People on the move: Napthens; Zimbabwe government; Tecmark; Titanic Hotel
Lancashire-based law firm Napathens is recruiting its largest ever intake of trainees in 2018.
Kirsty Halsted, Foridha Yasmin and Georgina Vokes are beginning training contracts, with a further six trainees due to start in September.
Halstead, of Mellor, Blackburn, who joined Napthens in 2013 as a legal secretary before a promotion to paralegal in 2017, begins her training contract in the firm’s litigation team.
Yasmin, of Accrington, arrived firm earlier this year as a paralegal and begins her training contract in the corporate team, with Vokes, of Penwortham in Preston, becoming part of the commercial property team in March.
Helen Lucking, partner at Napthens with responsibility for trainees, said the firm’s record intake of trainees was both a sign of its continuing growth, and commitment to investing the region.
She said: “Developing our staff is key to our growth, and an important part of this is bringing on keen and passionate trainees and investing in this next generation of advisers.
“It’s a sign of success for both Napthens and the wider business community that we are increasing our intake of trainees this year.
“Along with these trainee posts, we expect continued growth of the business over the next 12 months in Lancashire and Cumbria, and we will announce further new appointments in the near future.”
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Manchester cybersecurity expert and chief executive of VST Enterprises, Louis-James Davis, has been named science and technology ambassador of Zimbabwe.
The honour rewards the past 12 months working closely with the Zimbabwean government to develop uses for his technology, VCode, in order to rebuild the broken down economy.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the President of Zimbabwe, said: “Louis-James and his company have been a crucial support to the Zimbabwean government in recent months, as we continue our work to rebuild our country’s economy.
“The solutions Louis-James and his team are developing are truly at the cutting edge of technology, helping to go a long way towards tackling the challenges hindering Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.”
Davis said: “The way the new government has embraced innovative technology is a testament to its commitment to putting the Zimbabwean economy back on its feet.
“We are proud of the work we’ve done so far to support the country in this goal. We’re looking forward to leveraging this new honour to do even more to help the people of Zimbabwe create a prosperous future.”
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Tecmark – the SEO and content marketing agency in Manchester – has appointed Tino Triste as its search strategy director, placing him primarily in charge of the agency’s service delivery and strategy.
Tristshas 12 valuable years of experience in digital marketing and SEO and has spent the last three years helping The Co-operative Group deliver its SEO strategy and major rebrand.
Since 2014, he has worked within the Co-operative’s digital marketing team as its senior SEO manager, his main duties involving being in charge of the group’s search and content optimisation strategies, as well as overseeing and supporting the change of domains and CMS platforms as a result of the Co-op rebrand.
Prior to joining the Co-op’s digital team, he has held senior SEO positions at media agencies such as Carat and McCann Manchester.
He said: “Tecmark is renowned for being a digital agency with a creative edge. I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with clients in lead generation sectors; to help build a strong business that is passionate about its clients; and for the chance to set strategies that are search and conversion led.”
Managing director Richard Heyes said: “We had a really strong end to last year, and growth continued into quarter one, this meant we needed to strengthen at senior level.”
“Tino has a wealth of experience both in-house and within agencies, he has a track record for delivering strong organic search results, and he shares my vision of how an agency should service clients. I’m confident our clients and other members of the team will benefit from Tino’s experience and enthusiasm for organic search.”
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The Titanic Hotel in Liverpool has appointed twins Concha and Aurora Vazquez as co-ordinators of its wedding offering.
The 29-year-old Spanish duo, originally from Seville, now call Liverpool home after each winning scholarships to study primary school teaching a Hope University.
Concha and Aurora Vazquez
Since graduating, they both decided that the hospitality industry was where they saw their careers progressing and after working together for three years, they separated to work their way up in the city’s hotels.
After working in reservations and reception, both Concha and Aurora bided their time until they could transition into wedding co-ordination.
They’re now working as a double act at Titanic Hotel, creating the most special environment where they can both support and learn from each other, whilst planning and creating unique wedding days for brides and grooms.
