This week's London appointments: Featuring Michelmores, SmartFrame Technologies & The Port of London Authority

This week’s round up of London appointments includes Michelmores, SmartFrame Technologies & The Port of London Authority. Read on to find out more.

Iain Connor, Michelmores

UK law firm Michelmores has appointed Iain Connor as a partner in its London-based Business team, where he joins from Pinsent Masons’ Intellectual Property team.

The appointment further strengthens the Business team’s intellectual property offering with Iain bringing award-winning experience from leading cases at the cutting edge of the intellectual property field. Iain has supported major household name retailers and financial services companies both in the UK and internationally.

Commenting on the move, he said: “Joining Michelmores’ Business team is a fantastic opportunity to bring together an existing practice and hone it into a specialist intellectual property offering. My ambition is to further grow and develop a preeminent intellectual property practice on a national and international scale.”

Tim Richards, managing partner at Michelmores, said: “Iain’s appointment delivers on a key part of our firm’s strategy to increase and develop our London offering and presence. Iain specialises in helping people and businesses protect their ideas across a range of sectors where innovation is a real priority and brings with him a wealth of knowledge from leading innovative cases at the forefront of IP litigation.”

Iain also advises on advertising matters including ASA and new product clearance issues as well as comparative advertising, marketing and sponsorship issues. He is at the forefront of advising on ESG compliance, and “greenwashing” issues and the litigation risks arising from overstated environmental claims.

Nicola Halpin & David Childs, SmartFrame Technologies

SmartFrame Technologies, whose image-streaming platform SmartFrame is redefining standards in online image display, media and contextual advertising, has today announced three significant hires amid the company’s continued growth. The hires demonstrate the company’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that drive the move to a more transparent and fair media ecosystem.

A seasoned Sales Director in the ad tech sector, including her most recent position as Senior Director of Sales at Adverity, Nicola Halpin brings a wealth of industry experience to her new role as Head of Agency Sales. Nicola has been tasked with bolstering sales to advertising agencies and supporting big agency holding groups to embrace image streaming for their clients.

David Childs, who previously managed the trade process of over 130 clients as Commercial Manager at Omnicom Media Group, will also bring valuable insights to his new role as Agency Sales Manager.

Commenting on the two new sales hires, Gregor Smith, global advertising sales director of SmartFrame Technologies, says: “We’re delighted to welcome Nicola and David to the sales team.

“With their extensive industry knowledge, they will play a crucial role in selling our unique contextual in-image advertising solution to the key agency holding groups, providing strategic support as we continue to expand our business operations across more buying points.”

Grace Rawnsley, The Port of London Authority

The Port of London Authority (PLA) has appointed Grace Rawnsley as its first director of sustainability. Grace has joined the PLA from the City of London Corporation, where she was climate action programme director.

As director of sustainability, Grace reports to PLA’s chief executive, Robin Mortimer. The role has been created to lead on the sustainability commitments in Thames Vision 2050.

These include: the transition to Net Zero emissions across the PLA and wider port; cleaning up the river; sustaining the habitats and species in a living Thames; and managing the impacts of climate change as the PLA works with partners to shape a resilient Thames.

Robin Mortimer, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Grace as our new director of sustainability. We have committed to a substantial environmental agenda in Thames Vision 2050, including cleaning the Thames and supporting emissions reduction.”

At the City Corporation, Grace led their work on responsible business and the learning and engagement offer in their open spaces. Prior to the City, Grace managed the Rhoko Forest Research and Education Centre in Nigeria, worked at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and was a freshwater ecosystem researcher at the University of Toronto.


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By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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