People: Two senior hires for Emsleys Solicitors; Credit card fraud prevention company appoints CEO; and more

Director and head of personal injury Andrew Greenwood, head of operations Rachel Walton, director and head of conveyancing Alistair McKinlay, and director Peter Watson.

Emsleys Solicitors has made two senior appointments.

Peter Watson joins the firm as a director to support the firm’s future development, working closely with Emsleys’ management team and department heads.

Watson is a dual qualified solicitor, having previously practised in Australia, and has many years’ experience managing a UK top 100 national law firm.

Meanwhile, Rachel Walton has been appointed as head of operations. She joins from a national law firm with a wealth of experience in business management and development, as well as expertise as a solicitor in conveyancing and property law.

The appointments follow investment in 2016 in a new office at No.6 Colton Mill in Leeds after a period of growth.

Director Alistair McKinlay said: “This is a really exciting time for Emsleys as we reach out for new opportunities as well as enhancing our current offering in order to strengthen our reputation as an award-winning local firm.”

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Gala Technology, the Rotherham-based company specialising in developing secure digital payment solutions for credit cards, has appointed Mike Cheshire as CEO.

Cheshire has extensive experience gained over 25 years in the data security and telecommunications industry.

Jason Mace, director of Gala Technology, said: “Mike joins us at a very exciting time for our business, with our Secure Order Transfer (SOTpay) payment protection technology ready to go to market and a number of major retailers interested in using the technology.

“Mike’s experience in data security will be invaluable as we enter an era when many businesses are concerned with compliance to GDPR regulations introduced this May and meeting PCI DSS requirements.  He will also play a key role in developing new business opportunities for SOTpay through innovative new platforms.”

SOTpay (Secure Order Transfer) has been developed to prevent fraudulent telephone transactions and ensure businesses can deliver to third party billing addresses with confidence.  The technology ensures a retailer or seller remains compliant, whilst making payment services more efficient and cost effective.

Cheshire said: “I spotted straightaway that SOTpay was an excellent product and that my experience in security compliance and GDPR could help to move this technology forward.  I will be working closely with the payment service providers (PSPs) and Payment Card Industry (PCI) to ensure that SOTpay becomes widely recognised as the leading mail order/telephone order security system for businesses.”

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Alternative finance specialist ThinCats is expanding further with the appointment of Rob Thompson to the newly-created role of regional head of credit for the North.

The move is part of ThinCats’ ambition to increase the volume and quality of loans it is originating, by providing strong regional support.

Thompson said: “I’ll be working alongside our origination team to shape and structure the deals, helping resolve any problems and being actively involved in the whole credit process right the way through to completion.”

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