Public and private companies of all sizes from across Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and the North West as a whole have confirmed a number of top hires and promotions over the last week.
Since our last BusinessLive North West appointments round up, businesses in sectors from as diverse as retail, law, housing and manufacturing have made a series of moves.
If you have a new or recent appointment or promotion that you would like featured in our next roundup, please email jon.robinson@reachplc.com.
Here, BusinessLive runs through the 39 North West appointments announced in the last week that you shouldn't miss:
JD Sports
Greater Manchester-headquartered JD Sports has appointed Helen Ashton as a non-executive director.
She has 30 years of experience of working in public and private equity backed businesses and is a qualified chartered management accountant.
As the former CFO of ASOS, she has also held executive level roles in Asda, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group and CEO positions in high growth private equity backed businesses.
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Executive chairman Peter Cowgill said: "I am pleased to announce that Helen Ashton has joined the JD board of directors.
"Helen brings a significant amount of retail, digital and financial experience.
"Helen will take up the role of Audit Committee chair and will play a crucial role on the board as we embark upon a period of transition to a new audit firm."
AJ Bell
Salford-based AJ Bell has appointed Evelyn Bourke as its new senior independent director.
The company has also, subject to FCA approval, hired Margaret Hassall as the new chair of the Remuneration Committee.
The moves come after Laura Carstensen, senior independent director and chair of the Remuneration Committee, informed the board that she does not want to be put forward for re-election at the company's 2022 Annual General Meeting.
Chair Les Platts said: "Laura has made an enormous contribution to the Board during the transition from being a private company to a listed FTSE 250 one and I would like to thank her for her commitment and dedication. Laura leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future."
musicMagpie
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Greater Manchester-headquartered musicMagpie has hired Matthew Fowler as executive director and chief financial officer.
His start date will be confirmed "in due course" and he will join the board upon appointment.
The appointment follows Ian Storey’s promotion to group chief operating officer when the company floated earlier this year.
Mr Fowler joins from genedrive plc, an AIM-quoted molecular diagnostics company, where he has been CFO since 2016.
Prior to joining genedrive, he spent eight years as group financial controller of Scapa Group plc, an AIM-quoted multinational manufacturing business.
He previously spent three years at British Nuclear Group as Finance Manager, having trained and qualified in the audit department of Deloitte & Touche.
MHA Moore and Smalley
North West accountancy and business advisory firm MHA Moore and Smalley has made a new senior appointment to its VAT and indirect taxes team.
Carolyn Van Hecke has joined the firm as a VAT and indirect taxes senior manager from Cowgills, where she worked for 15 years as the leader of its VAT team.
She has also previously worked for HM Customs & Excise and specialises in disputes and negotiations with HMRC, VAT and property as well as partial exemption.
She will operate from MHA Moore and Smalley’s Preston office but will support clients nationally.
PAM Group
Warrington-based preventative healthcare company PAM Group has hired two senior recruits to help drive further growth.
Brandon Collins and Stefan Jagielski will join PAM in early 2022 from employee assistance programme services rival business Health Assured.
Mr Collins, who is a founder and sales director at Health Assured, has 30 years’ experience of employee assistance programmes.
Before Health Assured, he founded and ran two businesses, PCP and Corporate Support.
He will join PAM as sales director of its ToHealth business.
Mr Jagielski has more than 10 years’ experience of managing large, national employee assistance programme (EAP) services.
He will join PAM as the head of account management in ToHealth.
Weightmans
National law firm Weightmans has appointed three lawyers to its corporate team, including a new partner and solicitor in the North West.
The firm has welcomed Louise Neave as a partner in the Liverpool office. She joins from DLA Piper LLP, where she was responsible for the firm’s consumer finance practice as a legal director.
Christopher Galley has been appointed as a corporate solicitor in the Manchester office. He joins from Latham & Watkins, having also previously worked for the global law office in Shanghai as foreign legal counsel.
Weightmans has also appointed Emily Beere as a corporate solicitor in London.
Bedspace
Manchester-based housing organisation Bedspace, which finds homes for vulnerable young people, is set to expand its offering with a move into children’s residential, following the appointment of Danny Wilson.
Mr Wilson joins as head of children’s residential, having spent the last eight years as operations manager at a local authority overseeing children’s homes.
He said: "It was clear after meeting the team at Bedspace that it is an ethical organisation that aligns with my views and approaches, and shares my passion for improving the lives of vulnerable children and young people.
"I have seen Bedspace’s good practice first-hand and know people who have really benefited from the services it provides.
"I am excited to join Bedspace as it expands its offering and look forward to welcoming more people to the children’s residential team in the new year."
Baltic Creative Community Interest Company
Baltic Creative Community Interest Company (CIC) has welcomed three new co-opted members to its board of directors with the appointment of Aaron Fontenot, Geraldine Achieng and Lila Tamea.
The appointments are in response to Baltic Creative’s recently updated diversity and inclusion policy, which aims to ensure that a broader range of voices from across Liverpool’s thriving digital and creative sector are represented and have an opportunity to help shape its future.
Managing director Mark Lawler said: "We’re excited to have three new additions to the board, and we are already enjoying their fresh input from a younger perspective, as well as drawing on their varying cultural and career experiences to date.
"Diversity within the digital and creative sector as a whole is a challenge and we hope that the appointment of Aaron, Geraldine and Lila will enable us to be more proactive in addressing where the gaps are, so that there are more opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved."
Stephensons
National law firm Stephensons has added to its commercial litigation team with the appointment of a new solicitor.
Jordan Davies joins the firm from Napthen Solicitors in Preston where she specialised in contentious probate matters, including Inheritance Act claims, Will disputes and trust disputes.
In her role at Stephensons, she will use her experience to help grow and develop the firm’s contentious probate team.
Jordan Davies said: "I am very pleased to join Stephensons in a period of growth and ambition at the firm.
"The commercial litigation team has developed strong foundations in contentious probate work and I’m excited to have the opportunity to build and develop that further."
Flexible Business Interiors
Didsbury-headquartered fit out specialist Flexible Business Interiors (FBI) has expanded its project management team with the appointment of Ben Roberts.
The company, which was established in 1991 and has delivered refurbishment projects for the likes of CBRE Global Investors, Pets at Home and Clear Orthodontics, has invested in the role having secured a number of new projects in recent months including a £3m transformation of The Element building at Birchwood Park for Bridge Properties.
Mr Roberts has joined FBI half way through his HNC in Construction following an early career in retail management with Spanish fashion brand, Zara.
Hill Dickinson
International law firm Hill Dickinson has promoted a record number of associate lawyers to senior associate positions in its latest promotions round.
A total of 28 lawyers across all three of the firm’s core business groups become senior associates.
In addition, Sean Lightfoot, of the firm’s Manchester Corporate team, has been promoted to legal director.
The promotions are:
Manchester - Harriet Adgie (Corporate), Tassneem Attia (Real Estate), Rosie Edwards (Real Estate), James Redshaw (Corporate), Leah Selkirk (Health Advisory), Sean Lightfoot (Corporate) (Legal Director), Laura Scott (Commercial Litigation)
Liverpool - Elizabeth Finnie (Corporate), Ajith Prasad (Health Litigation), Krystyn Hall (Real Estate), Lizzie Jones (Corporate), Kerry Barlow (Health Litigation), Victoria Haughey (Health Costs), Mark Cranshaw (Employment Commercial), Rachel Kelly-Brandreth (Health Advisory), Martin Rothwell (Health Costs)
Chancerygate
Industrial property developer and asset manager Chancerygate has announced a trio of key appointments in its Warrington office.
Stuart McGill joins as asset manager, Andy Farrer as development manager and Joe Johnson as project manager.
Development director Mike Walker said: "These are three great additions to the business as we continue to grow across both asset management and development.
"We are delighted to welcome Stuart, Andy and Joe to Chancerygate. They bring a wealth of experience and proven success with large firms, as well as a strong understanding of the industrial property market in the North.
"We have grown our asset management portfolio and development pipeline significantly in the North West in the past 12 months.
"Their appointments will be key in ensuring that we achieve our ambitions to continue with our rate of growth and maintain our position as a leading developer and asset manager in the region."
Belong
Dementia specialist care operator Belong has appointed Patrick Butler as the general manager of Belong Chester to head up the team when the care village and its nursery open their doors on City Road, in spring 2022.
Mr Butler brings with him more than 30 years' care experience, including leading numerous care facilities across the region.
Most recently, he held a number of senior positions with Bupa Care Services, overseeing multi-site environments with nursing, dementia and residential care provision, as well as taking up a regional director role and building positive relationships with stakeholders including local authorities, NHS clinical commissioning groups and the general public.
Mr Butler said: "I'm thrilled to be leading the new Belong Chester care village. I'm passionate about care for all ages and, having previously worked in the city, I'm pleased to be back and looking forward to setting the highest care standards from day one.
"Our goal is to build what will become the premier dementia care service in West Cheshire."
Pilkington 海角视频
Pilkington 海角视频, which is part of the NSG Group, has appointed Neil Syder to managing director to lead the glass manufacturer.
Mr Syder brings over 30 years’ experience within the St Helens company to the post.
He began at the company working in R&D in the 1980s, building experience over four decades in specialist glass coatings, running production lines, and operational planning.
Mr Syder takes over from Matt Buckley, who takes retirement after serving as managing director for more than a decade and having spent 30 years with the business.
Inprova Group
Warrington-based procurement services provider Inprova Group has appointed Richard Godsland as finance director and John Bellamy as category manager for construction.
Inprova provides procurement solutions to nearly 1,000 organisations in the housing and local authority sectors.
It runs Procurement for Housing, which manages the purchase and supply of over £200m worth of goods and services for 900 海角视频 social landlords every year.
The business is procurement partner to Building Better, an alliance of 29 housing associations and local authorities increasing the use of modern methods of construction (MMC), and it also manages spend control software provider Valueworks.