People: Gorvins; Meadow Foods; Butcher & Barlow; Pegasus Group; ICG; Livv Housing Group
Stockport-based solicitors, Gorvins has appointed a new head of employment, David Rogers, as the firm gears up to the growing demand for its employment law services.
Previously group general counsel at Tetrosyl, Europe’s largest manufacturer and supplier of car care products, David’s breadth of experience and commerciality provides an added dimension to the team.
Leading Gorvins’ employment team, David will be responsible for overseeing and managing a wide range of complex employment-related issues including tribunal claims, contracts, grievances and redundancies.
David joins Amanda Isherwood who is an associate solicitor, and the team is further strengthened with the appointment of Matthew Davis who is also an associate solicitor.
David said: “The pandemic has completely changed the way we all work, creating new working environments and opportunities to re-evaluate the status quo. This all has a major impact on employment law, with significant changes in areas such as flexible working and policies and procedures.
“Never has there been such a fundamental shift in working patterns and this has huge ramifications for people working across all sectors. It’s an unprecedented time to be an employer, and a very exciting time to be involved in employment law.”
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Meadow Foods has announced a trio of new department hires, which include one internal promotion.
Andy Smith
Andy Smith joins the Chester-based group as commercial director for the speciality ingredients division, Lorraine Hammond joins the business as HR director and Alun Lewis becomes the company’s first head of sustainability after a long career within the business thus far.
With more than 20 years of global experience in the food industry with companies such as Quorn Foods, Mondelez and Roberts Bakery, Andy Smith joins Meadow Foods as commercial director of speciality ingredients. Andy will assume responsibility for the sales, NPD, and marketing departments, focusing on customer innovation and identifying new markets for business growth.
Lorraine Hammond
Lorraine Hammond joins as a newly appointed HR director across all sites and will oversee the company’s HR strategy, as well as talent acquisition and people development. Lorraine brings more than 20 years of experience in providing HR support to global SMEs and private partnership organisations, implementing strategies to suit corporate visions. She will help to drive Meadow Foods forward in recruiting and retaining the very best talent.
To support the company’s ambitious sustainability plans, Alun Lewis is promoted to head of sustainability for the business. He has been with the company for 15 years, formerly holding positions with Tomlinson Dairies, culminating a total of more than 30 years in the dairy industry. As head of sustainability, Alun will lead, develop, influence, and deliver the organisation’s sustainability strategy, reporting to the executive team.
Alun Lewis
Mark Chantler, CEO of Meadow Foods, said: “We’re pleased to grow the team with these strategic hires and welcome the experience they bring to key areas of our business. Alun has been with us for many years and now plays a key role helping us to deliver on our sustainability targets. We have a strong management team in place and are excited by the opportunities for further sustainable growth.”
Meadow Foods operates from four BRC AA accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor and Dolgellau where it manufactures value added ingredients for some of the UK’s best known food companies. The company has recently grown its portfolio with the acquisition of Nimbus Foods and the investment in plant-based dairy alternatives.
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North West law firm Butcher & Barlow has announced several new appointments in its commercial team to deal with increased demand.
Jo Ormiston, Mark Turner and Nick Ball, all experienced lawyers, will bolster the commercial team at the firm’s Bramhall and Gadbrook Park offices.
Butcher & Barlow has 10 offices across the North West and is regularly listed in the Legal 500 as one of the region’s top law firms.
Nick Ball rejoins Butcher & Barlow, having previously worked at the Northwich office in 2019 before moving to assist with the management of the commercial property team at Oliver & Co in Chester city centre in 2020.
Nick said: “I am incredibly excited to rejoin Butcher & Barlow in this new role and the recent rebrand makes it even more so. I think my past experience will stand me in good stead and I’m relishing the opportunity to work with much larger clients and putting my expertise to use.”
From left: Nick Ball, Jo Ormiston, Mark Turner
Mark Turner will also work at Butcher & Barlow’s dedicated commercial office at Gadbrook Park in the dispute resolution team. A solicitor for 25 years, Mark said: “I was excited to join a firm that has such a strong, well-regarded dispute resolution team, generating good quality work.”
Jo Ormiston has a background in the legal aspects of the construction industry and will be developing the firm’s offer in this sector from the Bramhall office. Jo said: “With uncertainty surrounding the construction industry, especially around the effects of Brexit and COVID, the need for advice in this sector is increasing exponentially.
“In my previous role, I had to regularly put my hard hat on, so I have a real understanding of the day to day reality faced by many of our clients. This is invaluable for advising on the right approach and I’m really looking forward to establishing and building the firm’s construction law expertise.”
Equity partner, Jonathan Aldersley, said: “We pride ourselves on understanding our clients’ needs and providing sound commercial advice. For that we need the right calibre of staff, and these new appointments do just that and are a further indication of Butcher & Barlow’s ambitions for growth and excellence.”
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Manchester-based Pegasus Group economics director Richard Cook has joined the Institute of Economic Development (IED) board
He said: “The more people we can get together from economic development – public and private sector – to help to lead the economic development agenda and influence decision-making, the better it will be for everyone.”
Entering his 19th year in economic development and his sixth as an IED member, Richard explained that he was motivated to help the sector evolve and thrive: “Economic development is an area I find extremely interesting but it is also one that is hard to define. Whether it is Levelling Up, town centres/high streets, the role of LEPs going forward, devolution or planning, economic development is all around us.
Richard Cook
“My ambition is for us to represent an even wider range of public and private sector organisations that help shape the direction of the IED and government agenda on economic development. This means influencing Levelling Up or any other flagship policies that are announced in the next few years and the agenda for the new local and sub-regional government structure.”
He added: “As a board we need to ensure that the IED provides an evidence base to inform economic development decisions. My expertise is in undertaking economic impact assessments and socio-economic analysis, and, whilst I am based in Manchester, I work all over the country so can contribute to that evidence base. We should also be thinking about intelligence that developers need, including issues such as how the housing offer can meet the needs of an older population.”
Pegasus Group is an independent consultancy specialising in planning, design, environment, economics, transport, infrastructure and heritage. The economics arm of the business helps organisations make the case for development, including residential, extra care and student accommodation schemes, and commercial development.
IED executive director, Nigel Wilcock, said: “This is a crucial time for economic development across the four nations and we want to draw on the knowledge, expertise and ideas from within our membership, public and private sector, to support our mission.”
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North West based agency ICG has embarked on a new era with Simon Couchman as sole managing director.
Simon, who has been with the company since 2004, previously held the role of joint managing director and now heads up the business with the support of a newly created leadership team.
Dave Mallalieu, head of digital, Sarah Huddy, promoted to head of design and Julie Hackett, who now leads the marketing team as account director, form the new leadership team.
From left: Dave Mallalieu, Julie Hackett, Simon Couchman, Sarah Huddy
The changes follow the retirement of former joint managing director, Peter Cobley.
Simon, who also retains his role as creative director of ICG, said: “I am really excited to be leading ICG as we continue to drive the business forward, develop new services and expand our client portfolio.
“While the last two years have been challenging, we’ve recorded strong organic growth with more than a dozen new clients joining our roster last year. I am delighted to say that we have hit the ground running in 2022 and are on track for another record year.
“We have a fabulous team of dedicated and talented individuals who go the extra mile to support our clients – hopefully this year we can enjoy some more social time together too.”
ICG is a strategic marketing agency based outside Preston. The team supports a wide variety of clients from brands to SMEs, public sector organisations and charities.
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This week (7-13 February) marks the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week. As one of the largest apprenticeship providers in Knowsley, Livv Housing Group’s latest success story, Ciaran Ellis, is one example of how apprenticeships can make a positive impact.
Having recently completed a compliance apprenticeship with Livv Housing Group, the 18-year-old has now gone on to secure a permanent role as processing advisor at the housing association.
After finishing school in 2019, Ciaran, like many young people, didn’t feel that continuing with full time education was the right path for him. Living in the Knowsley borough, he received a flyer in the post promoting Livv’s pre-apprenticeship scheme. While he didn’t know what he wanted to do in the future, he knew that this was an opportunity that could open doors.
Ciaran spent six months on Livv’s pre-apprenticeship programme, where he studied for a Level 2 qualification in Business and began preparation for life as a fully-fledged apprentice. He attended college one day a week and carried out on-the-job training, working from home due to lockdown, four days a week.
Ciaran Ellis
On successful completion of the pre-apprenticeship programme, it was clear to his managers that Ciaran had potential. Interested by how varied a role in the compliance team would be, Ciaran then applied, and secured, a full-time compliance apprenticeship at Livv in September 2020, where he worked towards his Level 3 qualification accredited by the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Ciaran said: “Choosing to do an apprenticeship was the best decision I have ever made. Going from being in education to stepping out of my comfort zone and immersing myself into a real workplace environment with all these adults of different ages and backgrounds was a big change and having the courage to make that leap – and being able to adapt – is something that I am still proud of.”
As his 18-month apprenticeship programme was coming to an end, Ciaran set his sights on the future and after a successful application and interview, he recently secured the position of processing advisor within Livv’s customer insight directorate. His main responsibilities involve managing arrears on rent accounts.
Over the past nine years, Livv Housing Group, headquartered in Prescot, has helped around 170 young people secure roles.
Sharon Marsh, executive director of resources, said: “National Apprenticeship Week aims to highlight the exceptional work being done by employers and apprentices across the country and here at Livv, our apprenticeship schemes are fundamental to us as a business. As proven with success stories such as Ciaran’s, our apprenticeships are invaluable, enabling young people in the borough to develop skills and gain qualifications, providing a platform on which they can build long and successful careers.”
