People on the move: ICAEW; Nugent Santé; Exchange Chambers; SDL Auctions
Gillian Bardin has been appointed president of ICAEW Chartered Accountants Lancashire and South Lakeland.
She takes the reins from past president Kevin Duffy, who led during 2016-2017.
Bardin will support Lancashire and South Lakeland’s 1,760 members across the area, which forms part of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Her primary role will be to oversee the delivery of a range of services for members including a series of CPD courses, a variety of technical and networking events including the annual dinner and discussion groups as well as representing the interests of Chartered Accountants to the wider business community.
Bardin said: “It is a real honour to able to represent Chartered Accountants in Lancashire and South Lakeland.
“As president I hope to encourage local members in both practice and business to engage with us so that we can provide effective support and to ensure that the views of chartered accountants are promoted both locally and nationally.”
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Health insurance expert Wayne Pontin has joined Preston-based Nugent Santé as its non-executive chairman. This is a major coup for Nugent Santé.
Nugent Santé has experienced significant growth since its inception in January 2016 and the team currently manages over £7m of annual premiums.
With products ranging from company health insurance, health and wellbeing schemes, health cash plans, group risk schemes, international private medical insurance, travel insurance and dental insurance, the team can deliver a range of innovative and tailored health insurance solutions for both businesses and individuals.
Pontin said: “I accepted the post of non-executive chairman to help develop and guide Nugent Santé through its formative years, but more importantly because I believe in the ethos and ambition of the board of directors and can testify to the professionalism of the staff and advisers.
“I have ambitions to lead this company by example and have no doubt we will achieve all objectives we set ourselves both domestically and through an exciting development in the international private medical insurance arena.”
Managing director Paul Nugent said: “Having Wayne as our chairman is a significant achievement for our rapidly developing company.
“The health insurance market is evolving and he will be crucial in ensuring we do everything correctly under the regulation of the FCA.”
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Exchange Chambers has continued its expansion by welcoming criminal barrister Jane Greenhalgh as a new member.
Greenhalgh, who was called to the Bar in 2004, joins from 23 Essex Street.
Ranked in Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500, Greenhalgh regularly acts in long running, notable and complex cases and has an excellent reputation in white-collar crime and fraud.
During the past year, Greenhalgh prosecuted seven defendants in a long-running, very serious case at Preston Crown Court, involving an armed robbery of firearms by an organised crime group.
She also successfully defended in the highly publicised Jimmy Mubenga manslaughter case at the Central Criminal Court.
She has recently defended in an organised crime group international money laundering case and now routinely advises and represents clients in regulatory matters.
Previously a solicitor and partner at a North West firm, she has been instructed in cases across the country including murder, sexual offences, drug importation, MTIC fraud and regulatory matters. She also has developed an expanding practice in Inquest work and Regulatory matters.
Tom Handley, director of Chambers at Exchange Chambers, said: “Jane is an experienced and highly competent barrister with an extensive practice, instructed both by the Prosecution and Defence. She is instructed in heavyweight cases and has established an excellent reputation. We are delighted to welcome her to Chambers.”
Greenhalgh said: “I am absolutely delighted to join Exchange Chambers. It is very exciting to join ranks with such excellent barristers whose reputation is well known both on Circuit and nationally. Exchange Chambers’ standards are very high and the continued commercial success has made this an irresistible move.”
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SDL Auctions North West has appointed Andy Thompson as its residential auction valuer to cover Manchester and the wider North West area.
Thompson, 30, joins SDL Auctions North West from Edward Mellor auctions of Stockport, where he spent more than 12 years in property auctions across the region.
The appointment comes as SDL Auctions North West announced it’s moving to a bigger venue in Manchester following its successful first auction in Bolton last month.
Thompson, who won a Rising Star award in The Negotiator magazine’s 2016 awards, is now busy securing entries for the first Manchester-based auction on Thursday 13 July at the AJ Bell Stadium.
He said: “Anyone with properties to sell in the region should definitely join our North West auction on 13 July as I’m sure we’ll quickly become the ‘go to’ auction in this area.”
Rory Daly, chief executive and auctioneer at SDL Auctions, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Andy Thompson to our team and we’re sure his in-depth experience across the north west will help us to make a real impact.”
SDL Auctions is one of the UK’s largest property auction networks covering Birmingham, Cheshire and North Wales, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Stoke and the North West. SDL Auctions’ sales have already topped £45m this year.
