Appointments: Kirkby goes in RSM Tenon shake-up; Bentley hires new manufacturing head; and more

MARTIN Kirby, the man who has led the Tenon business in the North West since 2006, is to retire from the firm following a shake-up in the wake of its merger with RSM Bentley Jennison.

The firm announced yesterday that it was combining its North West, Yorkshire and North East teams into a larger Northern region, which will be led by the managing director of its Yorkshire region, Neil Sevitt.

Kirby had worked for the business and its legacy firms for 31 years. The firm has promoted Chorley-based director John Pinder to manage its Chorley and PReston offices. Peter Donnelly and Chris Ratten will manage the remaining North West offices in Manchester, Rochdale and Bolton.It has also promoted Kevin Duffy to director and Julie Flintoff to associate director.

“As a firm, our North West presence generates more than 15 per cent of total group revenues,” said Sevitt. ” When combined with the skill sets within our Yorkshire and North East offices, the new Northern region represents a major opportunity for continued growth and development.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Martin Kirby, who will be recognised as a key influence on the group as a whole as we move forward.

“I am confident that our new Northern region will continue to develop strongly under the North West leadership of Peter Donnelly, Chris Ratten and Jon Pinder.”

::

BENTLEY Motors has announced the appointment of Michael Straughan as the firm’s new board member for manufacturing. Straughan joins the company from Jaguar Land Rover, where he was operations director at its Halewood plant.

Straughan will succeed Dough Dickson, who will take responsibility for a number of strategic products ahead of his retirement later this year.

Straughan has extensive experience of manufacturing plants both in the UK and abroad following spells working for Nissan, Volvo and LDC. He has also been active in the wider business community as a member of the boards of both the Liverpool and Knowsley Economy board and the North West Automotive Alliance.

As a member of the main Bentley board, he will report directly to the new chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who succeeds Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen on 1 February.

“We have been looking for a successor to Doug for some time and firmly believe we have got the right man for the job,” said Dr Paefgen. “Michael has the broad experience, expertise and commitment which will help us maintain the levels of quality, craftsmanship and excellence that are the hallmarks of Bentley.

“He also has the necessary commercial prowess to help Bentley through an exciting but challenging time as we move into full production of both the flagship Mulsanne and the new Continental GT.”

::

SCOTTISH law firm Semple Fraser has appointed the former head of Pannone’s corporate practice, Simon Wallwork,  as a partner at its Manchester office.

Wallwork (left) has experience of the renewables, life sciences and digital economy sectors and has experience of working on cross-border deals with clients such as Pilkington plc, which is now owned by Nippon Sheet Glass.

The head of Semple Fraser’s corporate group, Bill Fowler, said: “Simon’s renewables & energy, digital economy and life sciences sector experience is a perfect match for Semple Fraser as we see a continued appetite for our specialist services and expertise.

“Our Manchester office has grown rapidly since opening just over 12 months ago and the new corporate team there will be an asset to our clients both north and south of the border.”

::

LIVERPOOL-based law firm Hill Dickinson has appointed John Gibson as head of its notarial team at Hill Dickinson.

Hill Dickinson’s notary services are aimed at commercial firms that are engaged in marine, commercial and international trade, as well as private clients. The services are available across its three offices in the North West and its Sheffield office.

Gibson, who joined Hill Dickinson in 2004, said: “I am extremely pleased to have been appointed to head up the notarial services at the firm. My new role means that I am covering a wide geographical area, where we work with a number of high profile corporate clients.”

::

LIVERPOOL law firm Bermans has appointed former DWF partner Kieran Donovan to head its corporate practice, recognising a growing opportunity in the mid-market as larger firms focus on work outside of the region.

Donovan, who was with DWF for 10 years, specialises in corporate and corporate finance work including M&A, joint ventures, MBOs, private equity and group re-organisations. 

The firm said his appointment will complement its national reputation in the asset-based lending and invoice finance fields and provide a platform for future growth.

::

HALE-based PR consultancy Peppermint has appointed four new senior PR consultants.

Mark Hayward has worked in PR for eight years at firms such as Connectpoint and Golley Slater, Alex Kapp has joined from Weber Shandwick, Lucy Wray has joined from Jam PR and David Williams has joined following an eight-year spell as an English teacher.

Peppermint added that it had expanded its graduate training programme, Fresh Mints, by bringing in 22 year-old Alice Newsham, and 23-year-old Joanna Taylor.

::

INTERNET advertising firm Really Good Domains has appointed two new regional account managers as part of an expansion of its field sales operation.

Liz McConnell has joined field account manager for the south of England from the Volkswagen Group. Paul Wolstenholme has joined as field account manager for the north of England and Scotland. He had previously worked both for motor dealers and for motor trade services firms.

Really Good Domains is based in Stockport. It owns a portfolio of automotive websites including ContractHireAndLeasing.com, TheVanWebsite.co.uk, SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk and Carsupermarket.com.

::

THE board of TALL Security Print has announced that it has promoted Brian Carney as commercial director with immediate effect.

Carney has worked for the Runcorn-based firm for ten years and has subsequently become an expert in the field of securely printed documents such as cheques, vouchers, certificates and ballot papers.

::

ARCHITECTURE firm _space group, has strengthened its interior design team by reappointing former employee, Darren Purvis. 

Purvis will jointly oversee the _space interiors team alingside fellow interior designer Sophia Barton.

He will lead projects in the hospitality, commercial, education and healthcare sectors.