This week's Yorkshire appointments

This week’s round up of Yorkshire appointments includes PwC, Lupton Fawcett LLP, and xDesign. Read on to find out more.

Toom Woodham, Stewart Light, Tom Loukes, PwC

Since establishing a presence in Leeds in 1925, PwC has continued to invest in the region and its people. This investment has continued through the appointment of three new partners.

Tom Woodham returns to PwC from IBM, and his main focus as Partner will be to drive large supply chain tech-based transformation. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge about the North and the firm’s key clients. Tom will also be working on building out the teams in PwC’s new Tech Hub in Manchester.

Stewart Light joined PwC 18 years ago as a graduate, and now as a Partner, his role will see him focus on Tech, Data and Analytics, specialising on Cloud Transformation. Stewart will work across multiple sectors but he brings a deep understanding of the Energy, Utilities and Resources markets.

Stewart is passionate about finding innovative ways to deliver Cloud Transformation, and will be working closely with clients to tackle the resource scarcity in the region, and to upskill their team to deliver transformation.

Throughout his career with PwC, which spans over 10 years, Tom Loukes has focused on Internal Audit and Risk in regulated industries.

Tom has recently moved across to our ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Reporting Advisory team, where he will draw on his previous experience of non financial reporting to support clients in developing value enhancing ESG reporting strategies.

Tom is bringing his experience and knowledge of heavily regulated sectors to an area of huge growth for PwC.

Regional chair for the North at PwC, Armoghan Mohammed, said: “One of the privileges of my role is to welcome our new partners and promotions.

“Their appointments show the importance of delivering the best service possible to our clients. It’s crucial that we continue to invest in our local people and markets locally, and the knowledge and experience we offer our clients.”

In addition to the admission of three new partners, PwC locally promoted nine new Directors, 23 new Senior Managers, and 60 new Managers in January, cementing our commitment to the North.

Lauren Perry, Lupton Fawcett LLP

Yorkshire law firm Lupton Fawcett LLP has appointed a new marketing manager to support the next phase of its growth.

Lauren Perry will lead the firm’s brand and marketing activity as it continues to expand its client base and service offering. She brings to the role over 10 years’ experience in business marketing, gained at firms including Clarion and DLA Piper.

Lupton Fawcett’s 142-strong team offers a full range of commercial and private legal services from its offices in Leeds, Sheffield and York. Commenting on Lauren’s appointment, Lupton Fawcett’s managing partner James Richardson said: “I am delighted to welcome Lauren to our growing team.

“During the past two years we have invested in our infrastructure and in evolving our service offering, which has put us in a strong position to meet the changing needs of our clients as the region continues to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic.

“Our success is built on the expertise of our people and the quality of our advice – and Lauren’s experience and marketing skills will be invaluable as we continue our drive to become the region’s law firm of choice.”

Lauren said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Lupton Fawcett at a time of such opportunity for the business.

“It already has an impressive client list and an excellent reputation and I’m looking forward to working with James and the rest of the team to spread the word further to help achieve its growth ambitions.”

Lupton Fawcett was named as one of The Times Best Law Firms 2022. It is also listed among the Chambers UK 2022 guide to the top-ranked law firms for its work in the employment, intellectual property, corporate and family law sectors.

Jeff Watkins, xDesign

xDesign has appointed Jeff Watkins as its first chief product and technology officer for the Leeds office.

Jeff has joined xDesign’s executive team, where he will lead and help to evolve the award-winning firm’s technology and engineering capabilities, ensuring closer integration with the company’s products.

A self-confessed “lifetime technologist” Jeff’s career has taken him from working in financial services to healthcare and retail as a principal architect. Most recently, he was chief for technology at AND Digital.

Jeff’s appointment follows a record year of growth for the software engineering organisation which has also seen its team quadruple to over 200 since opening a new office in Leeds last July.

Euan Andrews, CEO of xDesign, said: “Jeff’s appointment marks the next phase of xDesign’s evolution as we continue to scale at pace. Our people remain a key focus and we invest in the team’s learning, development and wellbeing as a priority.

“Jeff brings a wealth of experience that will provide valuable support to our product and engineering teams as we work to achieve ambitious growth plans.

“It’s clear that technology is in Jeff’s DNA and he will be applying his vast knowledge across our teams, but he also has the enviable capability to inspire people and to help achieve commercial growth. With these attributes, he will be a vital addition to our team.”

Jeff Watkins, chief product and technology officer at xDesign added: “Joining xDesign was a no brainer - its people-focused approach was a huge draw, as well as its commitment to uniting product, design and technology.

“I am passionate about technology being a great leveller that benefits the human experience. We have seen how the pandemic has driven more people to use technology and apps, and it is the responsibility of organisations like xDesign to create a compelling and engaging experience for users. The potential for

xDesign to lead in this area is huge and being part of that journey is something I can’t wait to get my teeth into.“

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