The Laclede Group, a public utility holding company that provides natural gas services, has announced executive management changes, effective May 1.

Among the new appointments, the company has named Mark Darrell as general counsel, chief compliance officer and senior vice president. In his new role, Darrell will supervise the company's corporate legal functions, including mergers and acquisitions support, litigation, regulatory affairs, contracts and environmental matters. He will also be responsible for corporate compliance.

The company has also named Ellen Theroff as vice president of governance and standards and assistant corporate secretary. Theroff responsibilities will include development and implementation of standards for shared services and the company's facilities strategy, as well as corporate security, governance and facilities management.