This week's London appointments

Sabrina Sommer, Backbone Connect

Connected buildings company Backbone Connect has appointed Sabrina Sommer as director of operations.

Sabrina will oversee all of Backbone Connect’s business operations, including the company’s approach to customer service, enabling further growth in its target markets.

Bringing over 20 years’ experience in operations and business change, Sabrina has expertise in scaling up fast-growth companies such as Backbone Connect which is led by its founding partners.

She joins from the Cranfield School of Management where she was the director of the business growth portfolio at the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship. Her previous roles include three years as the delivery lead for BAE Systems’ digital transformation programme.

David McLeod, co-founder of Backbone Connect, said: “The past year has seen the landlord-tenant relationship fundamentally shift. Landlords need to adapt to tenants’ new ways of working and anticipate their needs post-Covid, with connectivity a vital part of the equation.

“Sabrina’s appointment will help us capitalise on this new landscape and support even greater operational focus and delivery for our clients.”

Georgina Silvester, Triple Point

Triple Point has announced the appointment of Georgina Silvester as chief operating officer, leasing and lending.

Georgina will drive the continued build out of the operational and system processes of Triple Point’s Leasing and Lending team in order to support the further growth of their portfolio.

She joins Triple Point from Handelsbanken, an international bank with a network across Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the UK, where she had been chief operating officer UK for the last two years after previously holding the roles of head of Brexit implementation and head of UK tax.

She brings over 24 years of experience to the role, having started her career at Godfrey Allan.

She worked at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. as a tax specialist for two years before joining Prudential Assurance as a senior tax specialist, prior to holding the roles of tax manager at Ford Motor Company and group head of tax for Care UK.

Georgina commented: “I’m very much looking forward to working with the leasing and lending team at Triple Point through what looks to be an incredibly exciting period of growth.

“Triple Point’s commitment to investing in projects that promote positive social impact is hugely admirable, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to help drive their expansion.”

Angela Gregson, Royds Withy King

Property litigation specialist Angela Gregson has joined the London office of Royds Withy King.

Angela has been appointed as a partner in the Property Disputes team. She is a solicitor-advocate with extensive experience in all aspects of commercial and residential property litigation work.

She has specialised in property litigation throughout her career. She acts for property developers and owners, as well as for private clients.

Angela’s main focus is on neighbourly matters and development disputes; she has a particular focus on rights of light, party wall, boundaries and related matters.

Whilst part of her remit as a solicitor-advocate is to advise on court proceedings, she is also highly experienced in resolving disputes through alternative dispute resolution, including mediation.

Angela, who is a member of the Property Litigation Association, said: “I enjoy the challenge of complicated property disputes and achieving my clients’ objectives through litigation.

“It’s a brilliant time to be joining Royds Withy King, with plenty in store as part of our firm’s plans for the new financial year.”

James Cashmore, DoubleVerify

Digital media software provider DoubleVerify has announced the appointment of James Cashmore as senior vice president of global client and agency partnerships.

In his London-based role, James will head up a newly-formed team, expressly focused on addressing the holistic needs of top global brands, agencies and consultancies.

Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, commented: “James is the ideal choice to spearhead our new global client and agency partnerships team, under the leadership of DV’s new chief commercial officer, Julie Eddleman.

“The purpose of this team is to set a deep, consultative approach for top-tier customers and prospects, and to ensure continuity and strategic leadership across global accounts.

“As Julie continues to take steps to evolve our commercial structure and strategy, James’ previous industry and leadership experience make him a well-suited addition.

“He is tasked with developing the infrastructure and processes essential for this team’s success, as we deliver a seamless experience throughout the customer lifecycle.”

Henry Wells, finnCap Group

Strategic advisory company finnCap Group has announced the appointment of Henry Wells as head of consumer.

In the role, Henry will be leading the consumer team, helping it to build momentum and critical mass and to provide a range of services to finnCap’s consumer clients.

Henry will also be leading the consumer M&A practice at finnCap Cavendish, where he will continue to advise clients in mid-market M&A transactions, advising as he has done previously, on both sell-side and buy-side transactions.

Henry has over 20 years of experience in advising both listed and private mid-market companies, investors, founders and management teams in the travel, leisure and retail sectors on a range of corporate finance transactions.

Before joining finnCap, Henry was head of UK M&A at Duff & Phelps and prior to that was head of leisure and retail at Close Brothers Corporate Finance (which became DC Advisory).

Sam Smith, chief executive of finnCap Group, commented: “We are very excited to be welcoming Henry to finnCap Group as head of consumer.

“Consumer is one of finnCap’s leading franchises and a sector with huge opportunities, as we are witnessing rapid growth and change across the whole spectrum of retail, hospitality and travel.

“Henry’s strong experience and background will help the team strengthen and unify its diverse range of services across both private and public markets, enabling us to deliver strong ideas and opportunities for our clients in this industry.”

Henry said: “I am delighted to be joining finnCap Group and leading its formidable consumer team.

“We have big plans to grow the consumer business and to expand the way finnCap supports the growing ambitions of our consumer clients in both the private and the public markets.

“The team is already in a position of huge strength – it has completed some great recent transactions and has a good pipeline; it has strong expertise in many of the consumer sub-sectors and it has highly experienced individuals leading the different product offerings.”

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