This week's London appointments

David Stern, Duke & Dexter

Footwear brand Duke & Dexter has appointed the former global CEO of Crabtree & Evelyn as its new chair.

David Stern, who has more than 30 years’ experience in retail and consumer brands and a track record for digital transformation, will help boost the global growth of the London-based company, which is backed by investor Mercia.

David, who started his career at the New York department store Macy’s, has managed global brands such as Lux, Dove Beauty and John Frieda and held senior positions at companies including Unilever plc, where he launched its first e-commerce venture.

He has also founded and run his own home and personal care products business.

Most recently he helped to transform Crabtree & Evelyn from a loss-making retailer with 400 stores to a fast-growing, profitable digital business.

David said: “D+D is a truly distinctive brand, distinguished by its style, quality and the fact that it is made in England.

“As a business driven by strong social content and followers, and sold via digital platforms across the world and backed by a leading investor, D+D is embarking on a period of rapid expansion which will take the brand to every corner of the globe.”

Greg Glynn, Forensic Risk Alliance

Forensics consulting firm Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA) has announced that Greg Glynn will join to support its accounting and data governance teams.

Greg, a former litigation and disputes partner at Arthur Cox, will be supporting our forensic accounting and data governance teams to provide excellent service to our clients both legal and corporate.

He has more than 20 years of experience in representing companies and individuals and advising them on investigations by regulators such as the UK Serious Fraud Office, the German Tax Authorities, the Italian Prosecutors’ Office, the US Department of Justice, the US Internal Revenue Service and the US Securities Exchange Commission.

Toby Duthie, co-founding partner and head of FRA’s European offices, said: “We are delighted to welcome Greg to FRA.

“His renowned and vast experience with cross-border investigations and litigation, and with European and US regulators will be utilised to develop the the firm’s litigation and disputes services and improve our service offering for law firm and corporate clients.”

Bhairav Trivedi, Crown Agents Bank

Crown Agents Bank has announced the appointment of Bhairav Trivedi as CEO designate.

Bhairav joins with more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, with a core focus on digital payments, cross-border remittances and fintech development.

His previous roles include that of group CEO of Network International Payment Solutions, president and COO of Sigue Global Services Ltd and managing director, global head of remittance services at Citi’s Global Transaction Services .

Bhairav commented:“I am delighted to be joining Crown Agents Bank at such an important moment in its development.

“Our goal moving forward, as an institution, is to continue to expand the business in the markets we serve while providing our customers with fully compliant, state of the art products to meet their needs.

“I am honoured to now play my part in this journey.”

Paul Sturgeon, Kantar

Insights and consulting company Kantar has appointed Paul Sturgeon to lead its brand and marketing return on investment offer.

Paul, who has 20 years’ experience in marketing analysis and consultancy, is the latest addition to Kantar’s Analytics practice.

He will support global and UK-based projects in his new role. Until recently he led Mindshare UK’s data science team, and prior to that he held senior roles at MediaCom and PwC.

Amy Cashman, CEO of the UK and Ireland at Kantar, said: “Paul is a fantastic addition to our team as we see increasing appetite among our clients for intelligent and focused guidance around ROI.

“Marketing budgets have been under pressure for some time, with COVID-19 accelerating that trend.

“Now more than ever they need to make their investment go further, and be able to demonstrate to boards how vitally important their activity is for driving sustained brand growth.

“Success will require a level of insight which can help them to pinpoint where they need to focus and build effective, creative campaigns that generate sales now, and create long-lasting consumer demand.”

David Eldridge and Neil MacDougall, Apperio

Legal tech company Apperio has appointed an established technology entrepreneur and a leading private equity specialist to its board.

David Eldridge, who joins Apperio as chairman, has more than 25 years’ experience in the technology industry.

He co-founded and led marketing technology company Alterian, listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 and overseeing five acquisitions in the UK and US before selling the company to SDL plc.

Since 2011, David has held advisory and board positions with high growth technology and data businesses.

Neil MacDougall joins as a non-executive director, and has spent 20 years at mid-market buyout firm Silverfleet, leading the buyout of the company from Prudential in 2007.

Neil was Silverfleet’s managing partner between 2004 and 2019 and became chairman in 2019. In 2020 Neil was appointed as chair of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, the industry body for the private equity and venture capital industry in the UK.

David commented: “Apperio is at a fascinating stage in its journey.

“It’s in a great position with a fantastic and passionate team, a SaaS offering proven to deliver rapid return on investment for major organisations and the backing of first-rate institutional investors.

“I am excited to support Nicholas and the team as they expand into new territories and continue to evolve Apperio’s offering to more stakeholders in the huge legal industry.”

Neil said: “Apperio stands at the intersection of technology, data and legal spend.

“This is, for example, extremely important in private equity where annual legal costs are counted in the millions, data is critical to effective decision-making and technology is a crucial source of competitive advantage.

“Apperio is already achieving significant traction in the private equity space and I’m excited to be joining the board to help the company accelerate its momentum.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →