People on the Move: Slater Heelis; KPMG; Steamforged Games; New Care; Together
Mark Heptinstall, head of family at Slater Heelis, has been appointed as Recorder by The Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, and the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales.
Mark, who is a partner at Slater Heelis, joins the ranks of only six per cent of non-barristers who have been appointed as a Recorder. He is also one of the youngest in the country to be appointed.
Recordership is the first step on the judicial ladder to appointment to the circuit bench, with the position allowing Recorders to sit in both Crown, County, Family Courts and now as a Judge in the Tribunals.
From today, September 16, Mark will deal with complex Family cases on the Northern Circuit and he follows in the footsteps of former Slater Heelis partner Michael Sachs who was also appointed as a Recorder in 1980.
Michael went on to become the first solicitor to be appointed as a High Court Judge in 1993. Since then only three other solicitors have been appointed to the role.
Managing partner at Slater Heelis, Chris Bishop, said: “This is the second judicial appointment for Mark who was also appointed as a Deputy District Judge (Civil & Family) earlier in the year.
“It’s been an incredible year for Mark, and this is a testament to his hard-work and talent.
“Mark’s clients can only benefit from his substantial experience and insight from the other side of the bench.”
Mark Heptinstall said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have achieved not one, but two judicial appointments in the same year.
“To be announced as a Recorder is an honour, and I’m looking forward to the challenges that both judicial appointments will provide.”
Slater Heelis is a full-service law firm with offices in Manchester city centre, Sale and in Timperley and acts for clients across the UK and internationally.
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Business advisory firm KPMG has hired Dominic Castle as an associate director to its restructuring practice in Manchester.
Castle rejoins the firm after more than three years with PwC’s mid-markets deal advisory team. In his new role Castle will work with the region’s asset-based lending and lender market and management teams to build stronger and more sustainable businesses.
He began his career in professional services after playing club rugby for a number of sides in the North, including Wakefield RUFC, Rotherham RUFC and Sale Sharks.
Castle joined FRP Advisory in 2010 before moving to KPMG in 2013 and has since built considerable experience across a range of debtor and company-side advisory work.
Dominic Castle
The appointment comes as KPMG invests further in its restructuring team in the region which has supported on some of the UK’s most high-profile restructuring cases. In April 2019, the team appointed partner Rick Harrison from Deloitte as it continued its expansion.
Dominic said: “KPMG already has a market-leading restructuring practice here in the North, but its plans for further growth and its commitment to investing in the team are really exciting. It’s great to be back and get stuck in.”
Rick Harrison, restructuring partner at KPMG in Manchester, said: “Our team is operating at the heart of the economy – helping management teams improve operational and financial performance and cash management.
“It is all about making businesses sustainable and able to respond to whatever lies ahead – from challenging trading conditions to technology change. That’s why we’re investing in our restructuring practice to assemble the strongest and deepest pool of talent in the market.”
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Simon Spalding, whose extensive experience includes senior roles at Hasbro and DreamWorks, has been appointed executive chair for tabletop games developer and retailer, Steamforged Games.
Steamforged first gained success following the launch of the critically-acclaimed sports-based miniatures game ‘Guild Ball’.
The company has since gone on to produce tabletop versions of popular video games such as Resident Evil 2 : The Board Game and Ni no Kuni II: The Board Game.
Mr Spalding’s appointment comes following a 12-year period in international, commercial and production management roles at Fremantle Media, the television producer responsible for shows such as The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.
Simon has since taken an advisory role on the boards of several media companies, the latest being Steamforged Games.
He said: “I’m incredibly pleased to be joining Steamforged at such an exciting time in the company’s growth.
Simon Spalding
“With the support of our new investor, Foresight Group, we aim to build on Steamforged’s reputation as an industry leader in creativity, quality and game experience. As well as strengthening our existing partnerships, in the coming year we’ll be focusing on developing original intellectual property and expanding our distribution.”
Prior to Fremantle Media, Simon spent 14 years at Hasbro, during which time he worked on marketing and brand development for multiple brands including Trivial Pursuit, Transformers, Play-Doh, and Jurassic Park.
Steamforged co-founder and chief executive, Rich Loxam, said: “We’re thrilled to have Simon join our board.
“With his experience and reputation I have no doubt that he will be a significant asset to both our overall strategy and our product pipeline.”
Other recently appointed board members at Trafford-based Steamforged include co-founder of Games Workshop and founding father of the UK games industry, Ian Livingstone.
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To support its growing portfolio of award-winning ‘new generation’ care centres, development-led operator New Care, based in Altrincham, has appointed Maria Weatherston as regional support manager.
In her new role Maria will be actively involved in the setting up of new services and ensuring all systems and processes are in line with New Care’s exacting policies and procedures.
She will also be responsible for auditing homes to ensure that the highest standards are maintained by supervising, motivating and training the growing team to uphold corporate standards and ensure everyone complies with the latest legislation.
Prior to joining New Care Maria spent many years working in area management roles across different sectors including schools, office blocks, retail premises and hotels looking after all areas of cleaning and soft services.
Maria Weatherston
She has also worked for the North West Ambulance Service managing the cleaning of ambulance stations for the NHS.
In addition to her cleaning and area management expertise she is also experienced in care as she fulfilled the important role of full-time carer for her mother.
Maria said: “I am delighted to become New Care’s first regional support manager, a role that I feel will perfectly suit my skills and expertise. I have always been impressed by New Care’s ethos and vision and am really looking forward to getting started and making a difference as the company’s portfolio of homes continues to grow.”
Commissioning director at New Care, Dawn Collett, added: “It’s great to expand our team even further with the creation of the regional support manager role. Maria has some very relevant experience in management and also in care, and I’m confident that she will excel in her new position.”
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Cheadle-based specialist lender Together has appointed Liz Blythe as a non-executive director for the group’s personal finance business.
Liz, who has more than 25 years’ financial services experience, will start her new role immediately.
She will bring her broad experience of finance, governance, risk and audit to Together and joins from Skipton Building Society, where she has been chief internal auditor since 2007.
Liz said: “I’m delighted to join the personal finance board, supporting the business as it reaches its 45th anniversary. It is a very exciting time for Together and I look forward to being involved in the future growth and development of the business.”
After graduating from the University of Hull, Liz qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Whitney (now Ernst & Young) in 1991.
As Skipton’s chief internal auditor she held responsibility for assessing and providing assurance on all risks facing the business. She was previously finance director of Homeloan Management, a subsidiary of Skipton.
Liz Blythe
Liz is also a non-executive director and trustee at global software development company, Lhasa. Additionally, she was a founding member and chair of the Mutual Sector Internal Audit Group, which shares best practice in internal audit across the building society sector, and acts as the formal negotiating body with regulators regarding issues affecting the sector.
Richard Gregory, chairman of Together’s personal finance board, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Liz. She brings a wealth of experience in the financial services sector, and in regulated roles, to support our sustained growth.
“Liz has an impressive track record as an accountant, internal auditor and risk professional and makes a great addition to the board.”
