People: Bond Turner; Mills & Reeve; Morris & Spottiswood; Azerion; 4th Utility; Virgin Money Business
Law firm Bond Turner has promoted a key member of its senior legal team to become the firm’s fourth female director, coinciding with International Women’s Day today.
Solicitor Sara Stanger joins the board of directors alongside Samantha Moss, Dawn O’Brien, and Rachael Wong. Sara heads Bond Turner’s clinical negligence department in Liverpool, as well as playing an important role in delivering training initiatives.
Sara will undertake directorial duties in addition to her existing role, extending her supervision into professional negligence, large/serious loss and complex personal injury across the entire firm.
As training principal, Sara has led initiatives to support professional development at all levels and played an integral part in the recent launch of ‘The Anexo Academy’. The firmwide scheme aims to provide opportunities to external candidates and existing employees, supporting them to obtain a degree and achieve full legal qualification while at Bond Turner.
As part of The Anexo Academy, training is offered through a variety of routes, working with notable education providers, and includes apprenticeships, training contracts and SQE pathways to name a few. Funding is available through Bond Turner and staff will be supported by colleagues and a dedicated training team.
Sara said: “As an experienced solicitor, training principal and head of department, I am people-focused in my approach and will continue to nurture and support the next generation of lawyers, ensuring that our colleagues have the best environment to reach their potential and succeed here. The Anexo Academy is just one example of how we aim to support our people in their development, while ensuring that the firm retains and attracts candidates that share our values.”
“With International Women’s Day taking place in March, it is inspiring to join a board of female directors and it is a pleasure to be part of such a dedicated and knowledgeable team. We hope to set a positive example to aspiring lawyers as they continue to progress in the industry.”
Director at Bond Turner, Samantha Moss, said: “Alongside her impressive clinical negligence background, Sara is our training principal and has done a superb job in establishing and running our training programme which gives fantastic opportunities for staff within Bond Turner.”
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National law firm Mills & Reeve has expanded its market leading sports law offering into entertainment and media following growing demand from national and international clients, and has appointed partner Carol Couse to head the team.
Ms Couse brings together lawyers from the firm’s leading disciplines and sectors including private wealth, reputation management, regulatory, commercial, real estate, family, employment and international.
She takes over the reins from Mark Hovell who has led the team for the past 10 years after the firm’s merger with George Davies. Mark will remain an integral part of the sector.
Carol, who is based in the Manchester office, is a powerhouse in sport, media and entertainment and advises clients on regulatory and commercial issues. She also appears before dispute resolution forums at a domestic and international level, including before FIFA, UEFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Carol is one of only 19 FIFA mediators globally and has already successfully mediated one of FIFA’s very first mediations.
Carol Couse
Carol said while the multi-disciplined team has always provided a full-service offering, the recent growth in media and entertainment clients alongside increased demand from existing UK-based and international clients for advice across the legal spectrum, has prompted the launch of a dedicated sector.
Recent work includes acting for a household named actor who faced allegations of defamation, a high profile footballer on a reputational dispute, negotiating broadcast rights and advising athletes and celebrities on IP rights and management contracts. The team has also acted on numerous corporate and real estate matters for music and entertainment clients.
Carol said: “Sports, entertainment and media is one of the most diverse and ever-changing sectors globally. It includes organisations, clubs, competitors, athletes, performers, venues and audiences which often face complex challenges needing a multi-disciplined approach. Across the firm, we have the skills to offer clients innovative solutions to all their legal requirements, therefore it made perfect sense to expand our sector focus accordingly.”
Mark said: “I’m exceptionally proud of the sector’s growth over the last decade. We are one of the most active international sports practices, with clients from across the world and have numerous multi-lingual lawyers. After 10 years at the helm, I believe the time is right to hand over to reins to Carol who, armed with a global reputation in the sector, is perfectly placed to lead the team in its new chapter.”
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Construction firm Morris & Spottiswood has appointed Warrington-based Stephanie Braithwaite as social value lead.
To build on the delivery of the social value strategy, this newly created role will ensure increased collaboration with customers and communities, with the aim of developing more targeted outcomes across all frameworks and projects. It also underpins the company’s commitment to growing the number of women across the group by 10% year on year, in addition to the 30% of women that currently hold key positions.
As a Gold member of the five per cent club, Morris & Spottiswood already offers a wide range of training and development opportunities. It is committed to supporting community regeneration and development activities via the provision of funding, resources and staff volunteering hours, and also supporting its SME supply chain partners. Stephanie’s role will enable the business to further develop its social value approach and strategy, developing new programmes and targets for the next three years.
Stephanie Braithwaite
Stephanie previously worked on community empowerment and outreach projects in the charity sector before moving into social value consultancy roles. She will engage with colleagues to understand collective ambitions and how they can, and want, to be involved in delivering social value through volunteering, mentoring and training, while encouraging innovative ideas for new projects.
She will identify how the company can best support the communities it operates in and ensure a targeted approach that achieves maximum impact. Stephanie will also build on existing initiatives, such as Morris & Spottiswood’s apprenticeship programme, schools engagement, and equality and diversity targets.
The company’s recent appointment to the Yorbuild Framework will also allow Stephanie to develop a targeted strategy, working with key partners in local schools, colleges and community groups across Yorkshire.
Matthew Wall, public sector director at Morris & Spottiswood, said: “We are thrilled to have Stephanie on board to lead our social value strategy development, which will empower our colleagues and support our communities. While the environmental objectives of our ESG strategy are important, so too are our social targets. Stephanie’s experience will guide our approach and create the most effective plan to meet and surpass those targets.”
Stephanie said: “Collective empowerment should be at the heart of all social value strategies and I’m really excited to take on this role at Morris & Spottiswood, return to the front line of social value delivery, and start engaging with my colleagues to understand what they would like to see as part of our objectives. I believe that everyone should have a stake in the strategy, and learning about people’s passions and motivations within the business is what I’m most looking forward to. Everyone is part of the social value story, and it only works if people throughout the business are engaged and empowered to drive it.”
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Azerion, the digital entertainment and media platform, has unveiled two new hires to its Manchester team, expanding the company’s Northern footprint as Dave Mullan and Emma Hart join the company as account managers. They join business director Hannah Atkinson, and Eiña Crerand, who joined Azerion a year ago as account manager.
Dave Mullan will be responsible for managing the regional client relationships and delivery of their campaigns through Azerion’s platform. Dave is joining from Invibes Advertising where he worked as digital sales manager, managing the delivery of the company’s marketing services to regional agencies and advertisers in the Manchester region. Prior to this, Dave was client executive at Channel 4, where he managed a portfolio of global brands.
Emma Hart will manage the relationships and campaigns with Azerion’s major media partners. With more than five years of industry experience, Emma has most recently worked at Havas Lynx Group as a media buyer, and prior to that she worked as a media manager at Global – both in the Manchester region.
Azerion’s regional office counts an impressive roster of clients including Jet2, Universal Pictures, Burger King, and Acer, alongside gaming and gambling companies SkyBet, Bet365, and Pokerstars.
Azerion new hires
Emma Hart said: “The rapid growth of Azerion makes it feel like a perfect time to join the team in Manchester. I’m excited to be growing the revenue in my patch and maintaining a strong relationship with our clients, as well as securing new clients.”
Dave Mullan said: “Azerion is an incredibly forward thinking business, which is one of the primary reasons I was eager to join the team. I’m particularly looking forward to contributing with my expertise while working on high-impact display, video and gaming campaigns.”
Anna Forbes, UK country director at Azerion, said: “In this pivotal time for our industry, it’s fantastic to have these two experienced media specialists strengthen our presence in Manchester and the regions. The addition of Emma and Dave to the Manchester team bolsters Azerion’s focus on increasing the brand performance of our clients by better targeted and individually measurable campaigns through our channels.”
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A renowned digital leader, recently named one of the world’s best in his field has joined Hale-based full fibre broadband provider 4th Utility.
Steve Wilson, who has held senior positions at BT, British Gas and O2 among others, has been appointed by the expanding firm as CEO of its new consumer business unit.
He will now oversee the internet provider’s efforts to treble its customer base over the next 15 months, by leading its consumer-centric operations.
Steve Wilson
Steve is a marketing and communications leader specialising in digital, and his roles have included chief digital and marketing officer at Admiral Group, digital director at BT Consumer, chief commercial officer of Plusnet, head of eCommerce at O2, and head of online at British Gas.
He said: “Joining 4th Utility was such a brilliant opportunity and one I couldn’t turn down. It’s an incredibly exciting moment in the 4th Utility story right now – we are pivoting to significantly grow our customer base.”
Steve will work alongside Tony Hughes, founder and CEO of the wider 4th Utility business.
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Virgin Money Business has appointed three new members to its North West strategic finance team to support its growth ambitions across the corporate, private equity-backed and leveraged business markets across the region.
Julie Barlow recently joined the organisation as senior director, acquisition finance focused on the origination and execution of complex and large high quality lending opportunities for North West businesses which are seeking bespoke funding packages to support a leveraged buyout, management buyout, recapitalisation or a cash-out transaction, where total commitments typically range from £2m to £30m.
Julie has more than 17 years’ experience in the leveraged market where she previously worked for AIB, Yorkshire Bank and NAB.
In addition, Peter Bevilacqua has been promoted into associate director, acquisition finance and will form part of the relationship team managing the portfolio of private equity-backed and leveraged owner-managed mid-market businesses supporting their day-to-day banking needs while providing access to a wide range of specialist products and lending solutions to facilitate business growth and investment needs. Peter has been with the organisation for more than 12 years undertaking a variety of customer facing and growth roles.
From left: Peter Bevilacqua, Julie Barlow, Darren Jones
And Darren Jones has joined as associate director, corporate and forms part of the regional corporate banking proposition providing a wide range of specialist products and lending solutions for larger businesses and PLCs requiring total commitments typically from £10m to £50m on a bilateral or club basis.
Darren has more than 15 years’ experience within the financial services sector including relationship management roles at both Handelsbanken and RBS.
Ian Hardman, head of strategic finance, said: ‘At Virgin Money we have a talented, experienced and growing North West team with the time, energy and focus to support dynamic high growth, commercial, corporate and sponsor-backed businesses all across the region.”
