People: Avalon; Armstrong Craven; Arbuthnot Latham & more

AVALON, the Cheshire-based provider of pre-paid funeral plans in the UK and Europe, has made Paul Wilson its permanent chief executive following his appointment on an interim basis in February as it looks to grow its market share.  
He joins the business from leading over 50s advisor Key Retirement where as a founding member and managing director, he oversaw rapid growth of the business before taking part in the sale of a substantial stake in the business to Phoenix Equity Partners.
 
Wilson was a key figure at the business that help turned it into clear leaders in the equity release profession. He brought specialist lending provider more2life back into the industry and oversaw its development in gaining significant market share.

He also led the positive diversification of the Key Retirement group into other products targeted at those in pre and post retirement.

Wilson said: “Avalon is a powerful and trusted brand in its market on the way up. To lead the business and help it grow, supported by a strong executive team and backed by a pragmatic investor in Lonsdale Partners, was an opportunity not to be missed.

“Avalon’s ethos is about helping people cherish life and not being left with the worry about funding something that we often don’t want to think about. We’re quite prepared to bring this subject to the family table – it’s something as a nation we often shy away from but if we plan properly and support people, worries will turn into celebrations.  

“The business is in a solid position and with the mission and strategy we have in place we are in a very strong position to achieve our growth objectives and become the number one in the UK and Europe.”

Headquartered in Wilmslow, Avalon was founded in 1990 to create a transparent and affordable funeral plan that hadn’t previously existed. It now boasts over 50,000 customers in the UK and Europe and has an annual turnover of £21m, with more than £50m funds under management.

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A SPECIALIST in global talent mapping and pipelining has strengthened its senior management team with a number of key appointments.

Armstrong Craven in Manchester has promoted Rachel Davis to the position of deputy chief executive from her previous role as chief operating officer and practice lead for Healthcare and Life Sciences.

Kanesh Khilosia has joined AC as COO, bringing with him a strong background in finance and private equity, while Jo Bibby is promoted to operations director from the position of senior client partner – technology and professional services.

Olivia Wynn has replaced Davis as practice lead for healthcare and life sciences. Wynn was previously Davis’ deputy delivering assignments for some of the biggest healthcare brands in the world.

AC has also brought on board a number of other new recruits in areas including project management, sales and business development.

The fast-growing company, which is backed by independent private equity investor Livingbridge, works with corporate clients in the UK and globally. It has offices in Manchester, London and Singapore.

It provides its range of talent mapping, pipelining and insight services to sectors including technology, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, professional services, consumer and industrial.

Matthew Mellor, chief executive of Armstrong Craven, said: “We are finding that our global talent mapping and pipelining services are in increasing demand from corporates which are looking for specialist firms which can deliver high quality work together with exceptional return-on-investment.

“In-house talent acquisition teams are looking for specialist skills which complement their own internal strengths. They like the fact we can build robust pipelines for immediate and future need and that ownership of all data gathered remains with the client.

“These senior appointments mean we have the strongest possible management team to ensure the continued successful growth of Armstrong Craven.

“However, our recruitment is continuing across all levels of the business. We are attracting ambitious individuals with a proven background in project delivery, sales and business development.”

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ARBUTHNOT Latham & Co, the private and commercial banking and wealth management arm of the Arbuthnot Banking Group, has announced the appointment of Andrew Broughton as commercial banking director for the North West, based in Manchester.

Broughton joins Arbuthnot Latham from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group where he held a number of senior roles, latterly as head of specialised relationship management, leading a large team of commercial bankers serving owner/managed businesses across the Midlands and the East of England.

Arbuthnot Latham’s chief executive, Ian Henderson, said: “Andrew brings a wealth of experience from his numerous roles with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which he will deploy as Commercial Banking Director at our North West Regional Office.
 
“His appointment builds on the success of the Private Banking and Wealth Management team that we have appointed in the Region. “I look forward to working with Andrew.”

Andrew Broughton, said: “After spending many years serving commercial clients at RBS in a variety of roles, I feel excited and privileged to be able to introduce Arbuthnot Latham Commercial to the North West and look forward to working with both new and existing clients across the Region.”

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ACCESS Legal, the national private client arm of law firm Shoosmiths, has been bolstered by the recruitment of Adam Draper who joins as a partner based in the firm’s Manchester office.
 
Draper was previously a partner with Irwin Mitchell and headed up their team in Sheffield.

He has considerable expertise in dealing with will trust and estate disputes and professional negligence and his appointment will support the growth of Access Legal’s specialist team nationally and in Manchester and the North West.
 
Rose Donoghue, the partner who heads up the firm’s national legal disputes team, said: “Adam’s appointment is a huge step in developing our national, specialist offering in the area of will, trust and estate disputes.
 
“His experience is second to none in these areas and I am sure his skills will help us expand our national capacity and client base in Manchester and throughout the UK.”

Draper said: “‘I am excited to be joining a team with such a strong reputation for getting the best results for their clients and am looking forward to working with Access Legal’s to help those involved in what are difficult and stressful claims.”