People on the Move: St Ann’s Hospice; BDO; Alliance Manchester Business School; Mint Bridging; Quilter Cheviot

Marla Cunningham

Greater Manchester charity St Ann’s Hospice has announced the appointment of Marla Cunningham as its new capital campaign director.

Marla starts 2019 in the brand new role, which will see her lead a bold and ambitious project to help ensure St Ann’s can continue providing its world-class care for many more years to come.

Eamonn O’Neal, chief executive of the hospice, explained: “We’ll be celebrating St Ann’s 50th anniversary in 2021 and have big plans.

“As one of the oldest adult hospices outside of London, we’ve been adept at changing and adapting to the needs of our patients for almost half a century.

“As we all know, the political and economic landscapes in the UK have changed considerably, and will continue to do so, and with the devolution of healthcare budgets in Greater Manchester, we’ve been bold about the increased need for specialist hospice care for people across our local communities.

“Marla will be looking at plans to help us ensure we can carry on delivering that same world-class level of care to as many people that need it as possible, as well as allowing us to reach even more patients from our local communities. We will be looking at future requirements in more detail in the coming months.”

Marla joins the charity from her most recent role as development director of HOME, where she led the £25m capital fundraising campaign and established a revenue fundraising programme. She has also previously worked as development director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in the city centre.

She said: “I’m so pleased to be joining St Ann’s at what is an incredibly exciting time in the organisation’s history.

“I can’t wait to start pulling together plans that will help the charity to lay its foundations to ensure it can continue to provide the very best in hospice care for the next 50 years, and for the next generations of patients, their carers, families, and healthcare professionals in Greater Manchester.

“My main focus will be to ensure that the specialist teams at St Ann’s can continue providing world-class care in the very best facilities possible to ensure patients – whatever life-limiting illness they have – continue to receive truly holistic, individualised care, at a time which can see many feel extremely vulnerable. It’s a privilege to join such a well-regarded institution.”

St Ann’s cares for patients from its three sites in Heald Green, Little Hulton, and the Neil Cliffe Centre in Wythenshawe Hospital, as well as via a range of community and outreach services. As a charity it receives just over a third of its funding from the NHS, with the rest – equating to around £20,000 a day – achieved by fundraising and trading activities.

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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has promoted Sarah Cumming in its growing corporate finance transaction services team.

Sarah has been promoted to managing director, cementing the depth and breadth of BDO’s expertise in the corporate finance market.

Sarah is based in Manchester and has more than 20 years’ transaction services experience, including capital markets, private equity and bank-funded transactions.

She focuses on reporting accountant work for companies undertaking an IPO in London and due diligence for private equity and corporate acquirers.

Sarah Cumming

Sarah’s IPO work has included companies listing on both AIM and the main market. Her experience of corporate transactions includes cross-border work in Europe and the US.

Chris Heatlie, transaction services partner at BDO, said: “Our transaction services team has witnessed impressive growth in the last five years. The opportunity for Sarah to step up into this new role is testament to her commitment, experience and dedication to client service.

“Our clients continue to pursue growth in UK and international markets, and they’re demanding top quality advisers who can combine technical expertise with commercial acumen.

“Sarah has consistently demonstrated all of these qualities and I have no doubt she will continue to leverage her significant experience in helping businesses thrive in these challenging times.”

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Alliance Manchester Business School has announced the strategic appointment of Damaris Albarran as the chair of its independent advisory Board.

The School welcomes Damaris following the sad news of the death of Eddie Davies.

Damaris Albarran has 30 years’ experience in the global corporate banking sphere, including Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon, and holds an MBA from the Business School.

Damaris Albarran

She also shares her expertise of financial markets teaching on some of the Business School’s executive education programmes.

Sky News’ business lead Ian King and equity asset management expert, Amin El-Kholy have also joined the board.

Ian is a University of Manchester alumnus and is the current business presenter for Sky News, a role that has seen him interview two-thirds of the FTSE-100’s chief executives, along with countless other leading figures from the world of business, finance and economics.

Amin El-Kholy is a Manchester MBA alumnus and brings his expertise in emerging markets equity asset management.

He also specialises in FinTech through his experience in start-up mentoring and angel investment and currently teaches on the global MBA at Alliance MBS.

The advisory board, which now comprises 14 industry experts, advises the dean and head of Alliance Manchester Business School, Prof Fiona Devine and her leadership team, on the development of the School’s strategy and offers an important external perspective on its research and teaching portfolio.

Speaking about her appointment, Damaris Albarran said: “It’s a huge honour to succeed Eddie Davies as chair of the advisory board, especially at such an exciting and important time for the school.

“We are immensely grateful for all Eddie did for the school and saddened by his loss. The excellent people on the board and I will work hard to ensure we bring our various skills and strengths to enhance the school’s already strong reputation and ensure its continued success.”

Ian King

Ian King added: “Alliance Manchester Business School is one of Europe’s premier business schools and, as a Manchester graduate, I am especially excited to be joining its advisory board. I hope to contribute to the continued success of Alliance MBS by offering both ideas, insights and contacts that will, hopefully, reinforce the quality of its teaching.”

Amin El-Kholy said: “Alliance Manchester Business School has successfully enhanced its global presence with its centres across the world. With top calibre faculty and a strong alumni network, the prospects are exciting.

“It is a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the advisory board and I look forward to the continued growth and success of Alliance MBS.”

The Business School also thanked Vincent Chan chief executive, co-founder and IC Member of Spring Capital and MBA alumnus, for his continued support and advice as he leaves the board following nine years as a member.

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Mint Bridging has created the role of head of legal for Andrea Naylor, which will include managerial responsibility for Mint’s underwriting team.

Naylor was previously at Goldentree for five years, where she was part of the legal team. She has 26 years of experience in real estate, working in-house for national housebuilders and international private practice.

Andrea Naylor

The appointment of Andrea is part of a management restructuring, with the recent announcement of promoting head of underwriting, Richard Showman, to the newly-created role of head of lending.

This role provides opportunity to take a more strategic position in the business, which will include subsequent development work with Mint’s lawyers, valuers and quantity surveyors, alongside provision of additional support for funders.

Andrea said: “The offer of this customised role is an incredible opportunity for me. Mint Bridging has a tremendous passion for lending and are extremely ambitious.

“My skills and expertise will be a strong asset developing the underwriting team and I’m excited with the prospect of being part of a pivotal role in the company’s expansion.”

Andrew Lazare, managing director, said: “The changes we have made within the business and the appointment of Andrea Naylor will take us to the next level in our journey, reinforcing Mint as the predominant go-to bridging lender in the unregulated space.

“Coming at a time when our loan book stands at a record high, we already see the potential that Andrea has brought to the table. With Richard’s recent well-earned promotion, both Andrea and Richard strengthen the core management team to take Mint to the next level in 2019.”

Alongside Andrea’s promotion, the company has hired multiple employees over the past 12 months, resulting in relocating to larger offices.

Mint’s headquarters is now situated at the Atlantic Street Business Park, Altrincham.

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Quilter Cheviot’s Liverpool office has announced the passing of the baton as Simon Walker hands head of office leadership responsibilities to Nigel Hibbert.

“The team is in great shape and now is a good time for Nigel to take the office on to the next level,” said Simon.

Nigel and Simon were founding partners of Cheviot’s Liverpool office in 2011, having been long-term colleagues at Tilney and then Deutsche Bank.

Nigel Hibbert

They have a combined 50-years plus of industry experience. The Quilter and Cheviot offices merged in 2013.

Andy McGlone, chief executive of Quilter Cheviot, added: “I would like to thank Simon for leading the Liverpool office to such success in recent years.

“Nigel is a great example of the emerging leadership talent we have across the business and he has made a material contribution to helping Simon and the rest of the team. This is a good time for Nigel to take over and I wish them both well in their new roles.”

Quilter Cheviot’s Liverpool office is one of the company’s largest regional teams, with 30 staff members. Its assets under management have increased substantially over recent years.

Nigel said: “I am delighted to take the helm of the Liverpool office and am committed to furthering the progress of an experienced and driven team who are dedicated to securing and delivering outstanding results for our clients.”

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