This week’s North West appointments

Laura Bailey, Steamhaus

Steamhaus, the Manchester-based cloud and dev-ops consultancy, has chosen Laura Bailey for the position of business development manager.

In her new role, Laura’s remit will include building relationships with startups, digital and creative agencies and online businesses running high-traffic websites.

Laura joined Steamhaus from Melbourne Server Hosting, prior to which she spent over 10 years working in sales and business development roles for software, IT and cloud-focused businesses.

She also started her own web design and IT consultancy, which she led for seven years.

Laura said: “I’m so happy to be coming on board at Steamhaus!

“In a company as exciting and innovative as this, the possibilities are endless. The company culture was also a massive draw, with its close-knit team and focus on customer care.”

Steamhaus MD Daniel Keighron-Foster commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Laura to the team.

“Her passion for high-growth businesses, along with her expertise in sales and business development, make her the ideal fit for Steamhaus. Welcome on board, Laura!”

Peter Eustance (pictured) and Howard Elliot-Jones, SDL Auctions North West

SDL Auctions North West has taken on two new commercial auctions valuers.

Peter Eustance joined SDL Auctions North West from property data company CoStar, where he worked as account manager.

A qualified chartered surveyor, Peter holds a degree in Land Management from Reading University. He worked at CoStar for over three years, prior to which he spent 16 years with commercial property firm CBRE.

Howard Elliot-Jones, meanwhile, was hired from Fairhurst Estates, where he held the role of agency director.

Having obtained a degree in Accountancy from Bangor University, Howard went on to study for a Masters in Commercial Property at Liverpool John Moores University and qualifiy as a chartered surveyor.

SDL Auctions’ chief executive, auctioneer Rory Daly, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Peter and Howard to our team. We’re confident their in-depth experience in different sectors across the north west will help our operations make a real impact in the region.”

Claire Reid, Hall Brown Family Law

Family law specialist Hall Brown has appointed Claire Reid in the role of senior associate.

Joining the company from Slater and Gordon, Claire is the Manchester firm’s 12th fee earner and 19th member of staff since it launched in April last year.

James Brown, managing partner at Hall Brown Family Law, commented: “I worked with Claire at Pannone, which used to boast the North West’s number one family law team.

“She is an incredibly capable, likeable and experienced lawyer who adds yet more depth to the team which we’ve been fortunate to assemble in little over a year in business.”

He added: “Our intention is not to add numbers for the sake of it but bring in individuals of considerable calibre who can enhance what we do.”

Speaking further, James said: “Having been lucky to bring Claire on board, we expect to make additional appointments of lawyers with similar tier one backgrounds in the months to come as we continue striving to better how we can support clients and progress the business as a result.”

Andrew Potts, GHD

Engineering, environmental and advisory services business GHD has appointed Andrew Potts as its UK market sector leader for property and buildings.

Andrew, a chartered structural engineer, has worked with GHD for over 18 years designing and managing building projects for industrial, retail, residential, education and leisure sector clients.

Andrew said: “My focus is to build on our reputation for outstanding service by strengthening relationships, both with our clients and internally across our regional and global office network.

“I am really excited by the opportunities to further extend our building and construction support capability.”

He continued: “By connecting and collaborating, we are making it possible for our UK engineers to contribute to the design of large structures in the UAE while giving our UK clients access to the skills and capabilities we have developed in the Middle East.”

GHD’s UK managing director, Craig Stockton, commented: “We are committed to retaining the best talent so that we deliver excellent client service.

“Andrew is highly regarded for his commitment to building strong relationships and a dedication to providing real value for our clients.”

He added: “His principal skills lie in his ability to challenge and drive value engineered solutions, often generating development cost savings whilst keeping the client’s outcomes foremost at all times.”

Matt Lacey, Code Computerlove

Digital agency Code Computerlove has appointed Matt Lacey as performance director.

Reporting directly into CEO Tony Foggett, Matt will oversee conversion optimisation programmes running for clients such as Hillarys, JCT600 and Swinton. His remit will also include bringing new clients on board and increasing the agency’s web analytics services.

Matt previously worked for marketing agency iProspect, where he was head of conversion optimisation

Matt said: “This is a hugely exciting role; focusing on digital product performance within an agency that has such strong strategic, design and engineering capabilities as part of a complete client package.

“With stronger insights and continually testing new ways of driving more from clients’ digital solutions we’re able to generate unprecedented results for clients, and I look forward to expanding the team and client base at Code.”

Tony Foggett commented: “We continue to attract some of the best talent in the business and, with a number of opportunities still to fill, the door is open for more people to join the team.”

Graham Hansen, HRC Law

Law firm HRC Law has expanded its team with the appointment of Graham Hansen as an associate.

Joining the company’s commercial team, Graham specialises in commercial and consumer contracts along with related data protection and intellectual property issues.

Starting his career with law firm TLT, Graham then held an in-house counsel role at Acenden. After that he worked for insurance company esure, where he advised on various business needs and commercial contracts.

Graham said of his appointment: “The current landscape provides so much opportunity for our clients who are ambitious and entrepreneurially-minded businesses.

“I was impressed with how HRC Law puts the client at the centre of everything it does and works in a seamless way. I’m looking forward to working with the excellent team to support clients in their growth.”

HRC Law’s managing partner, Simon Whitehead, commented: “One of biggest challenges is attracting the right people for our team and our clients.

“The very best legal talent that both matches our can-do culture, and who are prepared to understand our clients’ industries inside-out. We’ve found that in Graham and the rest of the team.”

He continued: “The past 12 months have seen us hit many milestones – upscaling our offices and making some key strategic appointments, helping us to continue to deliver the high level of support to our clients and to achieve our ambitions for the business.”

Four appointments, WHN Solicitors

Lancashire law firm WHN Solicitors has appointed four women in key positions.

Justine Harris, Louise Desoer, Carolyn Ford (pictured above) and Racheal Jordan have all taken up new roles across the company’s offices in Bury and Haslingden.

Louise has been appointed as a conveyancing legal executive, while Justine joined the firm as a commercial paralegal. Both Carolyn and Racheal have been promoted to the role of paralegal.

Michael Shroot, WHN partner, said of the appointments: “I am delighted to see Louise, Justine, Carolyn and Racheal take up pivotal roles across our firm and I am confident they will continue to impress our clients.

“At WHN we’re committed to growing our team internally as well as bringing in people with the skills and experience we need to drive expansion and further strengthen the services that we offer. These are exciting times and I am sure Louise, Justine, Carolyn and Racheal will enjoy great success in their new roles.”

Kirsty Walker, Swinton Group

Insurance broker Swinton Group has appointed Kirsty Walker as director of insurer development and product.

With Swinton, Kirsty will report to marketing director Anne Kirk and be responsible for relationships with the firm’s insurer partners.

The role will also see her support the delivery of the company’s growth agenda and head up its products division.

Kirsty previously worked for Rural Insurance, where she held the role of commercial director, and has more than 20 years’ experience in commercial insight.

Anne Kirk: “We are delighted that Kirsty has made the decision to join Swinton. She will be key to achieving our growth agenda and delivering our transformation journey to enable us to compete in the future.

“This is a key appointment for Swinton, and highlights our focus on our insurer panel. Our partner insurers are hugely important to our success, and developing strong relationships will help us to remain competitive in the market.”

Kirsty commented: “This new role is a fantastic challenge. As Swinton moves through its growth agenda, I am looking forward to helping the business build a platform on which to expand in the future. I am excited about being part of this evolution.”

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