People: Pareto Financial Planning; Southway Housing Trust; Interpath Advisory; Gorvins Solicitors; Hill’s Panel Products
Pareto Financial Planning, the Manchester-based financial services business, has appointedcSuzanne Chadwick as Head of Training and Development.
With more than 30 years’ experience, most recently with Quilter as a Quality Assurance Manager and Sesame as Training and Development Manager, Suzanne will use her existing experience in training and development, operational risk and governance management to bring all aspects of training together across the Pareto business.
Suzanne holds a CII Level 4 Diploma, a Masters In Personnel and Development, an MBA in Business and is a qualified member of the Institute of Risk Management.
She said: “Pareto is an outstanding company that really exemplifies its mission and objectives. They practise exactly what they preach with regards to their values and culture, and this has attracted me to join their excellent management team. I am looking forward to building on their previous success of being awarded the best financial adviser company to work for over the past 2 years and the reputation they have created over the last 15 years.”
Paul Stones, Managing Director, said: “As a former adviser herself, Suzanne understands how important it is to keep professional knowledge and skills updated. With ever changing regulations and frameworks, we want Suzanne to build on our already excellent business and learning culture.”
Pareto Financial Planning has more than £1bn of assets under management and was named as one of the Top 100 advisers in the UK by the Financial Times in 2023.
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John Bowker
South Manchester-based housing association and community business, Southway Housing Trust, has announced the appointment of John Bowker as its new Chief Executive.
John will join Southway in July, leaving his current role as Executive Director of Operations at Stockport Homes Group to replace Southway’s long standing Chief Executive Karen Mitchell who retires this year after 17 years with the company.
John brings 25 years’ experience of working in a variety of roles for several housing associations across the North West during his career.
Since starting with Stockport Homes in 2017, he has been responsible for the maintenance and investment of homes, new build developments, profit-for-purpose projects, and neighbourhood services. John is also Chair of JV North, a partnership between housing associations and local councils across the North West to help address the housing crisis.
John said: “I grew up in Manchester and have a deep rooted commitment to its communities and I look forward to working with Southway and its tenants to set priorities for the years ahead to ensure the best possible services for customers and new homes that meet local needs.
“It is a real honour and privilege to take over this role from Karen who has done so much to successfully lead the organisation from its inception through to the present day.”
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Sarah Balsom
The Manchester office of Interpath Advisory has hired turnaround and restructuring specialist Sarah Balsom as a Director in its Restructuring Practice.
Sarah joins from Quantuma where she led the firm’s financial advisory offering for the North of England and brings with her a wealth of experience in delivering lead advisory and business restructuring mandates for SMEs and listed businesses. Sarah started her career with EY in 2005 and later held roles across industry, on lender-side with Assetz Capital, before joining Quantuma to build out its Northern practice.
She is also a committee member of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) Midlands and North of England Network, which aims to support the connection, promotion, and success of women in the global insolvency and restructuring profession.
Interpath’s Manchester office is now home to a team of around 70 staff, including four Managing Directors, and part of a team of more than 140 professionals across the North. The firm provides both Restructuring Services and Financial Advisory, including M&A, Transaction Services, Debt Advisory, Value Creation, Data & Technology, Valuations, Tax and Regulatory Advisory services.
Sarah said: “Having viewed from afar Interpath’s journey over the past three years, it’s clear the firm is building something really special, not just across the North, but across the rest of the UK and internationally, too. I’m really looking forward to working with Rick, Heath, Jenna, Paul and the wider team across the North to make a real difference in supporting companies across the region navigate areas of opportunity and challenge.”
Rick Harrison, Managing Director and Head of Interpath in Manchester, said: “Sarah is a fantastic professional, one of the leading restructuring experts in the North West, and has experience on both the lender and advisory side of restructuring and refinancing mandates. We’re thrilled that she’s chosen to join our integrated, multi-disciplinary team. Her arrival is further evidence of the investment we’re making to build the leading business advisory firm in the market.”
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Paul Lupton
Paul Lupton has been promoted to partner and Head of the Commercial Team at Gorvins Solicitors.
A long standing consultant with the firm, Paul has a wealth of experience advising businesses on a wide range of commercial matters, drafting and negotiating contracts and providing straightforward advice on their terms. He has particular expertise in the IT sector, helping clients to protect and exploit their intellectual property and develop their business.
Paul said: “The plan is to establish and grow a specialised service aimed at clients requiring high quality and accessible legal advice on their commercial contracts and IT law requirements. This will be a new dedicated team at Gorvins but with the ability to draw upon the expertise of the Litigation and Intellectual Property Teams as required.”
Paul joined the Stockport firm as a newly qualified lawyer in 1997, as assistant to Peter Gorvin himself, before becoming a partner and latterly a self-employed consultant advising a number of tech-based clients.
Mark Deverell, Managing Partner, said: “We have the experience and expertise but up until now we have not organised or marketed our commercial offering as a distinct department.
“Clients are now more knowledgeable and understanding of the need for advice on their contractual obligations and liabilities, and, with the exponential growth of online and tech businesses over the last decade or so, we’re seeing a greater demand than ever for practical advice and a responsive service in this area. The new department will allow us to focus on providing that service.”
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Keith Wardrope and Gareth Evans
Oldham-based Hill’s Panel Products (HPP), has appointed Gareth Evans as its new Deputy Managing Director.
Gareth, who first joined the family-owned company when it was in its infancy 32 years ago, is stepping up from Sales Director and will work closely with MD Keith Wardrope, who heads up the company with brothers Martin and Stephen Hill.
He said: “I’m chuffed to bits, and also proud of the achievement. When I look back 30-odd years after coming to an interview with Stephen Hill, I didn’t in my wildest dreams think that I would end up here.”
The firm, which has a trade counter in Sheffield, makes and supplies board, doors, components and accessories for the fitted furniture industry, particularly kitchens and bedrooms. It now employs about 200 people, distributes nationwide and is a trading partner with some of the biggest brands in the sector – EGGER, Kronospan, Blum, Sensio, Vibo and Reginox.
MD Keith Wardrope said: “It’s the right time in our business development to appoint a deputy MD and I would like to congratulate Gareth and thank him for the loyal service and assistance he has shown over many years.”
Now in his third stint at HPP, Gareth says he has twice ‘gone on a break’ to learn about the industry at different levels.
