adam Currie, CEO of First Bank. ‘Her strategic vision, deep expertise in risk management, and commitment to building strong legal and risk infrastructures will be invaluable as we continue to grow and innovate.