People: The Very Group; Six & Flow; DTM Legal; HBD; Caddick Construction; Davis Blank Furniss

Jessica Myers

The Very Group, the Liverpool online retailer which operates multicategory digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, has appointed Jessica Myers as chief marketing officer (CMO). She will start the role on October 3, 2022.

Jessica joins Very from Metro Bank, where she built and led the company’s first ever brand and marketing function and was a member of the executive committee. Having joined in 2019, Jessica shaped Metro Bank’s brand strategy, built transformational marketing capabilities and invested in brand and marketing communications that accelerated the company’s growth as a UK challenger bank.

Prior to Metro Bank, Jessica spent five years heading NatWest Group’s brand team with responsibility across its 10 portfolio brands, including RBS, NatWest, Royal Bank, Coutts and Ulster Bank. Prior to this, she held a number of marketing and brand positions at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney and held roles at American Express.

In 2021, she was recognised in Marketing Week’s top 100 most effective marketers in the UK and selected for a 2022 EMEA Fellowship for The Marketing Academy.

At Very, Jessica will lead a team of people across brand, marketing, public relations and creative to continue to effectively position the digital retailer as an online destination of choice for UK and Irish families.

Robbie Feather, managing director, retail at The Very Group, said: “Jessica is a thoughtful, commercial and impactful marketer and leader, with deep consumer experience. She’s exactly the right person to lead our marketing team at a time when UK families are increasingly on the look out for the convenience, flexibility and value Very provides.”

Jessica Myers said: “It’s a fantastic time to join Very, which has become one of the most recognisable digital retailers in the UK in recent years. I can’t wait to meet the team and start making a difference for Very and our customers.”

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Six & Flow, the Manchester-based growth agency, has announced five new appointments across the business.

The first new starter is Victor Skenjana who has been appointed as a digital project manager. Victor joins Six & Flow from FirstGroup and will focus on the delivery of HubSpot solutions for a roster of dedicated clients.

Tessa Gonnella and Rethabile Motsoari have both joined as customer success managers. Their roles will see them overseeing the smooth running of projects as well as managing client relationships and internal delivery updates. For the past 11 years Tessa has worked as a product developer and coordinator for brands including Paul Smith, Burberry and Varley, whilst Rethabile’s previous employers include Aramex and P&G.

Victor Skenjana

The agency’s newest solutions architect is Tamara Rogers. She will be working in the firm’s systems pod and will support the building of bespoke HubSpot solutions. Tamara has joined Six & Flow from RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity. Prior to that she was CRM marketing project lead at Birmingham City University.

Lauren Davidse has joined as a growth consultant and will be responsible for the launch and management of new client campaigns, the delivery of consistently high quality content, and the development and delivery of inbound marketing strategies. Lauren spent a decade in financial and credit analytics within corporate banking sector, before moving into start-ups, scale-ups and growth incubators of corporates operating within the fintech and SaaS space.

Over the past seven years, she has worked with Truevo, Zebu Digital, Bitcoin Events and Revix. She has also held various consultant roles.

Lauren said: “I knew that Six & Flow was the right move for me as it is 100% people focused – both in terms of how it works with clients and how it treats its own team.”

Rich Wood, managing director of Six & Flow, said: “This latest intake of new starters are all fantastic additions to the business. They bring with them a broad range of skills and experiences that will build on expertise and enhance our offering.”

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DTM Legal’s top tier dispute resolution team has grown again with the recent appointment of Anna Salisbury who has joined the team from Jackson Lees.

Anna has extensive experience in advising businesses and high net worth individuals in contractual disputes, debt recovery, professional negligence claims and commercial disputes.

Anna Salisbury with Jim Morris and Kate Roberts

As a senior associate Anna will support the next stage of growth in the Liverpool team. She said: “I am excited to join the DTM Legal team and be part of the growth plans. It is great to be part of a dynamic firm that is forward focused. Liverpool is buzzing at the moment and there is lots of interesting work.”

Kate Roberts, head of Liverpool, said: “Anna brings a wealth of commercial and insolvency experience to the team and she will be a great asset going forward.”

Jim Morris, head of dispute resolution, said: “We have been growing our Liverpool team and specialisms across the firm very successfully in the past few years and our dispute resolution team has a strong reputation across the region. Anna will bolster our level of service and expertise and will be involved in a wide range of work to support our clients across Liverpool and the North West.”

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Developer HBD has appointed Chris Stalker as director as its residential and urban regeneration pipeline continues to expand.

Chris joins the business after almost six years leading on Manchester’s £250m mixed-use Kampus scheme, a joint venture project between HBD and Capital&Centric, which completed in September 2020.

Prior to Kampus he held roles with several big name property firms including Arup and Urban Splash, where an 11-year stint saw him play a key role on the delivery of several of the developer’s most high profile schemes – Castlefield in Manchester, New Islington, and Sheffield’s Park Hill.

While based in HBD’s Manchester office, his new role will see him advise on schemes across the country.

Chris Stalker

HBD has seven offices across the UK and focuses on three key sectors: Residential, urban regeneration and industrial and logistics. Its current schemes include the Golden Valley regeneration scheme in Cheltenham, Setl in Birmingham and the proposed Mabgate Yard in Leeds.

Chris said: “I’ve worked with HBD for several years as we brought Kampus forward from concept to reality – it was a massive project that I’m really proud of. HBD are working on some really exciting schemes that include a lot of the elements I’m interested in so I’m really looking forward to getting started on those new challenges.”

Adam Brady, executive director at HBD, said: “Residential and urban regeneration is a major focus for us and bringing Chris on board is a key part of that strategy – he brings years’ of experience delivering these types of projects and his instinctive feel for great place making and the elements that make a scheme special will be a huge asset.”

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Caddick Construction has appointed Paul Dodsworth as the new managing director. Caddick and its subsidiaries form the construction division of Caddick Group and Paul will be head of all construction companies.

Paul, who joins from Wates Group where he was regional managing director North, is tasked with continuing Caddick Construction’s vision for strategic geographical and sustainable growth across its divisions.

He brings with him more than 40 years’ experience across the construction sector and was credited with leading and growing Wates’s Northern Division, which is now recognised as one of the strongest in the Wates Group.

Andrew Murray, executive chairman of Caddick Construction, welcomed Paul, saying: “His hands on approach will strengthen the business and we all look forward to working with him. Paul replaces Adrian Dobson who has retired after almost 23 years on the board.

Paul Dodsworth

“Adrian held the managing director position from 2019, he has been a key member of our board helping to guide the strong growth of the company to become one of the leading and largest independent contractors in the North of England. He will be sadly missed but we wish him well in his retirement and thank him for his massive contribution since joining us in 1999.”

Caddick Construction is planning to expand its regions of operation and increase its activity in the residential sector. It will also support the growth of Casa by Moda by delivering the construction of Moda Living’s single family home brand, alongside other key projects across Yorkshire, North East and North West.

Paul Dodsworth said: “This is an amazing opportunity and I’m looking forward to being part of the Caddick team that has enjoyed so much success over recent years. I’m particularly excited by the opportunities currently being presented in both the residential and logistic markets. I am looking forward to joining on the 1st August 2022.”

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Davis Blank Furniss, the Manchester and Glossop-based law firm, is further strengthening its commercial property department following the announcement that Rosie Korcz has joined as a partner.

Rosie started her career at Davis Blank Furniss but moved to JMW and then to Panonne Corporate where she acted for a range of developers and banks as well as engaging in all areas of commercial real estate.

Rosie Korcz

Her decision to return will see her primarily focus on growing the firm’s lending and development work. She will also be working closely with Richard Hamilton – partner and head of property – on the running of the team.

Rosie said: “Davis Blank Furniss is an incredibly inclusive firm that is committed to delivering for its clients at every stage. That approach, along with its supportive culture shines through so I am delighted to be back as I know it is the perfect place for me to step into the next stage of my career.”

Richard Hamilton said: “Rosie is a talented and tenacious commercial property lawyer so it’s fantastic that she has returned to the firm. Her experience is already adding value and I’m looking forward to seeing her career flourish over the coming years.”

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