People: Iomart; Sweco; Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa; Stellar Asset Management; Fieldfisher

Neil Christie

Cloud computing company iomart Group, which has a Manchester office, has further strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of a new chief operating officer.

Neil Christie, who had been running the infrastructure as a service side of the iomart business, will now take responsibility for the group’s day-to-day operations, reporting into CEO Reece Donovan.

Neil has worked in the cloud computing industry for more than 10 years. He is focused on building a culture of quality, service delivery excellence and innovation by developing the systems, skills and processes required to support iomart and its customers.

After training as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Neil jointly ran a web hosting company, which iomart acquired in 2011. He is a member of the technical and IT faculty committees for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Reece Donovan said: “I am delighted Neil has accepted this new position within our senior management team. He knows iomart from the inside and has excellent commercial knowledge of the market in which we operate.

“We will be working closely together to enhance our structure and processes in order to deliver on our long term growth strategy.”

Neil Christie said: “I am excited to be working with Reece to take forward his vision for iomart. I will be supporting the talented teams we have across the business and bringing together all parts of the group to deliver on our strategy of service excellence and further growth.”

His appointment follows the recent announcement by iomart of a new chief marketing officer, Sharon Mars Leach, to strengthen its brand positioning within the growing marketplace for cloud services. This is a non-board appointment.

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Engineering, environment, design and regulatory consultancy Sweco has strengthened its building standards division with the appointment of three senior consultants as the business looks to drive growth across the North of England.

The investment in talent follows the launch of the new division late last year, which will provide clients with regulatory services in the areas of building regulation, CDM and quality assurance.

Two appointments are in the Leeds office, but Andrew Marsden will join Sweco’s Manchester office as principal building control surveyor, with 15 years behind him working for local authorities and approved inspectors.

The new hires will have a remit for growing the division’s building control service line across the North and supporting Sweco’s existing clients, providing advice on building regulations, compliance requirements and development performance.

Andrew Marsden

The building standards division combines Sweco’s expertise in building engineering with the class leading regulatory services of MLM Group, which the business acquired in 2019, to create one of the largest regulatory offerings in the UK and Ireland.

Paul Eggleton, head of Sweco building standards, said: “Establishing a regional presence is vital to our future growth plans and these strategic appointments will strengthen our capability to advise clients on building regulations, compliance requirements and performance for major new developments across the North, from housing and commercial to education and healthcare.

“This investment will prove vital in building on the strength of our presence in the South East, where we have one of the largest building control teams in London, to develop a national footprint.”

Sweco currently employs more than 1,245 people and consults on projects across the UK and Ireland via its network of 21 regional offices.

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Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa has appointed Andrew Steel Jamieson as its new general manager.

Andrew has had an esteemed 30-year career in hospitality across the UK and Europe. With senior management positions at the Galgorm Resort & Spa, Crewe Hall Hotel and the award-winning Feversham Arms and Black Swan Hotel, Andrew was also managing director at the Royal Demeure Hotel Group in Italy, driving performance across its five star, luxury portfolio.

Andrew Jamieson

Andrew is responsible for the strategic direction and daily operations of the resort, with its 76 bedrooms and suites, health club & spa, championship golf course & PGA Academy, driving range, Fairway Grill, Bar & Restaurant, conference, events and wedding business.

With an early career at the Stakis Hotel Group in his native Glasgow, Andrew has climbed the ranks in both on and off property management and operations roles. Prior to joining Formby Hall, Andrew was the interim managing director at Altitude in London.

He said: “Taking the helm at one of the North West’s most iconic properties is a real privilege. We’ve a fantastic resort here and a team that’s focused on welcoming guests back to the hotel. We can’t wait to deliver some joy to guests again – it’s been a long time coming.”

A self-confessed foodie, Andrew credits his late mother, a talented chef for fueling his passion for fine dining and hospitality. Food and beverage is a key focus for Andrew. Together with head chef Nathan Noon, they’ve refreshed the menus and created a new outdoor terrace, small-plates dining concept – “The Patio”.

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Stellar Asset Management, the inheritance tax mitigation and estate planning specialist, announces the expansion of its business development (BD) team and the new regional focus for its BD team members.

As part of this expansion, Stellar has further strengthened its regional presence following its Liverpool office opening in 2020.

This next phase of expansions sees the creation of regional hubs, with regional account managers who have been appointed to provide localised account management support, with local marketing and events for the financial adviser community.

The new team members will cover the North of England, South of England, as well as Central regions.

Lauren Stanley

There are four new arrivals in the business development team, including Lauren Stanley, who joins Stellar as regional account manager – North of England, from Salford-based Frenkel Topping where she was a group business development manager.

Led by chief operating officer, Daryl Hine, the new arrivals join long standing BD team member Tom Hind.

Daryl Hine said: “I am excited to welcome our new business development colleagues to the Stellar team, as part of our regional development plans.

“We are always looking to enhance our offering and by strategically locating our new business development colleagues they are well placed to help bring together the financial community in their regions and support financial advisers with their investor clients.”

Jonathan Gain, Stellar chief executive, said: “Stellar is well known in the financial adviser community for its experience and track record in developing and managing successful inheritance tax mitigation services, so our new regional account managers will be bringing this expertise to advisers in whichever part of the country they are based.”

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European law firm Fieldfisher has announced the appointment of Chris Gee as a dispute resolution partner in the firm’s Manchester office.

Chris joins the firm from Knights, where he was a partner specialising in professional negligence claims and contentious probate matters.

He has a strong track record of advising on business disputes arising from professional negligence claims against accountants, surveyors and solicitors and is ranked as a leading individual by Legal 500 for commercial litigation in the North West.

He also has extensive experience of restrictive covenants and business protection issues. Chris will join the firm in Manchester on April 19, 2021.

Colin Gibson, head of dispute resolution at Fieldfisher, said: “We are thrilled that Chris is joining the team in Manchester, where we have a growing, multi-disciplinary disputes practice.

Chris Gee

“The firm continues to build on its excellent reputation for disputes work and bringing experts like Chris on board will further enhance our capabilities and network.”

Ian Austin, managing partner of Fieldfisher Manchester, said: “Chris is joining us at a very exciting time for the Manchester office.

“We will be moving into our new office at No. 1 Spinningfields on 19 April, so we are looking forward to welcoming Chris at the start of a new chapter in our history.”

Chris Gee said: “I am delighted to be joining Fieldfisher, which has established a heavyweight presence in the North West legal market and across Europe. The firm’s disputes team is known for the calibre of its lawyers and the quality of work it undertakes so I am tremendously excited to become a part of it.”

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