People: Corporate finance team welcomes director; Law firm promotes eight; Board appointment at Everton FC; and more

EVERTON FC has welcomed Dr Denise Barrett-Baxendale to its board.

Ms Barrett-Baxendale joined Everton in 2010 as chief executive of Everton in the Community and also became the club’s chief operating officer in 2011, with responsibility for the club’s HR, ICT, stadium operations and stadium safety and security teams.

Since 2013, when she was appointed as deputy chief executive, she has worked closely with the chief executive and board of directors to develop and implement a number of the club’s off-the-field strategies. In 2014 Ms Barrett-Baxendale was awarded an MBE  in  the  Queen’s Birthday Honours  List  for  services  to  the  community of Merseyside.

Ms Barrett-Baxendale will continue in her role as deputy chief executive of the club and will take up the new position of executive chair at Everton in the Community.

She becomes the fifth member of the new-look Everton board, joining Alexander Ryazantsev and Robert Elstone who were appointed following the investment into Everton by Farhad Moshiri in February.

:::

Dow Schofield Watts David SmithDAVID SMITH has joined Dow Schofield Watts, the professional advisory and equity finance firm based in Cheshire and Leeds, as a corporate finance director in Daresbury.

Mr Smith qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and has 25 years’ experience of equity investing and lead advisory corporate finance, working in venture capital and private equity.

Most recently he was the investment director at the North West Fund for Digital & Creative and has extensive experience in investing and corporate finance, specialising particularly in software, IT services and media. He has worked in venture capital, stockbroking and corporate finance with companies including 3i and KPMG. He has supported many software, IT services, creative and media companies from early stage funding through to IPO or sale.

James Dow, founding partner of Dow Schofield Watts, said: “David will bring a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience to our business and we look forward to welcoming him to DSW Corporate Finance and in due course to PHD. He has a truly exceptional range of skills and experience and his appointment continues to differentiate DSW as probably the leading provider of experienced corporate finance advice outside of London. He is a great addition to an already outstanding team.”

:::

Kuits promotionsCOMMERCIAL law firm Kuits has announced the promotion of five partners, a senior associate and two associates.

Alison Kellett (Banking and Real Estate Finance), James Wall (Commerical and Intellectual Property), Claire Meyers (Intellectual Property), Felicity Tulloch (Licensing) and David Jones (Litigation) have all joined the partnership, bringing the total number of partners in the firm up to 32.

Mark McKeating of the employment team has been named senior associate, while Tim Arkwright and Emma Nimmo – both from the Commercial Property department – have been promoted to associate.

Steve Eccleston, Managing Partner for Kuits, said: “We are delighted to announce the promotion of Alison, James, Claire, Felicity and David as partners. All five have proved themselves to be exceptional lawyers and have played a vital role in our continued growth.

“The same goes for Mark, Tim and Emma, who are deserving of their associate appointments. I am confident that they will seize the opportunity these promotions have given them to have an even greater personal impact on Kuits’ success.”

:::

AUDIT, tax and consulting firm RSM has appointed internal audit specialist Nicki Crail as a director based at its Manchester office.

Ms Crail joins RSM from Save the Children where she was director of internal control for the international group following two years as its director of global assurance. She has also worked in-house at Kingston University and in practice at two leading firms.

Ms Crail has a wealth of experience in risk, control and assurance, internal audit and counter fraud management. In addition, she brings a range of specialist expertise in the charities, central government, education and social housing sectors, having trained with the Audit Commission.  

In her new role, she will provide risk and assurance advice to a large portfolio of not-for-profit clients and will support North West partner Lisa Randall to continue to grow RSM’s internal audit practice across the region.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close