People: Stone Superstore; MCS; ET Law; Harrison Drury; Detectronic; Provenio Litigation
Online stone tile business, Stone Superstore, has appointed Molly Woodward-Moor as its new creative director.
In her new role, Molly, who joins from an award-winning digital creative agency, will bring her wealth of knowledge in design and home development to the Stone Superstore team.
In her previous roles, Molly has been responsible for designing visuals and creating creative marketing content for some of the UK’s leading retail brands, including John Lewis, The White Company, Magnet Kitchens, and Wickes.
Daniel Shamim, director at Manchester-based Stone Superstore, said: “With a keen eye for tiles, palettes, and trends, we are delighted that Molly will be bringing her passion for interiors to the team.”
Molly said: “I hope to bring a unique perspective to this role, drawing upon my previous industry experience. From sharing trend insights to my thoughts on the latest news in stone and tiling, I can’t wait to create useful content for those looking to transform their space.”
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Brian Wright
Sci-Tech Daresbury-based MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the standards organisation for small-scale domestic renewable energy and technology across the UK, has appointed Brian Wright as group finance director.
His arrival comes as MCS shares plans to redevelop its oversight of consumer protection, quality and compliance across the low-carbon sector, following on from a six-week scheme consultation that took place this summer.
Brian brings a wealth of financial experience to the organisation from his background working in statutory accounting, management accounting, systems migration, governance, and payroll in a range of environments from SMEs to PLCs.
Since training and qualifying as an ACA accountant in a top-10 practice, Brian has worked for more than 15 years in finance across multiple industries including financial services, energy, construction, and the public sector.
CO, Ian Rippin, said: “The financial performance of MCS has significantly improved over the last five years, moving from a loss-making enterprise at novation, to one that today makes a significant contribution to the development and future growth of the sector. We’re therefore delighted to welcome Brian to the MCS team. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organisation that will be critical for achieving our ambitious new plans to support UK consumers and contractors.”
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Joe Connolly
Solicitor Joe Connolly has re-joined the Manchester office of commercial and property advisors ET Law after two years with DWF.
Connolly was previously with ET Law between 2017 and 2021. He said: “The practice has grown considerably during that time and it’s great to see so many new faces as well as familiar ones.”
He joins as a senior commercial property solicitor, in the commercial property team. The firm has a broad range of mid-sized clients, including Elan Homes, Hornsearle Property Group, Dribben Investments and Oddfellows Hotels.
Managing partner, Geoff Underhill, said: “Joe’s return bolsters our company and commercial team at a time when we are particularly busy with corporate advice across a broad sweep of sectors and work. As you’d expect, he’s slotted right back in and it’s a pleasure to introduce him to so many new colleagues, too.”
ET Law has offices in Manchester, Altrincham and Stockton Heath and has 50 staff. The firm incorporates Abacus Solicitors.
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From left: Nick Booth, Mark Traynor, Jack Stephenson
North West law firm Harrison Drury has appointed experienced corporate lawyer Mark Traynor as the new head of its corporate team in the region.
Mark, who joins after more than four years as a partner at TLT in Manchester, has been brought on board to grow further the firm’s corporate transactional team, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and working with clients across England and Wales.
Partner Jack Stephenson continues his role as head of corporate in Lancaster, leading on M&A activity in Lancashire and Cumbria.
Nick Booth, partner and head of the corporate and commercial division at Harrison Drury, said: “Mark has been a leading player in Manchester’s M&A market over many years.
“We have exciting plans to expand our corporate team, further strengthening our relationships with corporate finance professionals, private equity providers, funders and the wider investment community.”
Mark said: “I’m really looking forward to working with Jack and the rest of the corporate team to build on their success, supporting clients with their transactional work and also bolstering the firm’s existing education sector expertise.”
Mark has worked as a corporate lawyer in the region since 2004, including partner roles with TLT and HRC Law in Manchester. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, advising buyers, sellers, funds and management teams. He has particular experience in the childcare sector and acts for numerous well known national nursery groups.
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Dave Walker, left, with Neil Butler
Wastewater monitoring specialists, Detectronic, have made a number of changes to its board as part of a restructure following the retirement of executive chairman and co-founder of the company, Steve Woods.
Former commercial director, Dave Walker, has moved into the role of future global trends director. Meanwhile, Gavin Wagstaff, former head of R&D, has been appointed to product and data director just 18 months after joining the business.
Dave said: “In my new position, I will be working closely with all departments reporting to our managing director, Neil Butler, and wider Adler & Allan board members on current trends, opportunities, and challenges.”
Gavin Wagstaff said: “Over the last 18 months we have built a fantastic development team within Detectronic. We achieved what we set out to do and now is the time to build on this. One of the ways in which we can do this is to further enhance our unrivalled product range and data analysis specialisms.”
Neil Butler said: “I’m looking forward to delivering our long term strategy alongside both Dave and Gavin. We have some exciting developments and projects on the horizon that will contribute to our continued growth and expansion and the pair will play a key role in our overall success. And, after over four decades in the industry, we wish Steve a very long and happy retirement.”
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Dani Norman and Flynn Saturley
Liverpool’s Provenio Litigation has welcomed two new trainees as the firm continues to build for the future.
Dani Norman and Flynn Saturley join Provenio as part of the firm’s law graduate apprenticeship programme which was launched last year to attract the very best legal talent.
Welcoming the firm’s new trainees, Emma Charnock, partner at Provenio Litigation, said: “We are looking forward to helping Dani and Flynn develop their skills and experience by working on complex, high quality litigation. Our graduate apprenticeship programme is an exciting new route to qualification and we are delighted to welcome them to the firm.”
Dani Norman said: “Following Provenio’s vacation scheme week, I was able to gain invaluable insights into their working environment and day-to-day tasks of a litigation firm. Ultimately, I decided that the best way to further my legal career would be to work with Provenio whilst studying with the University of Law.”
Flynn Saturley said: “A career in law is something that I have pursued from the first careers fair I attended at school. Since then, I have attained as much experience as possible across various practice areas and on both sides of the legal profession. A placement at Provenio after my second year at university inspired me to choose final year modules oriented towards dispute resolution and commercial contexts, and further reaffirmed my decision to pursue the solicitor route.”
Provenio Litigation was launched in 2019 by a team of senior litigators from DLA Piper to advise on high value and complex business litigation.
