A raft of senior hires and promotions have been announced all across the North West over the last seven days.
Law firms, digital agencies and finance providers have all confirmed changes to their top teams.
Below, BusinessLive rounds up the 32 latest new hires and promotions from across the North West we feel you should not miss.
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If you have a new or recent appointment or promotion that you would like featured in our next round up, please e-mail jon.robinson@reachplc.com.
Qbunk
Tech firm Qbunk has announced the appointment of sales manager Natasha Holloway in Liverpool.
She has previously worked for the likes of Kbox Global, Howdens and Stanley Security.
She said: "I’m extremely excited to start the next chapter in my sales journey, having watched Qbunk’s progress from afar in recent months.
"My primary aim is to bring additional revenue into the company, bringing in sales procedures and solutions, so that the whole team can sing from the same hymn sheet, as we reach out to potential partners and customers throughout the North West and beyond."
PM+M
Blackburn and Bury-based chartered accountancy, business advisory and financial planning group PM+M has named two new partners.
James McIntyre has been promoted in the financial planning team. He joined the firm in January 2021 as a director.
The second partner promotion is Wendy Anderson who was appointed as director of private client tax in December 2017.
Managing partner Jane Parry said: "Over the past couple of years, James and Wendy have added real value to their clients and colleagues.
"Their professionalism, expertise and drive have shone through so the promotions are very well deserved. PM+M is focused on investing in the talent we have, which means it is always fantastic to make these kinds of promotions as our people are the backbone of the business."
Shakespeare North Playhouse
Six leaders in arts, culture, business, tourism and media have been appointed trustees of the charity behind the new Shakespeare North Playhouse set to open this summer in Knowsley.
ACC Liverpool managing director Faye Dyer, creative consultant and inclusion champion Saphena Aziz of charity Curious Minds, and digital visionary Jon Corner, have joined the board of the Shakespeare North Trust.
Alongside them are arts regeneration guru Peter Mearns who is also chair at Liverpool Bluecoat and Chester Storyhouse, former Liverpool Echo editor Alastair Machray MBE, and Sheena Wrigley, venue director at The Factory - Manchester International Festival.
The new appointments come as the new £38m Shakespeare North Playhouse, home to the only 17th-century 'Cockpit' theatre outside London, is set to open its doors with a weekend of festivities on July 15-17.
Lancashire Tea
Lancashire Tea has appointed Paul Muench as its new sales manager.
Mr Muench brings ten years' experience in retail and FMCG roles supporting brands including Britvic and Nestle Cereal Partners.
The new role will include managing regional accounts for existing customers, developing new routes to market for the brand and building relationships with potential retail and wholesale customers.
He said: "I’m excited about becoming part of the Lancashire Tea team. It’s fast becoming a challenger brand and the company is agile and really responsive to customer needs with some exciting NPD planned for 2022.
"I’m looking forward to getting out and meeting customers and ultimately seeing the new packs on shelf in new locations as momentum builds. It feels like a really pivotal time to be joining the team."
The Peninsula Group
The Peninsula Group, which is headquartered in Manchester, has appointed Jordan Foster as its new chief financial officer.
He will work closely with both the executive and financial functions across the group, which provides business support services, including HR, employment law, health & safety, tech solutions and Employee Assistance Programmes, to over 100,000 global clients.
Mr Foster started his career at the KPMG Manchester office in its financial services audit practice where he qualified as a chartered accountant before moving into its corporate finance team, spending almost a decade focusing on M&A across a range of companies and sectors.
He joins the Peninsula Group from the Together Group, where he spent seven years as director of strategic finance.
Kuits
Manchester commercial law firm Kuits has created a new role within its Litigation team.
Rebecca Jones joined Kuits in 2017 and will now take on the role of head of property litigation.
She said: "I am excited to take on the role of head of property litigation as we continue to see a rise in matters in this area.
"Kuits is an ambitious and supportive firm where I have the opportunity to work on complex matters with a great team around me."
Kuits also announced the appointment of Niall Helferty as a solicitor who has six years’ experience in property-related matters in both residential and commercial properties including possession proceedings, nuisances and forfeiture.
HURST
Accounting and business advisory firm HURST has promoted three of its employees to associate manager level in Stockport.
The trio are Oliver Cross and Ellie Wild in HURST’s business services team and Jack Moore in the tax team.
HURST partner and director of practice development Simon Brownbill said: "Joining us early in their careers, Ollie and Ellie have become invaluable members of the team, and we welcome their promotion to management positions.
"In a short period of time, Jack has really impressed us with his skills and knowledge. We see his promotion as recognition of his stellar performance, and the central role he will play as the team continues to grow and develop.
"These promotions reflect our ongoing commitment to promoting talented individuals within the firm and giving them the opportunity to further their careers with us."
Time Finance
Time Finance has appointed Liverpool-based Sean Hughes as head of compliance.
He has previously worked at the likes of Thistle Initiatives Group, BNY Mellon and Atlanta Group.
Mr Hughes said: "I’m delighted to be re-joining Time Finance and stepping up to this new position. The firm already has an excellent reputation for delivering services built on transparency, integrity, and trust.
"I’m looking forward to building on that further and helping Time Finance to achieve its longer-term commercial goals whilst also ensuring our customers are at the heart of those decisions.
"They have a genuine commitment to delivering solutions to UK businesses to inspire confidence and growth, and that’s great to be a part of."
Deloitte
Deloitte has made two senior Manchester hires in consulting and financial advisory.
Emma Franklin and Alastair Stewart have been appointed as directors to work across Deloitte’s regional public sector business.
Richard Bray, partner in consulting at Deloitte across the North of England, said: "It’s an exciting time to join the firm as we grow our consulting offering in the North of England. From our bases in Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, we bring all the creativity and capabilities of our global business to achieve sustainable, long-term impact with Northern organisations and communities.
"Emma and Alistair have a shared desire to improve our public services to make them more efficient to deliver and more accessible for the people that need them, and I am pleased to welcome them to Deloitte."
mmadigital
Jayne Hennessey has been appointed to the newly-created role of head of people for West Didsbury-based mmadigital.
In her role, she will be responsible for developing and leading a new people strategy, including talent acquisition and development, benefits and wellbeing and employee engagement, plus the wider internal culture agenda as the company goes through its next phase of growth.
She joins from Borough Care where she implemented a new people strategy designed to improve performance and wellbeing, and led the organisation through a cultural change programme.
Prior to that, she held strategic roles with SharpFutures CIC, a social enterprise that supports diverse young people into employment in the creative digital and tech sectors, Barburrito and Blemain Finance, now known as Together Money.
Source PR
Chester-headquartered Source PR has made three new appointments.
Jess McDonnell has joined as senior account manager to drive B2B growth for the agency and Adam Stanworth who joins to support this growth.
Source PR has also made a new addition to the B2C side of the agency, with the appointment of Jill Mathers.
Managing director Louis Hill said: "Our people are our best asset and to be in the position to be able to expand the team is great. We’ve had some exciting new client wins in 2022 and by hiring the best people we can produce the highest quality work, results and service for our clients."
Bank North
Manchester-headquartered Bank North has announced the internal promotion of two senior team members, to take effect once the Bank reaches full launch.
Regional managing director Rebecca Owen has been promoted to commercial director while head of savings Louise Halliwell has been made savings director.
CEO and co-founder Jonathan Thompson said: "Since joining, Rebecca and Louise have become key members of the team, and these promotions reflect their hard work.
"The promotions, along with our new Manchester Pod recruits Ellie and Shane, come at a vital stage in our journey, as we look not just to aid a post-Covid economic recovery, but to help rebalance the nation’s economy and, importantly, as we look ahead to when we will be welcoming savers to Bank North."
Vertex Hydrogen
Vertex Hydrogen, which is owned by Essar Oil and is building the UK’s first and hydrogen plant in Cheshire, has appointed its first CEO, Joe Seifert.
Mr Seifert brings over 20 years of commercial leadership including advising and financing some of the world’s leading companies across multiple sectors, including energy, finance, infrastructure and technology.
He said: "It’s extremely exciting to join Vertex. The organisation is at the forefront of the UK’s energy transition, delivering the UK’s first large scale, low carbon hydrogen facility.
"Vertex will have a real and near-term impact on national carbon reduction targets as well as helping to secure and grow industry and jobs in the North West.
"We are now moving rapidly to progress the project and look forward to working with our partners to deliver."
Hill Dickinson
Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has begun its new financial year by announcing the promotion of five of its senior associates to legal director in the North West.
Spanning all three of Hill Dickinson’s key business groups - business services, marine and health - the five new legal directors cover a range of practice areas, including corporate, real estate, employment, private client health advisory, health litigation and shipping.
The promotions include Rebecca Layton, Joe Orme and Katie Austin in Liverpool as well as Alison Batchelor and Siôn Davies in Manchester.
Chief executive Peter Jackson said: "It gives me great pleasure to support our people in building their careers with Hill Dickinson and see their efforts rewarded by promotion through the ranks."
Merrick
Solicitor Molly Souter has returned to Manchester-based Merrick.
She said: "What I have always liked about Merrick is they do things differently. We have that personal touch; it’s more than just having a call with a client and advising them.
"We provide different service levels based on a client’s financial circumstances. Access Us is like a Legal Aid rate (which isn’t available for most cases of divorce) and enables us to help people where money is tight."
Principal Amanda Merrick added: "Molly is making a real difference in helping our clients. She understands what an impact divorce has on all aspects of people’s lives and is very keen to use her knowledge and training to do her best for every client."
