Firms from across Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and further afield have wasted no time recently in making a host of key hires, as lockdowns ease further and business confidence returns to the region.
Businesses based all over the North West and in sectors from automotive to construction to health have announced plenty of promotions and appointments.
If you have got a new or recent appointment or promotion you'd like featured in our next roundup, please email tom.houghton@reachplc.com.
READ MORE: DJH Mitten Clarke acquires Lloyd Piggott as firm achieves Manchester ambition
Here, BusinessLive runs through the 41 North West appointments from the last few weeks that you shouldn't have missed:
Bentley Motors
Crewe-headquartered Bentley Motors has announced the appointment of Amel Boubaaya as head of marketing and communications for Europe.
She replaces Caren Jochner who in April became Bentley’s head of global brand experience.
She will report jointly to Balazs Rooz, regional director, Europe and Wayne Bruce, director of communications.
Mr Bruce said: "I am delighted to welcome Amel to Bentley and to be working together so closely once again.
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"Amel brings a deep-rooted understanding of communications and customers in the luxury sector and a true passion for automotive, honed over many years of experience working in various markets around the world.
"I look forward to working together to develop and deliver our activities throughout the key European region as we look to transform our global business to become the leader in sustainable luxury mobility."
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MAC Construction
MAC Construction Consultants has further bolstered its senior management team with the appointment of director Richard Bellis.
Bringing more than 18 years’ experience to the role, Mr Bellis joins the firm’s cost and project management team and will lead its Manchester-based team.
Working for SME and international PLC consultancies, Mr Bellis has an "extensive and varied" background which spans most construction sectors.
He said: “In recent years MAC has positioned itself as a true market leader in the delivery of major public and private sector developments.
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“The team has dealt with the challenges presented by the pandemic head on and have demonstrated an unwavering dedication and commitment to acting in the best interests of their clients and going above and beyond during what has been a difficult year for many."
Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Adam Lowe to drive its dedicated primary care service within the firm’s 海角视频 Healthcare team.
Mr Lowe joins following more than a decade at Assura Plc, the specialist Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) developer, investor and manager of a portfolio of primary care medical centres across the 海角视频.
At Assura, Mr Lowe worked as an asset manager, senior investment manager and latterly as a business development manager working with NHS Trusts and GP surgeries.
He will be based in the firm’s North West regional hub office in Manchester, and said: “Cushman & Wakefield has well-established relationships supporting NHS Trusts and primary care developers and investors and I look forward to furthering this work to support the provision of primary care infrastructure.”
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Cassidy + Ashton
Architectural, planning and building surveying practice, Cassidy + Ashton, has appointed two architectural technologists and a planning assistant to strengthen its Chester office.
Aimi Barnes joins the practice as senior architectural technologist from Chester-based Lovelock Mitchell Architects.
She will be working alongside architectural technologist Anthony McCormick, who joins Cassidy + Ashton after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University.
Olivia Forde has also joined after graduating from the University of Liverpool. She will work across the practice’s planning teams in its Chester and Preston offices.
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The Keel
Liverpool based build-to-rent development, The Keel, has appointed Joseph Cooper as its general manager.
Mr Cooper will run the luxury residential development of 240 apartments, located at the former HMRC offices on a private quay at Queen’s Dock and will oversee a £300,000 upgrade to the north lobby.
He will be responsible for the day to day running of the development, which features facilities such as an on-site gym and fitness services, communal outdoor space, a concierge and parcel storage system.
He said: “The Keel really stands out to other build to rent developments – it truly bridges the gap between a customer focused hotel experience and a residential living space. Our waterfront location and fantastic positioning really offers residents the best of both worlds.
“I’m looking forward to applying my proven management skills to ensure residents have a living experience which is second to none.”
ACC Liverpool
The ACC Liverpool Group has appointed three independent non-executive directors to its board.
Alastair Machray, Alexandra Cousins and Jon Corner will contribute to the strategic direction of the organisation and support the executive and non-executive directors.
Mr Machray recently retired from Reach plc as editor of the Liverpool Echo and editor-in-chief of Reach North West and North Wales.
Mr Cousins provides business development consultancy to public, corporate, SMEs and third sector organisations such as delivering place making, digital and social projects.
Mr Corner has successfully grown digital marketing and communications businesses, specialising in strategic leadership in digital policy, strategy and transformation for public and private organisations.
Bridge Insurance Brokers
Bridge Insurance Brokers Ltd has expanded its real estate team with five new appointments and an internal promotion.
Mark Ruding joins as a claims executive, Hayley Smith joins as a trainee client service executive, Rob Naylor has been appointed as an account executive and Natalie Riley joins as a senior client service executive.
Additionally, Max Whitter has been appointed as a client service executive.
All five will be based in the Manchester headquarters but operate all over the 海角视频.
Heading up the newly expanded team is Carrie Arnold, who has been promoted from Account Executive to Head of Real Estate and will report to director Mike Regan.
PM+M
Blackburn and Bury-based wealth management group PM+M has made eight promotions across the firm.
In the wealth management team Rachel Ainsworth has been promoted to manager. Rachel joined PM+M in 2017. Whilst Rebecca Cox and Samantha Whittle, who both joined the team in 2019, have been made assistant managers.
Andy Kirkaldy has become an assistant manager in the tax, VAT and customs duties team. He has worked at PM+M since 2015. Mo Patel, who arrived in 2018, is now a senior adviser in the payroll team and Mark Honeyman takes up the same role in the audit team. Mark was appointed in 2016.
The final two promotions are in the cloud accounting team with Mark Sharples being promoted to assistant manager and his colleague Johanna Dean is now a senior adviser. Mark was appointed in 2015 and Johanna in 2016.
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Napthens
North West law firm Napthens has strengthened its core practice teams with the addition of ten new staff in the second quarter of 2021.
This includes the appointment of associate solicitor Laura Hartley-Williams, who joins the Business Recovery team from Knights plc.
Almost half of the new additions were to the firm's growing conveyancing team.
Following a busy period for the sector Sara Barnes, Bethany McKay, Michelle Cunliffe and Gemma Calamela have been appointed, as the firm’s team received 4,800 instructions in FY21, in part due to the Help to Buy scheme and Stamp Duty holiday,
Elsewhere, James Stephenson joined Napthens’ commercial litigation team in Liverpool while Jade Wilson has joined as a legal assistant in the Wills & Estates Planning team and Blake Sale has been appointed technical services manager, as part of the firm’s internal IT team.
Bibby Financial Services
SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has this week appointed Riana Azam as regional head of corporate to boost its support for businesses in the North of England and Scotland.
Ms Azam joins BFS with a wealth of expertise having amassed over 15 years’ experience in the Invoice finance and asset based lending sectors in the North West.
In her previous role, she worked as a regional sales director across the region for Nucleus Commercial Finance.
She said: said: “At a time when SMEs need proven, reliable funders, I wanted to join a well-established market player to support the industry during this post-pandemic recovery phase.
“I’ve always been impressed by the collective determination and willingness across BFS to support SMEs at all stages of their lifecycle and I am now very much looking forward to working with my team and helping BFS enhance its already strong reputation throughout the North of England and in Scotland.”
Davis Blank Furniss
Manchester and Glossop law firm Davis Blank Furniss has appointed Danielle Cobb as a solicitor in its Family team.
Her new role will see her acting on behalf of clients seeking advice on all aspects of family law including divorce, matrimonial financial matters, child arrangement orders - including specific issue orders - and prohibited steps orders, as well as special guardianship orders and non-molestation orders.
She will be working closely with Kirsty Morbey – partner and head of the Family team.
She said: "I’m really excited to be joining Davis Blank Furniss. It has a reputation for putting its clients first which fits perfectly with my approach to my work.
"I’m now looking forward to collaborating with Kirsty and playing my part in driving the team’s growth."
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International Advisory Group
A leading solicitor from Chester has been named as a new board member of an international group working to promote and encourage foreign trade around the world.
Helen Watson, partner and head of employment law at Aaron & Partners, will help lead International Advisory Group (IAG), a global network of law firms, accountants, and tax advisors.
Ms Watson's appointment comes as IAG plans to strengthen its network to support international trade and help economies recover from the impact of the pandemic.
She said: “IAG is a highly respected organisation with members from all around the globe, and I’m delighted to be joining the board at such a crucial time for international trade.
“Covid-19 had a major impact on the world’s ability to do business, but as the economy begins to recover, we’re seeing lots of opportunities to strengthen relationships for our old and new members.
“As an organisation, we remain in a strong position with a track-record of supporting successful business deals around the world, including some undertaken by Aaron & Partners as a committed partner of IAG.”
Pixel Kicks
Pixel Kicks, the Manchester-based digital agency, has made three new appointments.
Kendall Jones is the company's newest digital marketer after she joined from Grono.
Her focus will be on producing high-quality written content for client websites and running multi-channel digital marketing campaigns for the agency’s diverse roster of clients.
Matt Hamer has been appointed as a web developer. His role will see him handling and working with the wider web team on front-end web development projects.
The agency’s final new starter is Graziela Di Folco-Clement who has joined the business as a digital marketing apprentice from the Juice Academy.
Assetz Capital
Manchester-headquartered marketplace lender Assetz Capital has added two relationship directors to its bridging team.
Laleta Buctkuar joins following 12 years at Together and more recently a period at Roma Finance.
Colin Mottram has been promoted internally from senior relationship manager having been at Assetz Capital for two years, and prior to that held commercial roles with Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mark Standley, national commercial director at Assetz Capital, said: "We have offered bespoke bridging loans for many years, and whilst we can still deliver on complex cases we have also launched a sharper standardised proposition that has been well received by our intermediary partners.
"This simplifies the process and reduces the time investment required by all parties to deliver on the majority of bridging cases."