This week's Yorkshire appointments

Leeds-based Emsleys Solicitors has announced two senior appointments.

Peter Watson joins the firm as a director to support the firm’s future development, working closely with Emsleys’ management team and department heads.

Peter is a dual qualified solicitor, having previously practised in Australia, and has many years’ experience managing a UK top 100 national law firm.

He has contributed to the Law Society’s Practice Management Handbook and is a Trustee of Just a Drop, an international water aid charity.

Meanwhile, Rachel Walton has been appointed as head of operations. She joins from a national law firm with a wealth of experience in business management and development, as well as expertise as a solicitor in conveyancing and property law.

The appointments build on the success of Emsleys’ Review My Claim initiative, which seeks to tackle poor legal advice and service by ensuring genuine accident victims receive the compensation they are entitled to.

Director Alistair McKinlay said: “This is a really exciting time for Emsleys as we reach out for new opportunities as well as enhancing our current offering in order to strengthen our reputation as an award-winning local firm.”

Kate Knight and Alannah Crux, Schofield Sweeney

Schofield Sweeney, which has offices in Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield, has further strengthened its litigation team by the recruitment of two newly qualified solicitors.

Alannah Crux will be based in the firm’s Bradford office and Kate Knight is based in Leeds.

Their appointment brings the team up to 19 fee earners including six partners.

Both Alannah and Kate joined from Leeds practices, Alannah having trained at Michael Lewin Solicitors and Kate at LCF Law.

Both will be specialising in commercial litigation and working closely with other members of the litigation team.

Jim Staton, head of litigation, said, “We are delighted to appoint both Alannah and Kate to the team which is now one of the largest in West Yorkshire following the recruitment of three new partners, Leo Jones-Rowe, Gary Ashton and Matt Fiddler during 2017.

“We are building on the team’s successful 2017 and with the recruitment of Alannah and Kate, we believe that 2018 will see our upward trend continue.”

Dave Lambert, Banana Kick

A creative director who counts Unilever, Coca-Cola and Microsoft among his previous clients has joined a Leeds marketing agency.

Banana Kick have appointed Dave Lambert as its first creative director, where he joins a senior management team led by Gary McCall and Richard Flaherty.

Lambert brings with him more than 20 years’ experience working for communications agencies in London, Leeds, and Manchester.

His global campaigns have seen him work on brands such as Sony, Tia Maria and Lynx – where his ‘Leave a man, come back a hero’ campaign won a global Unilever award.

Lambert said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked for a number of top UK agencies and can’t wait to get started with another exciting opportunity. I pride myself on work that makes an impact, connects with consumers and drives change.

“Banana Kick has carved out a real niche creating innovative events, campaigns and experiences that really hit home with sports, leisure and retail clients. It’s an exciting time and I’m delighted to be on board.”

Lambert has recently been working with the newly formed BBC Creative team in MediaCity UK where he created the TV, online and social campaign for the BBC Rugby League World Cup 2017, as well as a new TV Commercial for BBC 5Live.

Morgan Miller, Armstrong Watson LLP

Morag Miller has joined Armstrong Watson LLP, Accountants, Business and Financial Advisers to head up the firm’s healthcare sector.

Based at the firm’s Leeds office, Morag joins Armstrong Watson from BDO and has taken up the role of partner, bringing with her team members Anna-Marie Burke and Andrea Burnett.

Morag has experience within the medical sector, having worked with NHS organisations (primary and secondary care) and latterly, GPs, providing compliance, advisory and consultancy services.

Paul Dickson, Armstrong Watson CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Morag to the leadership team in Leeds to help us with our organic growth strategy in the city.

“Morag will lead our expansion in the Healthcare sector, which we aim to develop across our 17 locations in the North of England and Scotland.”

Morag Miller added: “This is a very exciting time for my team and I and we are all really looking forward to a being an integral part of Armstrong Watson’s Leeds office.

“Whilst we continue to deliver exceptional service to our clients, we look forward to embracing Armstrong Watson’s values and behaviours to further enhance our offering. In turn, we will continue to cultivate and enrich our client relationships whilst also seeking to expand our client portfolio in Yorkshire and beyond.”

Mike Cheshire, Gala Technology

Gala Technology, the Rotherham-based credit card fraud prevention company,

Gala Technology develops secure digital payment solutions for the card not present (CNO) mail order/telephone order (MOTO) channels.

Mike has over 25 years experience in the data security and telecommunications industry. He first became aware of Gala Technology whilst running his own company BBF Data Security Limited, where he recognised the benefits of its SOTpay product.

Jason Mace, director of Gala Technology, said: “Mike joins us at a very exciting time for our business, with our Secure Order Transfer (SOTpay) payment protection technology ready to go to market and a number of major retailers interested in using the technology.

“Mike’s experience in data security will be invaluable as we enter an era when many businesses are concerned with compliance to GDPR regulations introduced this May and meeting PCI DSS requirements.

“He will also play a key role in developing new business opportunities for SOTpay through innovative new platforms.”

SOTpay (Secure Order Transfer) has been developed to prevent fraudulent telephone transactions and ensure businesses can deliver to third party billing addresses with confidence. The technology ensures a retailer or seller remains compliant, whilst making payment services more efficient and cost effective.

Gala Technology CEO Mike Cheshire said: “I spotted straightaway that SOTpay was an excellent product and that my experience in security compliance and GDPR could help to move this technology forward.

“I will be working closely with the payment service providers (PSPs) and Payment Card Industry (PCI) to ensure that SOTpay becomes widely recognised as the leading mail order/telephone order security system for businesses.”

“SOTpay is essential for any business that carries out mail order or telephone order transactions. We will be demonstrating to businesses, large or small, how they can protect themselves and their customers from fraud – and do this affordably.

“This technology will potentially save businesses across the UK millions of pounds by preventing fraudulent transactions.”

Joanne Grainger, Doncaster Racecourse

A sales professional is swapping three decades of airline experience to become the new event sales manager at Doncaster Racecourse.

Joanne Grainger joins the team at the racecourse from China Airlines where she worked for twenty years.

Joanne said: “I’m originally from the Doncaster area so it is fantastic to be taking on this role at such an iconic venue in the town.

“I’m really looking forward to getting out and about representing such a successful local venue and helping to grow new conference and event business for the Racecourse.

She added: “It is a very exciting time to be at the racecourse with the development of the onsite hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, which is due for completion by the summer.

“This will certainly attract business to the region from large corporations who have previously gone elsewhere due to the lack of onsite accommodation.”

The 154-guestroom hotel marks Hilton’s debut in the town and will offer guests extensive panoramic views of the racecourse.

Within the hotel, the Garden Suite is a multi-functional events space with a capacity of up to 500 people that can be used for conferences and events as well as hospitality on a race day.

Tim Banfield, executive director at Doncaster Racecourse, commented: “We are very happy to have Joanne on board at this very important time in the racecourse’s history.

“The hotel’s arrival signifies a step forward for Doncaster’s tourism offering, providing much-needed quality accommodation for racegoers, leisure and business travellers alike.

“Joanne has fantastic sales experience and will be putting her skills to great use in attracting conferences and large events to the town, which will be a real boost to the local economy.”

Nick Deacon Elliott, The Technology Group

The Technology Group, the Leeds-based telephony, internet and mobile firm, has appointed Nick Deacon Elliott as sales director.

Nick joins the board of directors from his previous post as head of sales within the firm’s leadership team.

With over seven years’ experience in sales and commercial management, Nick is responsible for business development across the telecoms firm, which has consistently doubled turnover every year for the past five years.

In his new position at The Technology Group, Nick will be responsible for managing the firm’s sales strategy and directly leading on new customer acquisitions within the business to support its continued growth.

Jonathan Marsden, managing director, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Nick to the board. He has played an instrumental role in many of our prestigious client wins over the past twelve months and is a fantastic addition to the board as we grow our senior management team.

“His drive and commitment in assisting new clients design their telephony strategy has been key to our sustained organic growth and growing reputation in the industry as a leading managed service provider.

“Nick’s expertise and track record in sales and commercial management within the sector will undoubtedly help us fulfil our ambitious growth plans and supply an ever-growing number of clients with our products and services.”

Nick started his career at In Technology PLC, which cemented his sales experience before moving into a Commercial Manager role with Sabio, a contact centre solutions provider, going on to complete more than £10m new business sales within a three-year period.

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