Appointments: Vanda Murray joins KMS; Impact non exec gets chairman’s role; Stephensons takes on barrister; and more…
VANDA Murray has been appointed as non-executive chair of KMS, the tenant access management company.
Ms Murray, who is chair of Business Link North West and deputy chair of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, will apply her industry experience to help KMS continue its growth, the company said.
She was previously chief executive of FTSE-quoted Blick, where she doubled its value on the Stock Exchange, prior to its acquisition by The Stanley Works, a US company in 2004.
In 2002, she was awarded an OBE for her Services to Industry and to Export.
Key Management offers products and services designed specifically for the housing market, such as its Simplekey.
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SPECIALIST lender Impact Holdings, based in Manchester, has announced that Roger Barlow will become chairman of the group from the beginning of December.
Mr Barlow has been a non-executive with the group since July 2009.
He is a qualified accountant and is also chairman of the Marsden
Building Society and non executive director at the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.
Previously he was a senior audit partner with KPMG before becoming a board member on various private and public companies.
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LAW firm Stephensons Solicitors has recruited its first in-house counsel.
Steven Swift, a barrister practising in complex criminal cases, has joined the firm’s criminal litigation department in Library Street, Wigan.
He was called to the Bar in 1991 and for the last 11 years was a tenant at India Buildings Chambers in Liverpool.
Mr Swift said: “I’ve been instructed by Stephensons for many years undertaking criminal cases at the most serious levels including murder, rape, robbery, death by dangerous driving, sexual offences and drug offences.
“I took the opportunity to join the firm and conduct the work ‘in-house’ given the strength of the team in the field of crime, and generally. This new position will enable me to conduct criminal trials at the highest level, alongside a strong and professional team of solicitors and support staff.”
The firm said the appointment would allow it to offer clients a “seamless service”.
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LAW firm Pannone has added to its Hale office with the appointment of family law specialist Patricia Robinson.
Ms Robinson, who joins the firm as a senior associate, comes to Pannone from the Manchester office of Laytons, where she was an associate partner in the family department and completed her collaborative law training.
She is actively involved with Resolution, a nationwide network of family lawyers and sits as secretary on both the Manchester Region Committee and the Separation Solutions Committee.
At Pannone she will undertake a full range of family law work.
Alison Barnet, who heads Pannone’s Hale office, said: “We are delighted to welcome Patricia to Pannone and Hale. She is a highly talented solicitor and will be a tremendous asset to the firm and our clients here in the Hale and Altrincham area.”
