People: AO World; Harrison Drury; Cortus Advisory Group; Hall Brown Family Law; SamsonVT; Parfetts; Vista Insurance
Sarah Venning, current global chief digital officer at Pret A Manger, has been appointed by AO World as an independent non-executive director.
Sarah Venning leads Pret’s digital and technological transformation with a focus on customer service.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in digital and IT fields across retail, hospitality and transport sectors having worked previously at John Lewis Partnership and BAA.
Geoff Cooper, Chairman of AO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sarah as a Non-Executive Director.
“Sarah’s skill set and experience in digital transformation and information technology, combined with her passion for excellent customer service will be of great benefit to the Board and AO as we focus on our UK strategy.”
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Nick Booth with Roger Spence
North West law firm Harrison Drury has appointed experienced employment lawyer Roger Spence as a partner in its employment and HR team.
Roger, who has worked in employment law for more than 20 years, is returning to the firm after a two-year gap in which he helped his wife, also a solicitor, establish a family legal practice.
Dealing with all aspects of employment law, Roger specialises in complex tribunal matters, as well as the employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and redundancy processes.
Nick Booth, partner and head of Harrison Drury’s corporate and commercial division, said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome Roger back to the firm. He is a familiar face to many of our clients and I know how much they value his experience and knowledge.
“Roger has a great ability to guide clients through situations that are sometimes difficult and testing, helping them to look after their people while also protecting their business.”
Roger said: “It’s great to be welcomed back to this firm with people and clients I know so well. I’m looking forward to supporting our clients at a time when good advice and sound decision making is going to be vital.”
Qualifying in 2001, Roger was first made a partner at Harrison Drury in 2010. He has gained a reputation for his expertise in the enforcement of restrictive covenants in employment-related litigation, including bringing and defending claims for breach of restrictions and misuse of confidential information.
Roger also has experience of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, and provides training to clients on employment law and HR matters.
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Preston-based Cortus Advisory Group, the boutique business advisory firm providing transaction services and corporate advisory services to mid-market funders and privately owned business, has continued its ambitious expansion with the hire of Paul Kithoray, a senior figure in the Midlands deals market.
Paul joins as a partner in Cortus Transaction Services, based at the group’s Nottingham city centre office. Paul will lead the roll-out of the firm’s financial due diligence offering to funders and corporates in the Midlands. He has nearly 25 years’ experience of advising acquisitive corporate and investors, with spells at EY and PwC and latterly as a senior member of Grant Thornton’s transaction advisory services team in the Midlands.
Paul Kithoray
Founded by ex Big-4 M&A professionals in 2021, Cortus Advisory Group is now a team of 25 based across the North West, North East, Nottingham and London. The group has grown rapidly and aims to expand the team to 40 professionals over the next 18 months with additional service lines anticipated in the future.
Since inception in late 2020, the team has provided financial due diligence services on more than 60 transactions and is currently working across a wide breadth of projects including assisting clients with non-core disposals, private equity sale processes, MBOs, business modelling and data analytics. Cortus’s client base already includes several Top Track 100 UK Corporates and it has a strong pipeline of work ahead.
Paul Kithoray said: “There has emerged a clear gap in the market for financial due diligence services to be delivered in an agile, flexible fashion, centred around the client’s requirements and not driven by the traditional accounting firms’ prescriptive processes. The response to Cortus’s launch in the North has shown that the appetite for an alternative is there and I’m delighted to offer that same alternative to funders and corporates in the Midlands.”
Cortus Advisory CEO and founder, Nicola Merritt, said: “I am delighted that Paul is joining Cortus. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience plus fantastic corporate and private equity connections in the Midlands. I look forward to working with Paul to grow our due diligence and wider corporate advisory services across the region.”
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Hall Brown Family Law has underlined its growing strength by recruiting three more staff from rival firms.
Hannah Pilling has joined as a solicitor from JMW Solicitors, while paralegals Hannah Durkin and Alexandra Marshall have moved from Stewarts and Bennett Griffin, respectively.
Their arrivals bring the number of individuals hired by Hall Brown since the start of the summer to eight.
Managing partner, James Brown, said the new appointments complemented the continued investment in developing the careers of Hall Brown’s existing staff. He added that the latest wave of recruitment at the firm demonstrated Hall Brown’s ability to attract talent, despite difficulties with recruitment throughout the legal profession.
Hannah Pilling
He said: “There is common consensus that we are in something of a tight labour market right now, with even more competition between firms than normal for lawyers who express an interest in moving jobs. I’m delighted to say that we are something of a destination for those eager to progress their careers.
“We have been keen from the very start to create a culture capable of appealing both to juniors and to individuals with vast experience. What has become apparent is that it is not just down to the work that we do and the calibre of the people we are lucky enough to have doing it.
“We have invested heavily in ensuring that our staff have the support which they need to deal with a workload which can be complex and quite challenging. In that sense, the kind of efforts which we were making even before the pandemic struck are continuing to pay dividends as lawyers consider which firms they might want to join.”
Ms Pilling joins after more than four years with JMW, the firm at which she undertook a training contract after gaining a first-class degree from Manchester University.
The latest hires means that Hall Brown now employs a total of 59 people, 45 of whom are fee earners. In the last full financial year, the firm saw its turnover increase from £4.1m to £5.4m.
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Aftermarket technology specialist, SamsonVT, has announced the appointment of Juergen Maier as strategic consultant.
The former chief executive of Siemens UK, who is also chair of Digital Catapult, will act as growth advisor to the Manchester-based start-up.
SamsonVT received $5.1m in seed funding in early 2022 and has been expanding its technical and customer service teams as it increases its reach into the European and US markets.
The company is already working with global businesses, including Lotus, RS Components and Norton Motorcycles, and recently opened a European Centre of Technology in Warsaw, Poland. It has also increased its headcount to 40, up from 15 last year.
Sam Burgess, left, and Juergen Maier
Maier, who has also become an investor in the business, said: “SamsonVT is a very exciting manufacturing technology provider that is offering solutions that are desperately needed in the aftermarket. It is helping businesses to become more sustainable, enabling products to live longer, and allowing manufacturers to maintain strong and profitable after sales relationships.”
He added: “This is an agile start-up that is stealing a march on big corporations that simply can’t keep up with the pace of development SamsonVT is demonstrating. It has really engaged customers and huge potential to achieve something big. I’m keen to add the value of my experience, and the strength of my network, to help the business realise that potential.”
Sam Burgess, CEO of SamsonVT, said: “We are still a young, growing business so to receive the backing of someone like Juergen Maier is an amazing boost for the company and the team as a whole.
“Juergen is the foremost expert in the UK when it comes to solving industrial problems with technology – and for him to be willing to lend his support is a real vote of confidence, showing we’re on the right track. We are already gaining from the benefit of Juergen’s experience and are looking forward to sharing this journey together.’’
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Employee-owned wholesaler Parfetts has appointed Joe Kaye as the new general manager for its Aintree depot.
Joe has a 13-year career with Stockport-based Parfetts where he started on the check-outs and was most recently general manager at the Middlesbrough depot.
Joe Kaye
He said: “I’m joining a great team that has hit sales records over the last 12 months. I aim to build on this success by continuing to grow the delivered operations, provide a best-in-class depot experience and expand our fascia operations with Go Local, Go Local Extra and The Local.
“There is potential to reach out to new areas and grow our business across the North West and North Wales. Parfetts continues to invest in all aspects of its business, and it’s an exciting time to be part of the company.”
The 106,000 ft depot employs more than 150 colleagues and has seen recent investments to upgrade its depot facilities and expand its delivered and collection capacity.
Guy Swindell, joint managing director of Parfetts, said: “Joe Kaye is a hugely experienced operator and he brings energy and enthusiasm to growing the Aintree business by delivering exemplary customer service. We are seeing an acceleration in the number of retailers joining our fascia operations as they appreciate that employee ownership allows us to go the extra mile in protecting their margins in this difficult economic environment.”
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Following recent investment and growth for the Manchester-based independent insurance brokerage, Vista Insurance has appointed a new head of life science and technology, Lisa Petherick.
Lisa’s appointment comes as a result of Vista’s recent expansion into the world of technology and life science, including the recent gold partnership with Sci Tech Daresbury. In this new role, Lisa’s experience will bring insurance knowledge and expertise to these cutting-edge businesses operating in this highly complex industry.
Lisa Petherick
Lisa’s 25 years of experience covers various sectors, from Independent Insurance Company to more well-known names including Willis (UK) and AIG (American International Group), responsible for Global/FTSE 100 Clients.
Over the last few years, she has set her focus on life science and technology industries, supporting clients from start-up to successful global businesses.
Lisa said: “I love working within the sci/tech sector. Every client is completely different and the innovation in both science and technology is a privilege to watch. It’s great to feel part of something big by offering risk management protection and advice whenever needed, especially knowing these companies are working towards some huge strides and breaking new ground.
“I am very excited to start working with Vista moving forward, I think we are going to achieve some really great things in the future.”
