North East law firm Hay & Kilner has appointed residential property specialist Claire Simmons.
Ms Simmonds has joined the Newcastle-headquartered firm as a partner and brings more than two decades’ experience of working with leading North East law firms to her new role.
She holds a Masters degree in Property Law from Northumbria University and has worked with a wide range of clients right across England and Wales, often with successive generations of the same family.
She said: “The North East has always been the primary focus of my practice due to the qualities of both its people and its places, and Newcastle in particular is a thriving city that offers a huge range of opportunities.
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“Working in residential property gives me the chance to really get to know my clients and their families. No two transactions are ever the same, and it’s really satisfying to help these people achieve their property ambitions. Hay & Kilner has always had a strong reputation for both its commercial focus and the quality of its highly-knowledgeable team, and joining the firm gives me the chance to work alongside some hugely impressive practitioners.”
Alison Hall, partner and head of the private client department at Hay & Kilner Law Firm, adds: “Claire is both a highly regarded practitioner in her particular sector and a well-respected member of the wider North East professional services community, and we’re very pleased that she’s chosen to move to Hay & Kilner.”
Naomi Hutchinson joins Sunderland City Council’s growing Smart City Programme team as chief innovation and growth officer, to support local businesses and Sunderland’s ambitions to be a UK leading smart city with opportunities for all.
She joins from Sunderland Software City, where she worked for almost eight years as head of innovation for the most part. She supported tech startups and SMEs across the region to realise their potential through innovative, digital solutions.
In her new role she will be working with businesses, residents and visitors, helping them to understand how to adapt to take advantage of next generation connectivity across the city, enabling them to embrace opportunities, compete and grow.
Ms Hutchinson said: “Sunderland City Council’s core ethos of leaving no one and nowhere behind really resonated with me, and as I delved deeper into the Council’s plans to build a leading smart city infrastructure, I could see clear opportunities for residents, visitors, local businesses and inward investors.”
Sunderland based Richard Reed Solicitors has been joined by experienced dispute resolution and employment law solicitor Kat Moody.
Ms Moody, originally from Sunderland, has come to Richard Reed from a Peterlee law firm and will now work alongside directors Barry Wood and Phil Moir as part of the dispute resolution team.
The solicitor has worked for both private and commercial clients on a range of issues including employment law, professional negligence, debt recovery, landlord and tenant work and contested probate and will be bringing these skills to Richard Reed.
She will also be at the forefront of driving the firm’s RR Protect initiative, which offers employment law and HR advice and support for an affordable fixed monthly fee.
She said: “As someone who is originally from Sunderland, I was very keen to come back and work in the city and when the opportunity came to join Richard Reed I didn’t hesitate. The on-going impact of the pandemic means that employers have to take into consideration their staff’s health or what might be an employee’s disability. Having the ability to get proper legal advice and support is what RR Protect is all about and it’s very exciting for me to work in this area.”
Two key members of the investment team at NEL Fund Managers have earned promotions on the back of the impact of their work with growing companies across the region.
Jane Siddle and Mike Guellard have been made senior investment executives at the investment organisation after helping dozens of North East firms successfully secure growth capital investments.
A qualified chartered accountant with a specialism in corporate finance, Ms Siddle joined NEL in 2007 after working in practice in the North East and also undertaking various fund management roles in South Yorkshire.
Mr Guellard returned to the region to join NEL in 2016 after working in the banking and finance sector in both the North East and London for organisations including HSBC, Entrust, business microloan provider Fair Finance and investment portal Funding Xchange.
Yvonne Gale, chief executive at NEL Fund Managers, says: “Jane and Mike have been cornerstones of our investment team for many years and thoroughly deserve the promotions that they’re earned.
“Their expertise, knowledge and dedication has been central to the growth plans of dozens of North East businesses being successfully realised, and despite the many challenges of the last two years, they have helped to maintain the crucial flow of growth capital into the regional economy.”
Gateshead vehicle retailer Vertu Motors has appointed Bruce Clark as chief technology officer, a newly created role within the senior management of the group.
He joined the group in 2013 and has been the IT director for the last two years. The role gives him a place on the group’s CEO committee and marks a further step change in its focus on technology strategy and the management bandwidth to deliver the group’s strategic technology plans.
Further recruitment will now start to replace Mr Clark previous role and for a new Head of Data. These two recruits will join a team of 110 colleagues charged with equipping Vertu with robust internal systems and delivering a sector leading omni-channel retail environment encompassing sales and aftersales operations.
Robert Forrester, chief executive of Vertu Motors said: “I am delighted to welcome Bruce into a new role and onto the CEO Committee. Vertu has long led the sector from a technology perspective, as illustrated by our offering full online sales of used cars ahead of anyone else back in 2017, and these changes will equip Vertu with the necessary skills and strategies to drive our omni-channel offering into the next decade and beyond.”
Lucy Evermore has been appointed chair of The Provider Network Steering Group, with plans to work with other providers to cement and shape future business support.
Having worked at Advance Northumberland for eight years, she is currently the programme manager for successful digital support programme, Business Northumberland.
The appointment to chair comes after a two-year role on the steering group, which she joined in 2020 to advocate for Northumberland businesses.
The Provider Network Steering Group was created by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) four years ago to act as a regional and national voice for all the business support providers in the North East LEP area.
She said: “I am excited for the opportunity and look forward to building on Estelle’s valuable legacy by continuing to work with business support providers to further enhance business support across the North East.”
Colin Bell, Business Growth Director for the North LEP, said: “As an organisation, the North East LEP is very focused on partnership working and it has been hugely positive to see our relationship with business support providers go from strength to strength over recent years. Lucy is a great appointment as Chair and I know she will do a great job as we all strive to create an eco-system of support that works for our business community.”
