People: Property consultancy expands planning team; Law firm makes series of promotions; and more

A property consultancy has expanded its regional planning team which it says is in response to an increase in work as a result of strong growth across the West Midlands.

Fisher German has appointed Stephen Holloway as a planner at its regional office in Worcester.

Holloway has nine years’ experience in the planning sector and joins the firm from Wychavon District Council.

He will be working on a range projects across the residential, commercial and agricultural sectors.

The appointment comes eight months after associate planner Greg Collings, Fisher German’s lead planner in the West Midlands region, joined the firm.

Holloway said: “The growth of the planning team within the region is extremely exciting and I look forward to contributing to the service’s ongoing success.”
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Law firm Bevan Brittan has announced a total of 14 new appointments in its year-end promotions round – including four lawyers based at its offices in Edmund Street, Birmingham.

Promoted to senior associate are:
James Gutteridge (Employment, Birmingham)
Kirtpal Kaur-Aujla (Commercial and Infrastructure, Birmingham)

Promoted to associate are:

Chris O’Donnell (Clinical Risk, Birmingham)
Marie Shoulder (Clinical Risk, Birmingham)

There are 60 legal professionals and support staff based at Bevan Brittan’s Birmingham office, including nine partners.

Adrian Dagnall, office senior partner in Birmingham, said: “The appointments reflect the increased business activity we are seeing both nationally and in particular in the Midlands. I would like to congratulate everyone who has been promoted this year, and also commend them for their hard work and professionalism. The appointments demonstrate the evolving quality and strength in depth we have among our people both in Birmingham and across the firm.”

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Coventry-based Creavo Medical Technologies (Creavo), the medical device company, has announced that electrophysiology expert Dr Faizel Osman is to join its medical advisory board.

Dr Osman, consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, will advise the firm along with other members of the board on the potential applications and research areas for its magnetocardiography (MCG) device.

Creavo’s device is a uniquely portable diagnostic technology capable of measuring, displaying and storing electromagnetic fluctuations caused by heart activity.

Steve Parker, chief executive officer of Creavo, said: “We’ve done a great deal of work so far looking at the device’s applications within emergency care for the detection of ischaemia, but we know it’s potential reaches far beyond that.

“We’re delighted to have Dr Osman on board. His extensive expertise in cardiac device implants and cardiac electrophysiology will give us valuable insights into the diverse possibilities within magnetocardiography. We’ll be looking to bring in experts in other medical fields to help us maximise the potential for the device to improve healthcare delivery.”

Following initial funding, the company raised £13.4m in private equity funding in July 2017 for its MCG device.