People: Professional Liverpool; Moneypenny; BDO; Roger Hannah; Anwyl Homes Lancashire
Professional Liverpool has expanded its senior team with the appointment of Clare Brookfield as its member relations manager.
Clare joins PL from the investment organisation MSIF, where she worked as business development manager and was key to the success of the LCR Angel Network. She brings with her a strong background in relationship management which was developed in the finance sector and includes 11 years working for RBS and time with the Swedish bank, Handelsbanken, supporting high net worth clients.
In her new role, Clare will work closely with chief executive, Andrew Ruffler, and be the first point of contact for Professional Liverpool’s members, as well as encouraging other professionals to join the network across Liverpool City Region.
Clare, who lives in Southport, said: “Having been a member for over a decade, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to experience the value the organisation brings to Liverpool City Region. I’m very excited to join the team and support Professional Liverpool’s continued growth and evolution.
“The organisation is backed by a board that features some of the best connected and most insightful leaders in our region, all of whom are passionate about developing a future-ready economy and investing in the LCR brand.”
Andrew Ruffler, who took over as chief executive of Professional Liverpool at the start of the lockdown in March 2020, said: “We welcome the energy, contacts and commitment Clare brings to our team. She has a wealth of experience that will help our members greatly and will be a real asset to what we are working to achieve.”
Clare added: “Professional Liverpool is vital as it acts as a focal point for us to share insights and influence change in our region. It also offers a chance for people to meet those who perhaps they might not have met ordinarily and create new business opportunities through building their network.”
The professional and business services sector is the second largest in the Liverpool City Region in terms of gross value added (GVA), generating £8.4bn per annum and supporting an estimated 107,000 jobs in 12,000 companies.
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Moneypenny, the global outsourced communications provider, has appointed a new chief operating officer, Wendy Swash.
Wendy was previously head of operational change at Iceland Foods before joining Wrexham-based Moneypenny as head of business change in 2019. She has a wealth of experience and a passion for people-based organisations. She is an expert in working at pace and providing strategic leadership and recently headed up the opening of Moneypenny’s new state of the art offices in Atlanta.
She has extensive experience and proven excellence in operational leadership and it is her ability to implement fast-paced innovation and change that makes her such a perfect fit for Moneypenny, the group said.
Wendy Swash
Wendy said: “I am thrilled to be taking on this role at such an exciting time in the business and I look forward to continuing the great work and further cultivating the amazing culture that Moneypenny is so well known for, so we can deliver consistently excellent customer service for our clients as well as creating inspiring career opportunities for our people.
“Moneypenny has an exceptional offering for clients with unrivalled customer service and state of the art technology services. I am really looking forward to working across the business to further accelerate the UK and US growth and to drive the ambitious global expansion plans.”
Moneypenny says it is the world’s leading provider of telephone answering, outsourced switchboard, Live Chat and customer contact solutions and is the leading and most trusted partner to large and small businesses. It has more than 1,000 staff based in the UK and the USA and currently handles in excess of 20 million calls and live chats for 21,000 businesses.
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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has announced the promotion of more than 130 people across its team in the North West, including two promotions to partner.
Effective from November 1, Laura Stuffins has been promoted to business services and outsourcing partner in the North West to deepen the firm’s focus on ambitious entrepreneurial businesses, helping to advise them on how to build resilience and grow.
Nigel Britton has also been promoted to partner to head up the firm’s shared services centre based in Liverpool, now employing more than 500 people.
Laura joined BDO in 2005 as an audit trainee and has progressed through the firm joining the business services and outsourcing team in 2017, focusing on the North West market. In that time, she has transformed the firm’s BS&O offering in the region and, more recently, has driven the business resilience programme in collaboration with the Growth Platform.
Ed Dwan
Laura said: “I’m delighted to have been promoted to partner during an exciting period of growth for BDO, which, in the last five years, has seen a real step change to become a clear market leader in the region across all sectors and specialisms.”
Since joining the firm in 2016, Nigel has helped to grow BDO’s presence in Liverpool through the establishment and growth of a firm-wide shared service centre. The firm opened a second office in the city in 2019 to support this growth. During this time, he has driven substantial change by introducing new delivery models and undertaking fundamental organisational change.
Nigel said: “During the last 20 months, we have demonstrated the value and critical role the Liverpool office has to play, by streamlining processes and introducing greater efficiencies across the firm. I’m proud to be able to lead a high performing and growing team that has quality at the heart of everything we do.”
In Manchester, BDO has promoted almost 100 people, including 45 in its audit practice, with 44 people promoted in Liverpool.
Ed Dwan, head of BDO in the North West, said: “These promotions represent BDO’s commitment to investing in our people and the future of our business in the region and nationwide.
“The partner promotion process is rigorous but rewarding. Laura has shown that exceptional client service remains central to the work she does and remains the driver for continual innovation in her team. She’s also a fantastic example of the career opportunities at the firm.
“Nigel has continuously demonstrated a pragmatic, collaborative and optimistic approach, with a deep desire to get things done. Everyone who has been promoted should be incredibly proud of their achievements.”
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Roger Hannah, the Manchester-based property group, has promoted Steven Whittle to director in its building consultancy department.
Steven Whittle
Steven began his career with Roger Hannah in 2005, as a graduate surveyor, and has been instrumental in the success of the department.
The firm said it is pleased to be able to recognise Steven’s contribution to the wider business and his move to the role of director, which underpins Roger Hannah’s ambition to the promotion and development of talent within the business and to provide a rewarding environment for success.
Neil O’Brien head of the building consultancy department said: “Steven is a highly experienced and committed member of the team, and this promotion is well deserved.
“He continues to be an integral member of the building consultancy department and company as a whole, as we continue to grow and expand. Exciting times ahead.”
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Anwyl Homes Lancashire has promoted Dave Lancaster, who joined the company last year, to the role of senior buyer.
Dave, 40, from St Helens, is responsible for all material procurement at the company’s Lancashire business. Based at the Anwyl’s regional office at Buckshaw Village, Chorley, this includes ensuring sites across the county, plus Merseyside and parts of Cheshire, have the supplies they need to deliver high quality new homes
He said: “I was inspired to join Anwyl because of their vision and aspiration to grow as a company.
Dave Lancaster
“My aspiration here is for the procurement function to be working efficiently and effectively and as best it can for Anwyl. I want to protect the company and safeguard it from any future supply issues.”
Dave’s previous employers include Allen Build, Taylor Wimpey, Galliford Try and Keepmoat Homes, where he held various roles from buyer to supply chain manager.
He described current supply chain issues as the most challenging he’d seen during his 22-year career but that Anwyl’s strong commercial team is rising to the task. He said: “We are micromanaging supply chains more than usual and trying to add value by forecasting future workload more accurately, making sure that we are managing lead-in times and looking for alternatives where necessary.”
Dave is supported in his role by commercial trainee Alex Hetherington.
Managing director of Anwyl Homes Lancashire, John Grime, said: “Dave plays a vital role in the business, ensuring the teams on site have the high quality materials they need to build homes to the standard our buyers expect from Anwyl. His promotion is a recognition of his hard work and dedication in dealing with the challenges of supply chain issues and materials shortages seen across the industry.”
