People: Law firm poaches partners from Brabners and Freeman Fisher; New MD takes the helm at Cumbria Tourism; and more

Law firm Fieldfisher has hired two partners for its Manchester office.

David Bowcock will join the corporate team from Brabners while Krista Powell has been welcomed on board in the real estate team having joined from Freeman Fisher.

Bowcock is head of corporate at Brabners in Manchester and a member of the firm’s management board.  He has been a partner there for nine years and specialises in M&A and capital raising involving both private and public equity, but acts mainly for companies listed on AIM, the Official List and NASDAQ.  He was previously at Eversheds for 16 years.

At Freeman Fisher, Powell was a partner and head of the real estate practice.  Prior to that she was at Addleshaw Goddard.  She has broad commercial property experience including investment and occupier acquisitions and disposals, development work and landlord and tenant matters. She set up the real estate department from scratch at her previous firm.

Ian Austin, managing partner Manchester, said: “We have ambitious plans to grow our Manchester base with the region continuing to attract investment from UK and international companies.  Both David and Krista are highly regarded lawyers and bring with them a wealth of experience which will boost our real estate and corporate capabilities and help to ensure we are a legal adviser of choice in a rapidly growing region.”

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Gill Haigh has taken up her role at the helm of Cumbria Tourism, the county’s official tourism destination marketing organisation today.

Cumbria’s tourism sector is worth more than £2.72bn to the local economy – supporting around 63,000 jobs – and Cumbria Tourism is the county’s largest membership organisation representing 2,500 tourism businesses.

Haigh joins the organisation following her most recent role as director of marketing and recruitment at the University of Cumbria.

She said: “I’m proud to be taking up this new role at one of the leading destination marketing organisations nationally. Potential visitors have ever more choice about where to spend their time and money, but there are many opportunities too.

“That is why it’s so important that Cumbria Tourism continues to deliver on its incredible track record of attracting visitors to the county and supporting businesses through its range of digital, marketing, research and PR support services.

“One of my top priorities will be looking at how we reach out to new and emerging markets both domestically and internationally, drawing on the kudos of having two world Heritage Sites in the county. It is also essential that the organisation continues to work together with the industry to influence key policy-makers and ensure that regional and national decision-making and infrastructure supports the needs of our £2.72billion visitor sector.”

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Tony Fountain is to step down as chair of Sellafield Ltd after accepting an offer to become chair at Essar Oil.

Sellafield is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which said it will now begin the process of finding a suitable successor.

Nigel Smith, a senior independent non-executive director with Sellafield, will cover the role in the interim.

David Peattie, NDA chief executive officer, said: “On behalf of the NDA, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Tony for his excellent leadership and contribution to the clean-up mission at Sellafield. We wish him every success in his new role.”

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Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company, has appointed a new business development manager to support SME access to the University of Manchester in their journey of growth and innovation.

Vicki Taylor, who had previously worked in similar roles for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and its partners for the last decade, joins a network of already-established business development managers at Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford and the University of Bolton, completing a team that enables local businesses to access expertise and facilities at Greater Manchester’s four universities.

The group work closely alongside the universities’ engagement teams and academic schools, offering businesses technical and sectoral advice, and helping them access university resources to develop new products and services or reinvigorate their business models.

Previous success stories from the University of Manchester that have received Business Growth Hub support include Lankem, who have accessed expertise in diesel emissions, and Kenny Waste, collaborating on an image analysis project.

Taylor said: “I am excited to join the Business Growth Hub and look forward to working with the team, further developing their offering to businesses across Greater Manchester. I have a background in managing successful entrepreneurial relationships and am looking forward to continuing that tradition with the University of Manchester.”