People: Harley Haddow; Richborough; Resillion; FRP; Muse; Avison Young; CySec Professionals; Harrison Drury
Engineering consultancy, Harley Haddow, has announced the appointment of Shweta Salvankar to further grow its sustainability offering in Manchester.
Working on various projects both in the UK and India, Shweta joins from a sustainability consultancy in Cardiff and brings with her extensive knowledge within building simulations and sustainability.
Shweta was awarded Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineer’s (CIBSE) Young Modeller Award in December 2022, along with winning a gold-medal for her group presentation for Climate responsive design in July 2023. As a committee member in the CIBSE Building Simulation Group, she focuses on encouraging engagement in building simulation methods and promoting their application in energy-efficient building design. She is also a certifier in Passivhaus BREEAM in-use and Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) Building Standard and Modeller.
She joins Harley Haddow’s Building Performance and Sustainability division and will bring her expertise to the forefront.
Making the move to the North West, the multi-disciplinary consultancy opened its Manchester office in 2022 and launched the BP&S division earlier this year, added additional skillsets to the team with the inclusion of NABERS assessor accreditations and skills in design for performance modelling, which will ensure that energy performance modelling aids delivery of energy targets for buildings.
Ian Chalk, director at Harley Haddow in Manchester, said: “We are so pleased to have Shweta joining us in our Manchester office and look forward to seeing her skills in action. She brings with her an incredible variety of experience that will be invaluable to us, particularly as we continue to expand our sustainability offering.”
Shweta Salvankar, said: “I am very excited to embark on this new chapter at Harley Haddow and work alongside Ian and the team in the Manchester office. Sustainability is an area I am particularly passionate about, especially when I was working on projects in India and noticing the impact that buildings can have on the environment around us.”
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Matt Dugdale
Matt Dugdale, Divisional Planning Manager at national land promotion company Richborough, has been appointed as Chair of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) North West for 2024.
The RTPI is a Chartered Institute and the voice of the planning profession. It supports planners to deliver outstanding placemaking that creates inclusive, healthy, prosperous, sustainable and happy communities, and is responsible for maintaining professional standards and accrediting planning courses worldwide.
Matt has taken over the role from Emilly Kitching Bower and steps up from his position as regional vice chair during 2023.
He said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be chairing the RTPI North West and I look forward to officially getting started in January. I’m North west born and bred with a passion for high quality town planning and placemaking, so this is a brilliant opportunity to build on the fantastic work already being done in the region by our members.
“My top three priorities for 2024 are to support our public sector colleagues, recruit and retain talented individuals within planning, and collaborate more closely as a network of planners and with our sister built and natural environment professionals.”
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Yaron Kottler
Engineering and cyber security services provider, Resillion, has appointed Manchester-based Yaron Kottler as Executive Chairman. He brings 20 years of industry expertise, most notably as a co-founder of engineering giant Qualitest.
Resillion, previously Eurofins Digital Testing, partners with the world’s leading companies in Media, Energy, Healthcare, Finance and Consumer sectors to provide end-to-end quality engineering and cyber security across EMEA, the US and Asia.
Yaron said: “Our industry is being disrupted by AI, DevOps and evolving client expectations. This is a massive opportunity for Resillion, not just because change is always an opportunity, but also because our larger competitors have significant innovation dilemmas and will find it very hard to adjust.”
Previous CEO, Dik Vos, will sit on the board as a Non-Executive Director, collaborating with investors Stirling Square Capital Partners.
Julien Horreard, partner at Stirling Square Capital Partners, said: “Yaron’s vision for the business, fresh thinking, tenacity and passion brings significant benefits to Resillion’s clients. Through his business skills, unmatched expertise within quality engineering and ability to scale a company, we are confident in his international growth plans, and ability to attract and retain the very best talent.”
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Tom Bowes
Specialist business advisory firm, FRP, has appointed Tom Bowes to its partnership, as part of the firm’s restructuring team based in Manchester.
A licensed Insolvency Practitioner with more than 10 years’ experience, Tom specialises in formal insolvency appointments including liquidations, administrations and Company Voluntary Arrangements, with extensive experience working with SMEs and owner-managed businesses across the North West.
Tom’s appointment comes after a period of strong growth at FRP, with 33 colleagues promoted across the firm’s national network in recent months. The firm’s restructuring advisory team continues to support distressed businesses as corporate insolvencies remain high across the UK – including advising on the restructuring of Clintons Cards and administration of cycling retailer Wiggle.
Tom Bowes said: “Having worked extensively with the region’s directors and business owners for a number of years now, I’m well aware of FRP’s position in both the local and national market and its strong track record in supporting businesses. I hope that my experience will complement the deep knowledge that already exists in the FRP team in Manchester as we look to grow further in 2024.”
Anthony Collier, partner in FRP’s restructuring advisory team in Manchester, said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome new colleagues to the FRP team and Tom’s standing in the industry speaks for itself.”
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Stuart Rogers
Nationwide placemaker, Muse, has promoted Stuart Rogers, to the position of Director of Project Management – North West. The former Project Director joined the Salford-based team in April 2022.
A former Faithful + Gould director, Stuart arrived at Muse with nearly 20 years’ project management experience from across the built environment sector. His experience includes Mayfield, ID Manchester, Salford Crescent, and Airport City, alongside numerous commercial and residential development schemes.
Since joining Muse, Stuart has led on the delivery of major projects across the North West, including the ongoing regeneration of St Helens, Prestwich, and Oldham town centres. Stuart is also part of Muse’s nationwide ESG and sustainability team.
Phil Marsden, Managing Director – North West at Muse, said: “Since joining the team, Stuart has brought insight, strategic vision, and drive to Muse. He is delivering important regeneration projects for the region and is working in partnership to drive change for communities across the North West. His promotion is well deserved, and I look forward to supporting Stuart as he continues to deliver.”
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Joe Gregory
Global real estate firm Avison Young said Joe Gregory has joined the Place Team in Manchester, in the role of Director.
A qualified accountant (ACA), Gregory brings more than nine years of experience within the real estate sector, working with a diverse portfolio of clients, including local and central government and the private sector.
Gregory joins the firm from Grant Thornton, where he spent four years in the public sector advisory team.
Joe Gregory said: “I am excited by the opportunity to work on some of the region’s and UK’s most exciting projects. I was attracted to AY’s Place approach and breadth of the team’s expertise. It means I can use my financial and commercial skills alongside colleagues who have deep planning, economics, environmental and social value experience.”
Nicola Rigby, Principal, Manchester, Avison Young UK, said: “Joe is a great addition to Avison Young’s Place team. His diverse client and project experience, gained across public and private sectors, further enhances AY’s ability to support clients to deliver major regeneration and property programmes.”
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Steven Cockroft
CySec Professionals has joined the North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) as a regional ambassador.
Business owner, cyber security consultant and trainer Steven Cockcroft, will support the not-for-profit police-backed organisation with his broad experience of consulting and training delivery spanning multiple industries, market sectors and organisations of all sizes.
DI Dan Giannasi, head of cyber and innovation at the NWCRC, said: “We’re happy to welcome CySec Professionals and Steven Cockcroft as a regional ambassador. His expertise will be invaluable to our organisation and drive forward our growth across the North West. Steven has already worked alongside us for many years covering support provision to SMBs in Greater Manchester, training provision, social value creation and has more recently given talks to our Student Chapter so it’s fabulous to have him work with us in an official capacity.”
Steven Cockcroft said: “I’m very pleased to join the NWCRC formally as a regional ambassador. The team has done a brilliant job over recent years in bringing improved cyber security risk management, cyber security awareness, as well as training and education, to small businesses across the North West, and I look forward to supporting the development and growth of the centre in a more formal capacity.”
The NWCRC was launched in 2019 as a partnership between North West Police Forces and Manchester Digital to tackle the growing issue of cyber crime within businesses. It has recently celebrated the milestone of 1,000 members across the North West.
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Jake Neary and Nicola Beneduce
North West law firm Harrison Drury has grown its commercial property team in Lancashire with the appointment of Jake Neary.
Jake will be based at the firm’s Clitheroe office and will advise clients across the East Lancashire region on a wide range of commercial property matters.
His expertise includes commercial property sales and purchases, non-contentious landlord and tenant matters, secured lending and commercial re-mortgages. Jake joins the firm from WHN Solicitors where he spent seven years in both commercial and residential property roles.
Nicola Beneduce, partner in the commercial property team at Harrison Drury and head of the firm’s Clitheroe office, said: “We’ve continued to invest significantly in growing our expertise over the last 12 months and we’re seeing strong demand from clients for specialist property advice, be it for non-contentious or contentious matters, or within our growing construction law team.
“Jake is an experienced property lawyer who brings further strength and depth to the team and will be a huge asset for our clients.”
Jake said: “Harrison Drury is a firm that’s known for the quality of its commercial offering and also for its approach to developing people. Working with a great team and learning from people is one of the things I’ve been most looking forward to, together with helping our clients achieve their goals.”
Harrison Drury’s commercial property team across the region now has 38 members with an 11-strong team of commercial property solicitors in Clitheroe.
