Appointments: UBS; Grant Thornton; NEC Group

UBS Global Wealth Management has named Dave Price as its new branch head in its Midlands office as part of a reshuffle in its regional teams.

Price has been a client advisor at UBS Wealth Management in Birmingham for six years, having joined from Credit Suisse in 2012, and was deputy to former office head Phillip Wood for the last four years.

Andy Jackson, who joined from Coutts last year, will become deputy branch head.

Nick Tucker, head of UK domestic at UBS Global Wealth Management, said, “We would like to thank Phillip for his tireless work over the past decade in raising our business to its current standing in the Midlands region. During this time, he has not only overseen a tenfold growth in the office’s invested assets, but also led a team which has regularly topped our client satisfaction surveys.

“We are confident that with Dave at the helm, the region will continue to flourish.”

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Grant Thornton in Birmingham has boosted its senior leadership team with the promotion of Alex Hyde to partner.

Hyde moved from London in 2010 to head up the firm’s Transaction Advisory Services team in Birmingham.

The office now has 12 full-time financial due diligence specialists, with additional support from the transaction tax team in Birmingham as well as dedicated due diligence specialists based in the East Midlands.

Hyde said: “In the first half of 2018 we have seen good levels of deal flow, with a healthy mix of work for corporate acquirers, private equity investors, banks, vendors and IPO aspirants across a wide range of sectors.

“The pipeline for the second half of the year also looks strong and whilst there are some Brexit-shaped clouds on the horizon, the quality of businesses and management teams across the Midlands plus the fundamental strategic growth drivers for mid-market businesses should enable this trend to continue.”

David Hillan, practice leader at Grant Thornton in Birmingham, added: “Alex is very well-respected in his field of expertise locally and his promotion to partner is richly-deserved.”

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NEC Group has appointed Claire Bond as group HR director, promoting her from her current role as head of business HR and learning development.

Bond previously worked at KPMG and the Co-operative Group’s legal services arm, helping to grow the business from launch to 500 employees and to what is now also a multi-million-pound enterprise.

John Hornby, chief operating officer at the NEC Group said: “Claire was our stand-out choice to promote into this role. She’s highly credible and has played a key role in landing a range of business-critical initiatives including our high-performing talent programme.

“We value both her strategic counsel and her capacity to roll up her sleeves and get things done – making her an excellent cultural fit for NEC Group.”