This week's Yorkshire appointments

Emma Henderson, Wasley Chapman & Co

Accountancy firm Wasley Chapman & Co has appointed Emma as partner.

Emma graduated as a bachelor of law from Teesside University before deciding to switch careers.

Emma located and negotiated a deal on the firm’s new premises, a former hairdressing and beauty salon in the centre of Scarborough, and is in charge of the firm’s marketing and social media.

Emma explained: “I left university in the middle of the global recession, which put paid to my dreams of becoming a lawyer. I was originally planning to join Wasley Chapman as a receptionist, but I was encouraged to train as an accountant which I did, obtaining both my AAT and ACCA qualifications.

“Over the years, I moved up the ranks at Wasley Chapman, but my biggest challenge came last year when I was entrusted with the relocation of our existing Scarborough office.

“After an already extremely busy year orchestrating the firm’s coronavirus local economy support packages it was decided that after the branch had been growing rapidly we needed new premises to match our forward-thinking and modern approach.”

Neil Duell, senior partner of Wasley Chapman, added: “I initially interviewed Emma when she came to apply for the job back in 2009, from early on she was keen to learn and mad keen with new innovative ideas to improve and streamline services.

“It was very apparent she was Wasley Chapman through and through. I saw a glint in her eye when I mentioned there had never been a lady partner of the firm and from then on she has worked immensely hard to make it happen.”

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Catherine Laundy, Aby Milner, Anna Raha and Daniel Murray, Clarion

Clarion has appointed four associates to a range of departments at its Leeds office.

Catherine Laundy and Aby Milner have joined Clarion’s commercial dispute resolution team, Anna Raha has joined the firm’s real estate team and Daniel Murray has joined the company’s costs and litigation funding team.

Catherine has experience of advising on a broad range of commercial disputes, including general contract law, misrepresentation, professional negligence, construction disputes and energy disputes. Her dispute resolution knowledge includes mediation and litigation as well as settlement agreements.

Aby has experience of providing advice on a wide range of litigation matters including consideration of potential class actions which may follow and successful claim and commercial settlement agreements. She has worked with housebuilders, insolvency practitioners and national companies, advising on a range of disputes.

With four years’ experience working for local and national housebuilders, Anna has experience in remortgages, residential property resales for developers and residential conveyancing.

Daniel has advised on matters ranging from Court of Protection, MOJ portal and fixed costs, to high-value catastrophic injury, and clinical negligence, and has knowledge of training, bill drafting, budget preparation, negotiations and advocacy.

Roger Hutton, joint managing partner of Clarion, commented: “The firm is continuing to go from strength to strength and we have no doubt that it is our people that set us apart.

“Bringing the most talented lawyers into the firm and helping them develop their careers with us remains a key priority.

“Fortunately, the supportive culture we have nurtured at Clarion is well-known within the legal community and we have the momentum to attract the very brightest lawyers in their specialist areas.”

Alasdair Everest-Ford, OneMedical Group

Primary and urgent care OneMedical Group has appointed Alasdair Everest-Ford as head of the firm’s fitness and wellbeing brand OneWellness.

Alasdair brings 20 years’ experience of leading teams and driving commercial growth in the sport, fitness and wellbeing industry.

In his new role, Alasdair will be overseeing the development and delivery of three key services including a series of in-person and digital corporate wellbeing services and retreats, the launch of the OneWellness Wellbeing and Fitness Club in Harrogate, and the delivery of a digital platform to support NHS primary and urgent care patients, workforce, businesses and individuals.

Commenting on his appointment, Alasdair said: “I feel privileged to have joined such an innovative and rapidly growing company and I have thoroughly enjoyed my first months as Head of OneWellness.”

“It is a thrilling time for OneWellness as preparations for launch are underway. I am excited personally at the prospect of our business going from strength to strength as we develop our products and services with industry-leading professionals, allowing us to help improve the wellbeing of individuals, businesses and communities across the nation.”

Robin Milward, Secerna LLP

Intellectual property specialist Secerna LLP has appointed Robin Milward as trainee patent attorney.

Having completed a MSc in Robotics and Mechatronics at Leeds University and a year working in the renewables industry, Robin brings a range of knowledge to his new role, where he will work across sectors such as engineering, electronics and physics.

Robin commented: “The chance to learn from such highly-respected attorneys really appealed to me. It can be easy to get lost when you are a small cog in a large firm, whereas here there are many opportunities to work hands on with clients, learn and enjoy my work as part of the wider team.”

“I have been working on a number of Brexit-related issues and new technologies that only a handful of people know about, which is very exciting.”

Secerna partner Jason Boakes added: “We are very happy to welcome Robin to our team. His knowledge and experience are already proving incredibly valuable to our work with clients across the UK and beyond.

“The firm is experiencing significant growth. We are keen to continue attracting and providing development paths for part and fully qualified patent attorneys, and talented young science and technology graduates who, like Robin, are looking for an alternative to a career in industry.”

Rob Jones, ilk

Marketing agency ilk has appointed Rob Jones as senior PR and social media director.

In her new role, Rob will head up the agency’s PR and social media department as part of a wider team restructure.

Rob joins ilk from Holbeck-based Brand8 PR where he was responsible for leading the agency’s B2B PR portfolio after making the move from the Midlands to Yorkshire.

Prior to this, Rob spent nearly a decade at Birmingham-based integrated PR, social and search agency WPR, progressing from graduate account executive to divisional director and working on brands such as Worcester Bosch, Electrolux, Spirax Sarco, REHAU and Office Depot.

Speaking on the move, Rob said: “I’m really excited to be taking on this role here at ilk. The agency stood out to me as a business set up perfectly to wow clients with fantastic creative and high-impact PR and social campaigns delivered across multiple channels.

“It’s become clear during my first few weeks that I’ve entered a vibrant, dynamic environment bursting with ideas and enthusiasm.

“I’m a firm believer that an agency’s most important asset is its people and no challenge has been too great for anyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with so far.”

Nev Ridley, MD at ilk, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Rob on board our PR and social media team at such a crucial time in the team’s development.

“Over the past 12 months we’ve used lockdown as an opportunity to evaluate our current offering and make changes to benefit not only our clients but the team itself and Rob’s appointment is a big part of that.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Rob’s impact on the team and working together on some really exciting projects.”

Andrew Goldwater, Xalient Group

IT and managed services firm Xalient Group has appointed Andrew Goldwater as chief financial officer.

A chartered accountant by background, Andrew brings a range of experience in the sector, having previously served as CFO of a number of companies in the technology and managed services sector, including most recently, M247 and Onyx Group.

In the new role Andrew will leverage his commercial and financial acumen and experience in business planning, investment strategies, international development and M&A to support the firm’s growth.

Andrew commented: “Xalient’s value proposition, with long-term, strategic customer partnerships at its core, is something that aligns very much with my background and strengths.

“It’s clear that a lot of amazing work has gone into strategic focus, continuous innovation and customer experience over the last few years, as evidenced by an excellent client portfolio of global brands and industry awards.”

“I am excited to be joining the company because I see huge future potential for Xalient in this fast-growing market. The enthusiasm, professionalism and friendliness of the Xalient team made the decision to join their growth journey an easy one for me.”

Sherry Vaswani, founder & CEO at Xalient, added: “I am delighted to welcome Andrew to the Xalient Group board and team.

“His skills and experience will be of great benefit to the organisation as we set out to deliver the next phase of our strategy and growth. It’s fantastic to add his expertise to our leadership team and I am very much looking forward to working with him.”

Cath Owston and Andy Gamble, Yorkshire Housing

Yorkshire Housing has appointed Cath Owston as executive director - customer experience and Andy Gamble as executive director - growth and assets.

Cath has over 30 years’ experience in housing and has recently been interim director of customer services at Yorkshire Housing.

Cath has previously held director posts at Rochdale Borough Housing and New Charter Trust Group, and was transformation manager at Trafford Housing Trust. Cath is also currently a board member at Bolton at Home and chair of the Development Committee.

Andy has over 30 years’ experience in the affordable housing sector working with a range of public and private organisations. Since 2017 Andy has been director of development at Yorkshire Housing.

Andy is a chartered surveyor and member of the Chartered Institute of Housing. Andy also chairs community-based housing provider the Harrogate Housing Association.

Yorkshire Housing CEO, Nick Atkin said: “I’m delighted Cath and Andy have been appointed to these new roles. They both bring the experience and expertise to realise the challenging and exciting plans within our business strategy.

“We want to make it possible for our customers to have a place they’re proud to call home. This means putting customers right at the heart of what we do, as well as our plans to build thousands of new high quality and affordable homes.

“The executive directors are vital to making sure we achieve this and become one of the most dynamic, forward thinking and innovative housing associations in the country.”

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