People: Law firm promotes eight; Safestyle adds new NED, Train operator appoints production director; and more

A long-serving member of the Hull Trains team has been appointed as production director.

Louise Mendham, who started her rail career with Hull Trains 14 years ago as operational support, has been appointed to the executive team ahead of the company’s introduction of five new Hitachi Class 802 trains in December 2019.

Commenting on her new role, Mendham said: “I’ve always taken on challenges throughout my time here and this role was the right move for me, it feels like a natural progression.

“I’m ambitious and determined to succeed and I feel I have the experience and understanding of the business to bring about positive changes and move it forward.”

“We are in an exciting period of change here, and it is important that everyone is aligned in their vision of the future of the company. I will use my strategic experience and understanding of the day-to-day running of the business to lead my teams from the front. We are in a strong position both commercially and financially, so it is important our people share a common goal so we can succeed together.”

After three years in operational support, Mendham was promoted to logistics manager where she became involved in the company’s service planning and timetable management. A further two years meant that Mendham was appointed as planning and performance manager – handling performance analysis, train planning, and overall performance improvement and strategy for the business.

Nine years on, Mendham has now been appointed as production director and will join the board to provide full leadership to both operational and fleet teams. She will be responsible for ensuring the safe and timely arrival of services and is preparing for the rollout of new Hitachi Class 802 trains due in 2019.

Mendham added: “There are lots of different roles at train operating companies and the scope for progression at Hull Trains is excellent. I’ve been encouraged to apply for new roles and supported in my career development, with Hull Trains putting me through leadership courses and qualifications to help me realise my goals.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in the number of women developing successful careers in the rail industry and Hull Trains is leading the field in this approach.”

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Addleshaw Goddard has announced the promotion of eight of its lawyers in its Leeds office.

The corporate law firm has promoted four to legal director and a further four to managing associate.

Those promoted to legal director are: Jo Crouse (Real Estate), Matt Collingwood-Cooper (Construction, Engineering and Environment), Charlotte Smart (Private Capital) and Ben Feather (Infrastructure, Projects and Energy).

Those promoted to managing associate are: Sarah Vokes-Alderson (Real Estate), Charlotte Marshall (Commercial), David Parker (Corporate) and Ryan Geldart (Litigation).

Simon Kamstra, head of Leeds office at AG, said; “We are committed to ensuring we make investments to develop and reward talent, enabling us to attract and retain the best people to help us deliver the highest possible results for our clients and retain our position as the biggest law firm in Leeds.

“I would like to congratulate all those who have been promoted this year, and I look forward to seeing their careers go from strength to strength at Addleshaw Goddard.”

In total 40 lawyers have been promoted across the firm’s 11 offices.

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Fiona Goldsmith

Safestyle UK plc, the Bradford-headquartered retailer and manufacturer of PVCu replacement windows and doors, has announced the appointment of Fiona Goldsmith as non-executive director.

Fiona was most recently a non-executive director, and chair of the Audit Committee, at Walker Greenbank PLC from December 2008 to June 2018.

Fiona is a Chartered Accountant who started her career with KPMG, where for nine years she focused on the retail and leisure sectors in various roles.

She then moved to First Choice Holidays plc, where she became European finance director.  From 2004 until 2008 she was finance director of Land Securities Trillium, a division of Land Securities Group plc.

Fiona will chair the Audit Committee at Safestyle.

Alan Lovell, chairman of Safestyle UK PLC, said: “The Board is delighted to welcome Fiona as a Non-executive Director. Her breadth of experience across a wide range of sectors, combined with her finance expertise, will be invaluable as we continue to work through the current challenges to return the Group to profitability and deliver value to our shareholders.”

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Solicitor James Farrell has joined the Schofield Sweeney Corporate team in Leeds.

The seven-partner strong team now boasts 18 lawyers across its three Yorkshire offices.

Newly qualified solicitor Helen Matthews will also be staying on at the firm and taking her place in the team following her training.

James joins the firm from Walker Morris, bringing with him strong transactional and corporate governance experience, having acted on a broad range of both domestic and cross- border M&A deals for SMEs, AIM listed and private equity backed clients.

The corporate team has seen significant growth over the last 12 months. Activity levels are high, over 40 transactions completed in the last eight months including high profile deals such as the sale of the entire share capital of Royal Armouries International (RAI) and the investment in Northern Escalators by BGF.

Farrell said: “I am delighted to have joined Schofield Sweeney; a well-established firm with an excellent reputation in the region. I was very impressed by the Partners during my interview; they have a very clear idea in relation to the identity of the firm within the West Yorkshire market, and the direction that they wish to take it.

“The Leeds market has been vibrant for a number of years in terms of corporate activity levels, particularly with the advent of the Northern Powerhouse initiative and the rise in funds available to private equity houses seeking to invest them. I am very much looking forward to making a positive contribution.”

Chris Schofield, the firm’s chairman, added: “We invest heavily in our staff and our growing reputation in the market means we can attract high-calibre lawyers as well as retain our trainees. We are delighted to have James join the team.”

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Approach, the Ilkley-based public relations consultancy, has announced three new appointments to strengthen its digital, b2b and retail offering.

The agency has appointed Sarah Kroon as business development director, Shona England-Lees as senior account executive and Betty Adams as junior account executive.

Kroon has over 14 years of retail, brand and planning experience, most recently working at ASDA. With a background in management and campaign delivery, Kroon will be focusing on team development, service delivery and new business.

Joining the team from a Leeds digital agency, PR graduate England-Lees has worked across national brands and not-for-profits and has a background in earned media.

Adams has been appointed as junior account executive after recently graduating from Leeds Beckett University with a first in Business and Management. During her final year of studies, Betty worked at Approach one day a week to gain experience.

Suzanne Watson, managing director, said: “Our three new starters offer a varied skill set that really enhances our offering across all sectors but particularly in manufacturing and retail. The passion that Sarah, Shona and Betty show for this business and our clients’ business is exactly what continues to set us apart as a consultancy – our love for what we do genuinely impacts on the campaigns we deliver for our clients and the award-winning results we continue to secure.”

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