People on the Move: McCann Manchester; Viddyoze; JMW; Charterfields; Napthens
McCann Manchester has appointed Imogen Tazzyman as executive creative director and Tim Whirledge as head of strategy.
Tazzyman is returning to McCann for a second stint after four years as creative director at Karmarama working across brands such as the British Army and Confused.com. Her appointment sees Dave Price step up to chief creative officer (CCO).
Joining from Droga5, Whirledge, who has a number of Cannes, APG and IPA Effectiveness awards under his belt, reports directly to McCann Manchester CEO Karen Buchanan. Whirledge started out at Ogilvy before moving to Cake, AMV and Droga5.
Whirledge said: “As a strategist I’d love to be able to claim moving to a house with a shed and a garden a month prior to a global curfew was just great insight. The reality, however, was helping to shape the outlook and output of one of the most respected agency brands in advertising, from the UK’s most creatively exciting city, was just too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Tazzyman said: “The industry doesn’t talk about the North nearly enough for my liking, yet there is, of course, a wealth of talent outside the M25. The opportunity to work with some of the most progressive and inspirational people in the business was a great pull.”
Karen Buchanan said: “We are only ever as strong as our people, Imogen and Tim are excellent additions to the agency.
“As we move forward into a post-COVID world, brilliant thinking married with bold creativity to drive meaningful change has never been more important for our clients and their brands. Imogen and Tim will help to deliver this in spades working closely with all our other specialists.”
McCann Manchester’s clients include, Aldi, Matalan, Magnet, Smyth’s Toy Superstores and HSL and shares its location with a range of other McCann Worldgroup brands including UM, Craft, MRM’s Lab 13, Live and McCann Connected.
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Preston-based animation firm Viddyoze has made two new appointments, after receiving more than 500 applications for the business development manager roles.
The SaaS animation firm is one of the region’s fastest-growing companies and its technology is now used in 250,000 monthly clips worldwide.
It recently advertised for business development manager roles in London and the Midlands and former MediaCom executive Fiona Hunt, who has just been appointed board adviser to Viddyoze to oversee the next stage of the company’s growth, described the response as “phenomenal”.
She said: “We had over 500 applications, but it wasn’t just the quantity that was really impressive but the quality of applicants.
“It was a hard job narrowing it down to just two with such a strong field and I think the number of applications reflect the fact the Viddyoze brand is going from strength to strength and people are excited to be a part of that.”
The two successful applicants were James Townsend, who will be the business development manager based in the Midlands, and Jordan Gelbart, who will be London-based.
James Townsend, left, and Jordan Gelbart
Gelbart joined from London tech incubator Hyper while Townsend came from Norwich-based Signs Express.
Fiona Hunt, who has also worked with brands like Google and MediaCom, said the roles followed a strategic decision to target the B2B market with their new enterprise products.
Viddyoze was founded in 2015 by David Chamberlain, Jamie Garside and Joey Xoto.
Chamberlain said: “It’s an exciting time for the business. Jordan and James will give us the firepower we need to activate these markets that we’ve already seen organic growth from.”
In September Viddyoze announced 10 new hires, including new head of content Narinder Purba, taking its total workforce up to 52. Clients include Tesla, Sony and PwC.
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Full service law firm JMW Solicitors has recruited two new partners to its Manchester office, in its employment and corporate recovery & insolvency teams, respectively.
Marcus Difelice joins JMW’s employment team from Brabners where he was also a partner. He had been at Brabners for more than 14 years and has previously also practised at Pinsent Masons and Eversheds.
He specialises in all areas of employment law with particular emphasis on Employment Tribunal litigation support. He also specialises in working with clients in the hospitality sector and some of his clients include Nando’s, Wagamama and Travelodge.
Previously Marcus was involved with the case of his client Ragdoll Productions, a TV production company who made Telly Tubbies and In the Night Garden, that was reported internationally including in the LA Times.
James Williams joins JMW’s corporate recovery and insolvency department as a partner from Eversheds Sutherland (International) where he was a principal associate. James had been at Eversheds for more than 10 years since joining as a trainee solicitor.
He specialises in all areas of corporate recovery & insolvency. Legal directory Chambers and Partners 2020 states that he is noted for his ability to handle restructuring and insolvency proceedings involving complex business and property arrangements. Previously James led on the sale of the world famous Norton Motorcycles business out of administration.
Marcus Difelice, left, and James Williams
Joy Kingsley, senior partner at JMW, said: “We are pleased to welcome both Marcus and James to JMW and they both bring with them differing skills and experience to their departments. Our employment team are pleased to welcome Marcus who brings with him an extremely interesting mix of clients, especially in the hospitality sector with some great household names.
“James has over 10 years’ excellent experience at Eversheds and he will help our corporate recovery & insolvency department grow and develop further.”
Marcus Difelice said: “This is a great opportunity to join such an entrepreneurial firm as JMW and I am pleased to be joining the employment team at such a busy time for them. This move presents a fresh challenge and it’s one I’m extremely excited about. I am looking forward to working with my existing clients, whilst forging new relationships with clients of JMW’s.”
James Williams added: “JMW is a fast-growing law firm with a strong reputation in the legal industry. I am looking forward to working with the corporate recovery & insolvency department and the quality of the team at JMW makes us well placed to help businesses who may have hit difficulties during this uncertain time. I hope my experience will help us support clients and intermediaries further.”
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Valuation specialists Charterfields has appointed Chris Eckersley as an associate director in its North West corporate recovery team after a growth in demand for plant and machinery valuations and assets disposals.
Chris has 20 years’ experience of business asset and machinery valuation, disposal advice and the assessment of intangible assets for corporate clients, banks, asset-based lenders and other financial institutions.
A Registered Valuer and member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chris has worked for several global surveying practices on assignments in the UK and internationally.
Chris Eckersley
Chris Eckersley said: “With market activity increasing it is an exciting time to be joining Charterfields and build upon its reputation for client service.”
Ian Maycock, director at Charterfields, said: “Chris is the first of a number of planned recruitments and further strengthens our Manchester valuation team and as the market responds to the events of 2020 his experience enables us to service the growing need for asset valuations and assets disposals.”
Charterfields’ corporate business valuation team focuses on three primary service lines covering property, plant and machinery tangible and intangible business assets.
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Regional law firm Napthens has grown its conveyancing teams across the region with 10 new starters, following a resurgence in the housing market.
The firm has further invested in its offering across its Blackpool, Blackburn, Preston and Southport offices, as it saw a significant rise in instructions.
Rachel Lee and Kayleigh Green have started in the Blackburn office as legal assistants, while the Preston team has also increased with the hires of Dawn Culshaw as conveyancing executive, Matt Murphy as legal assistant and Tasneem Mohammed as a trainee solicitor.
Four new starters, Kelly Abraham, Charlotte Shanks, Andrew Vincent and Michelle Harwood, strengthen the growing team based in Southport, while Kim O’Hara joins the Blackpool office with a further new starter joining the Blackpool team in the coming weeks
The growth follows a significant rise in property transactions taking place since the housing market reopened in May, and homebuyers also benefiting from the current stamp duty holiday in place until April 2021, which means many only pay tax on properties purchased at more than £500,000.
From left, clockwise: Andrew Vincent, Dawn Culshaw, Tasneem Mohammed, Kelly Abraham, Michelle Harwood, Kim O’Hara
Simon Ainsworth, partner at Napthens, said: “Since the initial easing of lockdown in May, a backlog of homebuyers have been rushing to buy or sell their homes, with properties routinely selling quickly as house prices rise.
“While most of those initial transactions have now been completed, a second group of homebuyers are now looking to save money by moving to a new house during the stamp duty holiday and reflecting their changing desires in terms of wanting larger garden space or needing an extra bedroom at home to use as an office.
“This growing market activity growth has allowed us to strengthen our conveyancing teams so we can meet our client requirements as smoothly as possible.”
