People: Law firm announces raft of promotions; Marketing agency appoints first non-exec; and more

Leeds-headquartered law firm Simpson Millar has announced 12 promotions across its legal and business service teams.

As part of the raft of promotions, Public Law expert Samantha Hale has been made a Partner having initially completed her training contract with the business in 2009.

She later left the firm to join Hertfordshire County Council as an Education Solicitor, before re-joining in 2015.

Hale specialises in Education Law, helping secure the right educational placements and provision for children and young people with special educational needs.

The firm has also promoted Medical Negligence expert Kay Barnes to Partner who joined in 2016 and has more than 20 years’ legal experience specialising in serious birth injury cases.

Barnes was also recognised by the Legal 500 as one of their 2017 recommended lawyers.

There are two promotions to Senior Associate: Hannah Dickinson, who leads the cashiering team within the firms finance function and has been tasked to deliver an ambitious project to centralise financial tasks and increase efficiency of fee earners; and Nicola Hardy, a practicing solicitor who has taken on a role within the central management team.

In addition, Simpson Millar has announced the promotion of eight new Associates including Darrel Jardine and James Blower in Holiday Claims; Fiona Couzens, Joanne Levey and Silvia Nicolaou Garcia in Public Law; Raminder Bhabra in Risk and Compliance; Claire McGregor in Residential Conveyancing and Natalie Julier in Road Traffic Accidents Team.

Greg Cox, Managing Partner and CEO of Simpson Millar, said “We are always proud to recognise the dedication, ability, talent and hard work that our team members demonstrate, and which is a huge part of what makes the firm successful.

“This announcement showcases the depth of talent and ability at the firm and reflects our commitment at Simpson Millar to provide opportunities for progression and personal development. It is particularly pleasing to see appointments from across all practice areas of the firm and professional support services.

“All of those promoted will be provided with mentoring support and training via our newly launched training programme.”

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Banana Kick, the Leeds-based marketing agency, has appointed former Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Scottish FA CEO Stewart Regan to its board.

The agency has moved to strengthen its boardroom with the appointment of Regan as the company’s first non-executive director. He brings a wealth of experience from both the drinks industry and the world of sports administration.

After five seasons at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Regan was appointed Chief Executive of the Scottish Football Association in July 2010.

In his first year at the Scottish FA, Regan oversaw a period of significant change, including an historic overhaul of the governance and structure of the Scottish game.

In 2012, he was asked by the Scottish Government to chair a steering group overseeing the design and development of Scotland’s first national Performance Centre in Edinburgh.

As Chairman of Hampden Park Ltd, Regan also led the winning Glasgow bid to host matches and four games at the UEFA 2020 European Championships.

In his role as CEO of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Regan oversaw the redevelopment of Headingley Carnegie Stadium, which hosted the Ashes Series in 2009.

Before that, he was Director of The Football League Championship, a position he took up after spending 16 years in the brewing industry, most notably as Sales Managing Director for Bass Brewers and Strategic Planning Director for Coors Brewers following their acquisition of the Bass business in 2002.

Since leaving the Scottish FA earlier this year, Regan has launched his own consultancy business, Ascend Global Consulting Ltd and is currently advising a number of sports-related clients across the world, most notably UEFA.

Gary McCall, Banana Kick Chief Executive, said: “From the directors’ perspective this is an important appointment for the company. After ten successful years where the company has grown from four employees to 42, we’re now planning the future strategic development of the business.

“Stewart brings great experience that we can all benefit from as the company looks to expand further. We had the pleasure of working with Stewart while he was at Yorkshire CCC, so we have first hand experience of his drive and creative flair and we look forward to a longstanding and successful relationship.”

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Recruitment consultant BWD has announced the appointment of Lorraine Robertson as Divisional Director – Interim Management.

Robertson joins Leeds-based BWD from EA Change, where she was Divisional Director for North of England and Scotland.

Robertson has extensive financial services experience, having spent 15 years in professional banking roles with HSBC.

Since moving into recruitment, Robertson has specialised in the contracting and interim market, utilising her knowledge and expertise to meet the needs of financial institutions temporary requirements.

James Walker, director BWD said: “Attracting someone of Lorraine’s calibre is a real testament to BWD. We have been developing our offering over the last year, reaching number one supplier status for a major global bank in the process.

“It is now in a prime position to be expanded and under the leadership of Lorraine, I anticipate exciting times ahead.

Robertson added: “I am delighted to be joining BWD at such an exciting time. Having met the Directors and understanding their vision for the company, the opportunity was the perfect fit for me. The interim management proposition is excellent and is primed for further expansion.”

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Potter Group, which owns, develops and operates five commercial business parks across the UK, has promoted Robert Barker to property director.

Robert joined the Ripon-based company three years ago as property manager, bringing with him more than 25 years’ experience in asset management.

During his career, Barker has worked for both leading commercial property agents and property owners, including an affordable housing and care organisation, where he was responsible for the management of 55,000 properties worth £3.2bn.

In his new role, Barker he will help take the Potter Group into its next stage of growth, as it continues to develop its sites in Selby, Ripon, Knowsley, Drotwich and Ely, which collectively comprise more than 250 acres and in excess of 1.6m square feet of commercial space.

He will be working closely with Potter Group’s managing director, Matthew Lamb, as the company identifies further development opportunities.

Barker said: “Since joining the Potter Group in 2015 I have witnessed some exciting changes within the company and know of the ambitious plans for the future. I am really looking forward to working closely with the team in helping to take the group forward, as it continues to invest significantly in future growth.”

Matthew Lamb added: “Robert’s expertise has been invaluable since he joined the company. We therefore had no hesitation is recognising his skills by promoting him to property director, which is an extremely important role as we enter our next stage of development.”

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BJSS, the UK’s largest privately-owned IT and business consultancy, has appointed Stuart Bullock as Managing Director.

Bullock, who joined the Leeds-based company in 2000, is moving up from his role as Director in charge of Delivery Centres in Leeds, Manchester and Bristol, and will now be responsible for running all aspects of BJSS’ business.

Bullock will replace Glynn Robinson, who has led the company for five years and will now take up the role of Chairman.

Bullock said: “This is a hugely exciting opportunity to lead the business as it continues its rapid and sustainable growth.

“The recent validation of being named a Queen’s Award for Innovation winner has been a highlight and I know that we’ll continue to see many more successes over the coming years.

“It’s both an honour and a challenge to follow on from Glynn’s period at the head of BJSS and I’m delighted that he will continue to play a key role in executing BJSS’ strategy as Chairman.”