People: Northern Gritstone; ELE Advanced Technologies; SAS Daniels; Rise at Seven; Avant Homes; Napthens
Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on university spin-outs and science and technology enabled businesses in the North of England, has appointed Kate Spencer as its head of communications and marketing.
Kate will be responsible for raising awareness of Northern Gritstone’s investment activities and the team behind these as they continue to build the group’s portfolio of investment companies.
She brings marketing and communications experience in financial services, having worked for BNP Paribas’ Corporate and Institutional Bank where she led marketing for sustainable finance, and JP Morgan in London where she focused on marketing to pension funds and their consultants. Kate has also worked for the Silicon-Valley based climate tech start-up Turntide Technologies, leading their UK communications activities.
Northern Gritstone, which is chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill, was launched in July 2021 by the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield to invest in science and technology-enabled spin-outs in the North of England, while delivering its philosophy of ‘profit with purpose.’
CEO, Duncan Johnson, said: “Kate’s communications and marketing experience in sustainable finance and technology is a welcome addition to Northern Gritstone’s team and will enable us to spread our message of ‘profit with purpose’ and the amazing talent and investment opportunities available in the North of England.”
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David Stanley
Engineering solutions provider ELE Advanced Technologies (ELE) has appointed David Stanley as its new CEO, following a period of investment and transformation.
David, who has been with the business for more than seven years in his role as finance director, has 30 years’ experience across a wide variety of sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure and construction.
He succeeds Manesh Pandya, former CEO, who, after heading the business since 2001, is retiring and will take on the role of consultant. The change follows a period of significant investment with more than £12m invested in the business, including in its relocation to a new, larger manufacturing facility at Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, Nelson, Lancashire in 2023.
Since LDC’s investment in 2019, ELE has increased revenues from £14m to £25m. In 2023, the business strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Nick Eary as business development director and Rebecca Shellard as CFO. There is a strong focus on talent, with the business taking on a number of apprentices each year.
David Stanley said: “ELE has ambitious and growth-driven plans following the move to our new facility. This is a really exciting time and I’d like to thank Manesh for leading our business over the past 22 years. Looking ahead, my immediate focus is on further enhancing and building customer relationships, growing our global customer base through our offer of innovative technologies, and continuing to lead on sustainability and innovation.”
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Charlie Wood
North West law firm SAS Daniels has carried out a raft of internal promotions, recognising the valuable contributions of eight team members across five of the firm’s service areas – employment, dispute resolution, property, corporate and private client.
Charlie Wood, a solicitor in the employment team, has been promoted to partner after joining the firm as a paralegal in 2015. Charlie, based at the Stockport office, previously held the positions of trainee solicitor, associate and senior associate.
Associates Ben Thomas, Matt Canfield, Anna Sharp and Kathryn Clare have all progressed to the position of senior associate. Anna and Kathryn work in the dispute resolution team in Stockport and Chester respectively, and Ben and Matt are also based at the firm’s Chester office – Ben in commercial property and Matt in the corporate team.
In the private client department at the Chester office, Jessica Shore has been promoted to associate after joining the business in 2021. Jessica specialises in wills, powers of attorney and probate.
Bolstering the offering of the property team are Louise Brown and Tom Coulson. Louise, senior conveyancer and head of residential property for the Stockport office, has been made an associate. Tom Coulson, a solicitor based in Macclesfield advising on both residential and commercial property matters, has become head of residential property for the Macclesfield office and an associate.
Jeremy Orrell, CEO at SAS Daniels, said: “On behalf of the firm, I would like to thank Charlie, Ben, Matt, Anna, Kathryn, Jessica, Louise and Tom for their valuable contribution to the overall success of SAS Daniels and congratulate each of them on their well-deserved promotion.”
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Ryan Darani
Rise at Seven has expanded its senior leadership team with a search strategy director hire, Ryan Darani, to lead multi-platform search globally.
Darani, who will be based in the PR firm’s Manchester and Sheffield offices, has 10 years of experience in search and content marketing, formerly at Zazzle Media, Stickyeyes which was bought by IPG group.
Darani will be reporting to chief commercial officer, Karl Loudon, who was recently appointed and hired to drive global growth for the agency from Reprise IPG.
Ryan said: “We’re truly mastering and innovating what ‘search’ means at Rise at Seven. And that’s exciting. I couldn’t be more aligned with an agency which is so forward-thinking and applying pressure to the industry to innovate.”
Karl Loudon said: “Now more than ever it’s critical that agency partners provide their clients with a commercially-focused strategic direction, and have the agility to adapt as rapidly as consumer behaviour is changing. Ryan is one of the best in the industry, with knowledge of multi-platform search strategies, and consumer behaviour like no other. I am thrilled to have him on the journey with us.”
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Alan Cawley
Eccles-based Avant Homes North West has appointed a commercial director to enable the delivery of the housebuilder’s regional multi-tenure expansion strategy.
Alan Cawley joins after 14 years at Persimmon Homes North West where he held several senior director positions.
He will play a central role in expanding Avant Homes’ footprint within the region. Avant Homes North West was launched earlier this year and is led by regional chairman, Mark Cook.
The housebuilder expects to start development on two undisclosed sites within the North West in the first quarter of 2024.
Alan Cawley said: “The opportunity to join a new Avant Homes regional business in the North West was too good to miss. The company’s multi-tenure growth strategy means there are a range of commercial opportunities available for us to explore and my role is to ensure they are successfully managed and delivered.
“I have worked with Mark Cook before and it is great to be working with him again to build a brand new operating company in a region where Avant Homes has not previously had a presence.”
Mark Cook said: “Alan is an excellent hire for us. I know from personal experience the extent of his capability and professionalism and have no doubt he will be a driving force within our North West company.”
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From left: Harrison Robe-Quinn, Jane Janvier, Kieran Donovan, Sophie Fulwell, Nadya Panayi
North West corporate and commercial law firm, Napthens, has welcomed four new hires to its rapidly growing Liverpool office, which has grown headcount by 20% in the past 12 months.
Arriving as a legal director in the firm’s commercial property team, Jane Janvier will lead the team in expanding the offering across Liverpool, supporting Tony Coates, head of commercial property for Merseyside, across the city region.
Janvier brings a wealth of experience working with banks and financial institutions, property developers and property investors. Her specialisms lie in providing commercial property advice to lenders in connection with secured lending, and to landlords and tenants on the grant of leases of commercial property. She trained at Shoosmiths and has worked in the region ever since, most recently with Hill Dickinson from 2012, prior to joining Napthens.
Sophie Fulwell joins as a senior associate solicitor in the firm’s employment, HR and health & safety team. She brings with her experience in delivering strategic advice on employee exits, particularly those involving senior employees, as well as HR projects such as redundancies, restructures, and outsourcing arrangements. In addition, Sophie has a wealth of experience on day-to-day HR matters. Prior to joining Napthens, she held senior positions at Weightmans and Fieldfisher in Manchester.
The Liverpool team has also welcomed Nadya Panayi as a solicitor in the residential conveyancing team. Panayi will be supporting Liverpool’s head of residential conveyancing, Gareth Jones, to develop the firm’s residential conveyancing offering across the city region.
Harrison Robe-Quinn completes the spate of new hires, joining the firm’s wills and estate planning team.
Kieran Donovan, corporate partner and head of Napthens’ Liverpool office, said: “Growth within our Liverpool office serves as a key pillar in Napthens’ strategy to establish itself as one of the most innovative and fastest-growing law firms across the North West, and attracting the best talent is central to that. The new appointments clearly demonstrate we are recruiting exceptional talent and growing our city region offering, region and this continued growth will lead to moving to a new larger office in 2024.
“Jane, Sophie, Nadya and Harrison will all play a key role in expanding the depth and breadth of our capabilities across a number of key service lines.”
