This week's Yorkshire appointments

thebigword, the Leeds-based language services provider, has appointed a new networker in the Middle East to spearhead the growth of its defence and international security division.

Zia Mir joins as business development director and will use his experience and contacts within the region to advise the group on sales opportunities.

He previously held business development roles at SAI Global, a risk management business, and IHS Global, for its Jane’s defence and security information services.

Mr Mir said: “Due to the rapid expansion with projects such as Expo 2020 in Dubai and Qatar’s plans for the World Cup, the foreign presence in the Middle East is significant and increasing.

“Businesses from Europe and the Americas are working and investing in the region. The desire of the collective leaderships of the different countries in the Middle East is to create a better and more cohesive society.

“They want to build new Smart City developments with the latest technology. We aim to be the leading language services provider to governments, businesses and contractors to help drive this social, economic and technological transformation.

“As the region continues to transform we look to work with military, government and local security industry in the development of language solutions that address the Middle East’s security challenges.”

Larry Gould, founder and chief executive of thebigword, said: “We are delighted to welcome Zia to thebigword and believe that his experience of the Middle East will be a great asset for our group.

“He has a deep cultural understanding of the area and extensive knowledge of our potential customer base. Zia has great contacts and is an excellent networker.”

The defence division had sales of £8m last year and provides face-to-face interpreting, telephone interpreting, written translation, cultural advice and language training.

Vicky Williams, Emerald Publishing

Emerald Publishing, the Bingley-based publisher of management and social sciences research, has appointed Vicky Williams as its new CEO.

Richard Bevan, who has been CEO of Emerald Group (incorporating Emerald Publishing, Research Media, GoodPractice and Towards Maturity) since 2010, will take on the additional role of executive chairman of Emerald Group.

The group’s founder, Dr Keith Howard, is stepping down as chairman after 50 years. Dr Howard will remain a member of the Emerald Group Board.

Vicky has held a variety of senior roles at Emerald in her 18 years at the company, including head of publishing development, director of business and development and, most recently, director of people (HR) and CEO of Emerald’s creative agency business, Research Media.

Vicky, a Cambridge graduate with an MA in International Business from Leeds Beckett, is also a keen advocate for gender diversity in academic publishing, launching Emerald’s workplace gender diversity programme, Stride, and appearing as a panellist on the issue at international academic conferences and events.

Richard Bevan said: “Vicky is the ideal person to lead and further inspire our scholarly publishing business.

“Sharp-minded, curious, determined, steeped in the academic publishing market and with a great talent for leadership, Vicky has excelled in all the roles she has held at Emerald, and was the obvious choice when it came to choosing the right candidate for this critical appointment.”

Vicky said of her appointment: “I’m extremely honoured to have the opportunity to lead a business packed full of talented and passionate people that put the needs of our communities of authors, editors, librarians, research officers, institutions and their students at the heart of everything we do.

“With this ethos and a changing academic publishing landscape in mind, we look forward to further collaborating with our communities to tackle pressing issues, such as impact, open access, big data, and research funding.

“Equally, we will continue to champion - as evidenced by our recently launched Real World Impact initiative - quality management and social sciences research that can be brought to life in applied real world settings, and to nurture fresh thinking in those subject areas.”

Stuart Cottee, Deloitte

Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has appointed Stuart Cottee as the new practice senior partner for the firm in Yorkshire and the North East.

Cottee’s Deloitte career started at the firm’s Leeds office in 1993. He subsequently led the tax practice for Deloitte in Yorkshire and the North East for seven years until 2015, during which time he oversaw its transformation to becoming one of the region’s leading tax advisory firms.

More recently Cottee has been leading Deloitte’s private markets business for tax in the UK and is part of the firm’s tax executive and private markets executive teams.

Cottee said: “I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as the practice senior partner, leading Deloitte in Yorkshire and the North East.

“I am very proud of the part I’ve played in growing our business in the region. We have fantastic partners, people and clients and I’m looking forward to working with them in my new role as we look to further grow our presence in the region.”

David Sproul, UK chief executive, added: “Yorkshire and the North East is a key strategic region for our UK business. I’m delighted with Stuart’s appointment to this role and believe that his energy and infectious dynamism will mean that he will have a positive impact on our people, our clients and the wider business community as our practice in the region goes from strength to strength.”

Cathy Cook, LCF Law

Law firm LCF Law has promoted Cathy Cook to partner within its corporate division.

Cathy joined the firm’s Leeds city centre office in spring 2016 as an associate, bringing more than 20 years of experience to the role.

She previously headed up commercial law at another regional firm, working in-house at Leeds-based Callcredit, and spent five years at an international law firm.

Following Cathy’s promotion, LCF Law now has 10 female partners and 10 male partners.

Cathy said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time so far at LCF Law, working within a close-knit and highly experienced team and dealing with clients across all industries and sectors. “To be promoted to partner is very rewarding and I’m really looking forward to supporting the future development of the department.”

Susan Clark, who heads up LCF Law’s corporate team, added: “Since joining us, Cathy has hit the ground running and has immediately become an influential member of our team. She is extremely popular with clients and has been responsible for a number of notable new business wins.

“We’re delighted to reward her with this promotion, as our corporate division continues securing new work and expanding.

“It’s also a major milestone to achieve an equal split of male and female partners. The profession as a whole is split equally by gender but not every law firm reflects that in its make up at senior level. At LCF we value each individual’s skills and abilities regardless of gender.”

LCF Law works with both businesses and private individuals. The firm employs more than 135 people across offices in Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate and Ilkley.

Gareth Naylor and Ian Anderson, Ison Harrison

Leeds Law firm Ison Harrison has announced a duo of partner promotions.

New partners Ian Anderson and Gareth Naylor head up the firm’s regulatory law and personal injury departments respectively.

Mr Anderson joined Ison Harrison in 2014 with the specific remit to head up the firm’s then newly-founded regulatory law team.

In the four years since, the department has grown into a practice dealing with both national and regional cases ranging from proceedings brought by Trading Standards, the Health and Safety Executive and the Charities Commission, as well as Environment Agency matters.

Mr Naylor joined the firm back in 2001 as a trainee legal executive. He gained 15 years’ experience in the firm’s personal injury department dealing with a wide range of complex and high-value claims, specialising in personal injury and industrial diseases.

He became head of the personal injury team in 2016 and continues to litigate at the highest level.

Jonathan Wearing, managing partner at Ison Harrison, said: “We are particularly pleased to announce these promotions.

“Both Ian and Gareth have been integral to the success of the firm since they joined so to see them become partners recognises the significant contribution they have both made to the firm and is well deserved.

“Ian and Gareth have built and managed very successful teams, respected and trusted by hundreds of clients across the UK. In addition to providing the perfect way to start the New Year, both promotions will be a major asset in helping us to provide an even stronger offering in the Regulatory and Personal Injury fields.”

Andrew Mackenzie, Begbies Traynor

Professional services firm Begbies Traynor has promoted Andrew Mackenzie to partner.
Based in the firm’s Hull office, he works across the Yorkshire region.

Having joined Begbies Traynor 12 years ago, Andrew has led the development of the firm’s East Yorkshire presence following the opening of the Hull office in 2008 and has played a key role in the strategy and development of the firm’s services to lenders across the Yorkshire region.

A qualified insolvency practitioner and accountant with a degree in Accountancy and Finance, Andrew previously worked for a range of global accountancy and professional services firms.

He also has a broad range of experience in corporate rescue and recovery, business investigations, review work and funding solutions.

Julian Pitts, regional managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire, said: “With his strong track record in providing refinancing and insolvency advice, Andrew is a well-known figure in the East Yorkshire business community.

“This promotion is well deserved recognition of the vital role he has played in growing our presence in the Humber region.”

Andrew Mackenzie added: “Having moved to larger offices in the redeveloped marina area just over four years ago, our team has continued to expand and we have established ourselves as the leading independent rescue, recovery and advisory firm in Hull and across the whole of the county.

“Given the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, interest rates and the changing shape of the high street, businesses are likely to face some tough times ahead and it’s more important than ever that they are able to access expert advice they can trust.”

Begbies Traynor’s Hull team is based in Marina Court, Castle Street.

Jeremy Collins, Town Centre Securities

Town Centre Securities, the Leeds-based property investment, development and car parking company, has announced the appointment of Jeremy Collins as non-executive director.

Jeremy has retail property development and management experience gained over the last 35 years, and TCS will be his first non-executive role as he embarks on a new portfolio career in 2018.

He is currently property director at John Lewis and will leave his current role as at the end of January. He joined John Lewis in 2003 as head of retail development, becoming property director in 2010, and has overseen the expansion of the partnership’s department store estate from 24 to 51 shops during that time.

He previously worked for Lend Lease between 1998 and 2003, in the roles of head of retail and project director.

In the earlier part of his career he gained valuable retail property experience in director and senior manager roles at MEPC and Grosvenor Square Properties, and surveyor and valuation roles at Bredero Properties and Wirral Borough Council.

Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of TCS, said: “We are delighted Jeremy is joining our Board. He brings 35 years of commercial property experience and a unique perspective on retail development and management having worked for a local authority and several property companies, notably as UK Head of Retail Development at Lend Lease, and leading the property team at John Lewis, the country’s leading department store retailer.

“Jeremy’s appointment continues our board succession planning with three new non-executive directors, a new executive director and a new finance director appointed over the last three years, adding the additional skills and experience necessary to manage an ambitious real estate business.

“We have a great team in place to lead TCS in the next stage of its development and to help us successfully exploit the many exciting opportunities we see ahead.”

Jeremy Collins added: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of Town Centre Securities, at such an exciting time for the Company. Its family origins and values, and its long-term perspective, resonates very strongly with me.

“I am looking forward to helping the business to adapt to the rapidly changing retail environment, and to continuing its role as a leading regeneration specialist in major cities such as Leeds and Manchester. This new role is an exciting start to my new portfolio of interests.”

Stefan Salonga, Lewis Chapman and Nathan Hutchinson, Vital Technology Group

Vital Technology Group, the Wetherby-based provider of business IT services, has announced the appointment of three new members of staff to its technical support team.

Nathan Hutchinson joins as a technical account manager from a similar position with an IT business in Ripon, where he established and developed a business IT support team to complement their hardware repair business.

Lewis Chapman has been appointed as field support engineer, working with clients both remotely and on-site to support their IT systems and alongside project teams on installations of cutting edge IT systems, backup and disaster recovery as well as hosted telephony solutions.

Finally, helpdesk engineer Stefan Salonga will support customers from the Vital office to resolve technical issues as well as performing routine maintenance, service requests and other IT management functions.

Lee Evans, managing director of Vital Technology Group, said: “I’d like to welcome Nathan, Lewis and Stefan to the technical team, which has expanded greatly over the past year in line with our growing client base.

“They bring with them some very impressive interpersonal and technology skills and are already proving to be a valuable asset to the business.”

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