This week's London appointments

Nick Kingsbury and Volker Hirsch, Amadeus Capital Partners

Investment firm Amadeus Capital Partners has added two UK-based partners to its team early stage venture capital investors.

Nick Kingsbury will focus on cyber security, AI and B2B software businesses, while Volker Hirsch will cover artificial intelligence and machine learning, human-machine interfaces, enterprise SaaS, autonomous systems, digital health and medical technologies.

Nick Kingsbury is an international software entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and currently serves as non-executive director of Loot Financial Services and software company Objective Corporation.

Entrepreneur Volker Hirsch has founded and co-founded seven companies to date, including mobile development house Blue Beck.

Amadeus CEO Anne Glover said: “As two of the most respected and seasoned early stage investors in the UK, Nick and Volker’s extensive networks will give Amadeus a great competitive edge.

“They have hit the ground running identifying start-ups with strong growth potential that can benefit from our 21 years’ of experience. Volker’s work as a tech advocate in the North of England also brings us closer to the compelling innovations occurring in that region.”

Toby Vaughan, Brown Shipley

Wealth and investment management firm Brown Shipley has welcomed Toby Vaughan to the role of chief investment officer following his appointment in the summer.

Toby was previously head of the multi strategy solutions team at Santander Asset Management, where he was responsible for overseeing more than £14bn of assets.

At Brown Shipley, he will head up the firm’s research and asset management unit, leading efforts to further strengthen its investment capabilities.

CEO Alan Mathewson said: “I am delighted to welcome Toby to Brown Shipley today and look forward to working with him.

“As an experienced asset management professional, I am confident that he will further enhance our investment management proposition and, ultimately, the quality of service we can offer to clients.”

Toby commented: “I am thrilled to have joined Brown Shipley and look forward to playing an active role in the firms continued development in line with Alan’s vision. I am looking forward to working with my team and the opportunity to build on its excellent track record.”

Mike Magan, Here East

Innovation and technology campus Here East has appointed Mike Magan as chief operating officer.

In his new role, Mike will be responsible for the daily operations of the 1.2 million sq ft development and its community of 3,500 entrepreneurs, academics and creatives.

He joined Here East from the Momo Group and has experience across the public and private sectors.

Mike’s background includes time as a White House official and Special Assistant to the President under George W. Bush, during which time he was responsible for multi-million dollar policy initiatives.

Mike said: “This position provides the opportunity to work with one of the fastest growing clusters of tech and creative businesses in London, the UK’s largest campus dedicated to business innovation and a world-class community.

“Here East encourages collaboration and innovation on an unprecedented scale, allowing companies no matter how large or small to thrive. I look forward to getting involved in the Here East community to encourage the further divergence of creativity and technology.”

Here East chief exec Gavin Poole commented: “Mike has a great wealth of experience working in the business, tech and startup community on an international level, as well as bringing unique public sector experience to the job.

“I look forward to working closely with Mike to accelerate the growth of our community.”

Paul Goswell, managing director of Delancey, which owns the campus, said: “Here East has successfully built a community based on a joint vision of innovation like no other.

“We must celebrate the the incredible growth of tech and creativity seen across the campus as the team expands to further develop on such successes.”

Eloise Myrie, WebBeds

B2B accommodation provider WebBeds has appointed Eloise Myrie as its new account development manager for the Midlands and Wales.

Eloise, who previously worked for Virgin Holidays, will be responsible for increasing retail trade sales with the Totalstay and Sunhotels brands.

She will also visit travel agents to offer training and product information.

WebBeds’ head of retail, Peter Davies, said: “I am delighted Eloise has joined the WebBeds retail sales team so we can provide a dedicated service to our customers in the Midlands and Wales.

“Her industry knowledge, especially within retail, coupled with her energy and enthusiasm will be a great asset to the team. I am confident she will make a big impact as we continue to grow our UK business by increasing our resource and focus within specific regions.”

Eloise commented: “I’m delighted to be joining a company like WebBeds at this exciting time of growth and expansion.

“I’m really looking forward to contributing to the development of the business and working with such well-respected brands as Totalstay and Sunhotels.”

Andrew Lyon, TLT

Law firm TLT was announced Andrew Lyon as its new head of financial services.

Andrew, partner and head of the company’s London office, has been with TLT for 11 years.

As sector head, he will work to grow and expand its UK-wide financial services team, which supports major clearing banks, building societies, specialist lenders and foreign banks.

In addition to his new role, Andrew will continue to serve as the location head for TLT’s London office, which has grown significantly in recent years.

Andrew, who will continue to serve as TLT’s location head for London, said: “The financial services market is evolving rapidly – driven by a range of issues from disruptive regulation like Open Banking and PSD2 and the fight against financial crime, to technology innovation – and we’ve been working hand in hand with clients to help them understand and address the challenges and opportunities this creates.

“Our recent growth across all UK jurisdictions and in traditional and new markets reflects this shift in the industry, and we continue to see opportunities to grow and expand the team.”

TLT managing partner David Pester commented: “Our renowned and trusted expertise in financial services and banking provides a powerful platform for the next phase of growth.

“Andrew’s leadership will no doubt play a significant role in achieving our ambitions.”

Chris Callender, Simpson Millar

Law firm Simpson Millar has strengthened its public law division with the appointment of partner Chris Callender.

Chris trained initially as a personal injury lawyer at Thompson’s Solicitors and then in criminal defence with Harrison Bundey and Co.

He has over 20 years’ experience across a diverse legal background but today specialises in the representation of young people and children.

Chris has worked at Steel and Shamash Solicitors over the last five years, during which time he developed his practice in homelessness and possession proceedings, inquest law and Human Rights Act damages claims.

He will be based at Simpson Millar’s London office.

Imogen Jolley, the firm’s head of education and community care, said: “I am delighted to welcome Chris to the team.

“His diverse background and specialist expertise in public law will make him an asset to the firm.”

Chris said of his new role: “I’m very much looking forward to my new role at Simpson Millar during such an exciting period of growth and expansion.

“The firm’s Public Law team has an excellent reputation for supporting the clients it represents, and I look forward to supporting and furthering that status moving forward.”

Vinay Ramani, Pipedrive

Sales pipeline software company Pipedrive Inc. has chosen Vinay Ramani as its new London-based chief product officer.

Vinay joined the firm from Google, where he was product lead on the search ads team.

Before that he held product leadership roles at a number of high profile customer-centric organizations, including taxi giant Uber, web services provider Yahoo! and software company Adobe.

Pipedrive’s co-founder and CEO, Timo Rein, said: “Pipedrive has always been a product-driven company, and Vinay will help progress innovations that deliver for our business strategy.

“He is the ideal visionary and leader for our product teams. Vinay is a great fit to our company and we’re excited about our future together.”

Vinay commented: “There are literally millions of sales teams that have an incredibly challenging job to do – and Pipedrive has been the leader in meeting their needs with elegant solutions.

“There is so much more we can do to make every salesperson truly efficient. It is a great privilege to join Timo and the executive team and shape the future of work for hard working sales teams.”

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