People: Primas Law; Pura; IoD Lancashire; Envair Technology; Boyds; Embryo
Boutique legal practice, Primas Law, has announced the appointment of two employment partners, David Walton and Danielle Ayres, as part of a commitment to expand its team and offering, in line with its other commercial disciplines.
Their appointment represents a significant statement of intent by the practice, to both meet existing client demand and contribute to the continued expansion of Primas Law as a whole.
David will lead the employment team and comes with more than 20 years’ experience as a specialist employment solicitor. He is a seasoned litigator and Employment Tribunal advocate, with an exceptional case success rate. He also has extensive experience as a corporate employment lawyer, providing support across a whole range of transactional and commercial work.
David has particular expertise with disability discrimination issues and supports a range of groups and charities where such issues are prevalent, not least in his role as Honorary Employment Adviser to the ME Association.
Danielle joins the team as partner and has a loyal base of employer clients, whom she advises on day-to-day basis on all aspects of the employment relationship, such as recruitment, disciplinaries and contractual issues. In addition to her general employment practice, Danielle is nationally recognised for her work in relation to pregnancy and maternity discrimination issues, as well as parental rights.
These appointments add to the firm’s existing employment partner, Catherine Kerr.
David said: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Primas Law. It is the epitome of the modern legal practice: agile, forward-thinking and receptive, both in terms of its approach to client service delivery, but also in terms of how it looks after its staff, which means a great deal to me.
“Danielle and I are really looking forward to helping grow something special in terms of the future employment offering at Primas Law, alongside an incredibly dedicated and talented team of commercial lawyers across all departments.”
Primas Law is a boutique commercial law firm which specialises in property, litigation and insolvency law, with offices in Manchester, Cheshire and London.
Managing Partner, Adam Kerr, said: “Adding experts like David and Danielle to our team is a significant signal of intent on our part as we set out to deliver on our growth plans for the coming financial year.
“Their appointments are only the beginning of a significant ramping up of our existing employment offering. This expansion is in keeping with the firm’s continued progression and both David and Danielle’s wealth of experience in their respective areas are very welcome additions to the Primas Law team.”
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Fast-growing eco-friendly baby care brand, Pura, has appointed Andy Johnson as its first chief financial officer.
Formerly finance director at AO.com, Andy brings a wealth of experience to Pura. Prior to AO.com, he was finance and supply chain director at Nichols, brand owner of Vimto, and has operated in financial roles in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) space for more than 10 years.
In his new role, Andy will work with the senior leadership team to build and evolve the company’s growth trajectory and strategy. This will take Pura through its next stage as it builds scale from a sales and cash perspective as well as growing its team and capability.
Andy Johnson
Andy joins Pura at a time of rapid growth. In just 20 months, the parent-led start-up has advanced from an online-only business to a recent expansion into the supermarket sector with its debut in 445 Asda stores.
He said: “I am delighted to join an entrepreneurial business looking to disrupt the baby and wipe categories and embark on its next stage of growth from start-up to scale up.
“Having met the team, it is clear there is a common goal and I look forward to playing my part in achieving our goals and help reduce the impact our category has been having on our planet.”
Guy Fennell, Pura chief executive officer and founder, said: “We’re truly delighted to welcome Andy to the Pura family at this exciting time in our journey.
“Andy has vast experience gained across several roles, which will be invaluable as we look to grow profitably in the future.”
Pura, which specialises in plastic free wipes and eco-friendly nappies that are good for baby, planet and pocket, was initially launched as an online business by parents Guy and Abi Fennell in 2020.
The Cheshire business has undergone rapid expansion driven by its disruptive marketing, quality products and environmental credentials.
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The Institute of Directors (IoD) has strengthened its Lancashire team with the appointment of Jaydee Davis.
Jaydee is operations director at Blackburn-based Community & Business Partners (CBP). She joined the not-for-profit organisation eight years ago after a successful career in HR and recruitment.
Jaydee joins IoD Lancashire’s leadership team as an ambassador. Ambassadors enable greater connectivity, create influence and drive professional development opportunities while giving the institute its all important local voice.
Jaydee Davis
CBP provides business support, mentoring and coaching on a local, national and global level while making an impact on local communities and the environment through food distribution, diverting perceived waste from landfill and many other initiatives.
Jaydee was recently named in the Lancashire Business View Top 20, Recognising Lancashire Women of Impact. She is also a trustee of Pendleside Hospice.
She said: “I am excited to join the IoD Lancashire team and look forward to working with colleagues to build a programme of activity that supports directors and enhances our local economy.”
IoD Lancashire chair, Martyn Jones, said: “It is a real pleasure to welcome Jaydee to our team. She brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to the ambassador role which will be invaluable in supporting Lancashire’s business community and our members in embracing post-pandemic opportunities.”
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Envair Technology, a specialist manufacturer of clean air and containment solutions for the healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, has announced the appointment of Jonathan Critchley as its new group finance director.
In this board level position, Jonathan will help oversee the next stage of Heywood-based Envair Technology’s growth journey as it aims to become the first choice for clean air and containment. His primary focus will be helping the business achieve its target of doubling turnover within five years – as the group launches new products, such as its Potent Dispensing Isolator, and expands its international reach in the US and Europe.
Jonathan Critchley
Jonathan joins from NRG Fleet Services, a private equity (PE) backed group. As finance director he was responsible for managing acquisitions and driving board level decision making. He has previously worked with organisations including BBA Aviation, Shop Direct Group and Deloitte.
Andrew Ellison, CEO at Envair Technology, said: “Jonathan brings with him a wealth of experience in PE-backed businesses and his skills will complement those we have in our senior leadership team. He will be a great asset in contributing to future growth, strategy delivery and the continuing profitability of the organisation.”
Jonathan said: “I’m looking forward to working closely with Andrew and the rest of the team to add value to Envair Technology and our customers. The group is experiencing an exciting period of growth and I’m delighted to be a part of this.”
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Global drug development consultancy Boyds has bolstered its clinical team with the appointment of experienced pharmaceutical physician Dr Karen Mullen as chief medical officer (CMO) and vice president of clinical and medical affairs.
Karen joins Boyds from GlaxoSmithKline, with her most recent role being country medical director for the UK and Ireland in which she led and managed a large medical department across clinical research, pharma, and vaccines. Karen’s previous roles at GSK include head of medical affairs, director of vaccines, and director of metabolic medicine.
With more than 20 years’ experience in medical affairs and drug research and development in Europe, the US, and Australia, Karen has also worked as an independent consultant providing a range of medical services to pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Roche. Prior to this, Karen spent five years at Eli Lilly in various physician roles.
Karen Mullen
Karen is a Fellow of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FFPM) and was a member of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) Appeal Board for three years. Previously, she also chaired the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Code of Practice Working Group on behalf of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM) as well as being involved in various other ABPI working groups.
At Boyds, Karen will lead the clinical and medical affairs department and its team of pharmaceutical physicians, providing medical monitoring support, and safety, pharmacovigilance, scientific and medical advice across a wide range of client projects including advanced therapies and orphan drugs.
Prof Alan Boyd, president and founder of Crewe-based Boyds, said: “It is an absolute honour to welcome Karen to Boyds as we embark on the next stage of our growth. Karen’s in depth industry expertise and experience and passion for innovation in medicine mean she is the ideal fit to lead the clinical and medical affairs team, enabling me to shift my focus onto growing and developing the company as we support an increasing number of clients with developing new and innovative medicines for the benefit of patients.”
Karen said: “Having previously worked as a consultant to Boyds and seeing the transformational work the business carries out, it is a great privilege to now be leading the clinical and medical affairs team and building on its pioneering work.
“I have always been passionate about bringing innovative science to patients, which is why Boyds feels like the perfect fit for this next chapter of my career. It is an incredibly exciting, inspiring company that is working at the cutting edge and is dedicated to bringing true innovation for the benefit of patients around the world.”
Boyds is a product development consultancy, providing a range of expertise and skills central to the development of pharmaceutical and biotechnology medicinal products and medical devices.
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Manchester-based SEO and digital marketing agency Embryo, which is currently nominated for a European Search Award, has bolstered its sales and marketing team by welcoming experienced business development professional, Steve Denman.
Joining the team as business development manager, Steve will be on the front line of the Embryo sales team helping to grow the business and showcase the agency’s ability to build distinctive, profitable marketing campaigns to brands and clients.
Steve Denman said: “I’m excited to bring a fresh, creative and consultative approach to Embryo’s sales & marketing proposition.
Steve Denman
“I’ll be building on the incredible work the team has cultivated, using my years of experience to supercharge our next level of growth.”
Having worked in the digital space for more than 17 years at a number of agencies in the Leeds area, Steve has left his most recent role at twentysix and heads to Manchester to expand Embryo’s flourishing sales base.
Working alongside Embryo’s marketing team, Steve and the group will work together to create digital campaigns that attract the eye of potential clients and household names.
Managing director and founder of Embryo, Ross Green, said: “Steve joining our team represents an important moment for our sales team. His tenacity and passion for sales are exactly what we need, and I’ve no doubt that his addition will be nothing but positive for Embryo.”
Steve joins Embryo at a very exciting time, not only is the agency welcoming a further two hires in April but it has also been shortlisted in the European Search Awards, due to take place in Barcelona in May.
