People: Lancashire Cricket; Lawfront; Manchester City Council; Shawbrook; Forth; Campfire; Citation
Lancashire Cricket has appointed Justine Hewitt as the Club’s new Operations Director at Emirates Old Trafford.
She’s highly experienced in stadium safety and event management – having spent over 20 years working in the industry – and joins from Leicester City Football Club, where she has been Head of Operations at the Premier League side since April 2020.
Prior to joining Leicester City, Hewitt spent a decade at the Ricoh Arena (now Coventry Building Society Arena) – the home of Wasps Rugby – where her roles included Major Events & Project Manager and Head of Operations, before becoming Operations Director in 2019.
Hewitt delivered a range of events at the venue, such as 2012 Olympic football matches and major indoor and outdoor concerts such as Take That, Oasis, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and Rihanna.
She said: “I am looking forward to working with the rest of the Executive Team, using my experience to help the Club build on the progress it has already made and to ensure that all guests visiting Emirates Old Trafford – whatever the reason – have a safe and unforgettable experience at our venue.”
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Ajay Solanki, Lawfront
North West-based law firms Farleys and Slater Heelis, which are part of legal services business Lawfront, have appointed Ajay Solanki as the group’s head of digital marketing.
Ajay will lead the digital strategy to elevate the profile and performance of both firms, as well as the other two Lawfront partner firms – Nelsons and Fisher Jones Greenwood (FJG).
With more than 15 years’ experience in finance, automotive, retail, and telecommunications industries, where he has transformed operations to make them highly efficient, automated, and commercially valuable, Ajay will oversee a team of five regional digital marketeers.
He brings a wealth of experience to the role having worked in director-level positions focusing on all aspects of digital marketing strategy, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) performance, and strategic digital growth and transformation.
Backed by private equity firm Blixt, Lawfront provides legal services to individuals and businesses through leading regional law firms FJG, Nelsons, Farleys and Slater Heelis.
Axel Koelsch, Chief Operating Officer of Lawfront, said: “Ajay is the next natural step for growing Lawfront’s value proposition. His appointment is pivotal in supporting the incredible and unique firms within our group whilst also building on our own brand presence and educating on Lawfront’s key USP’s and unique proposition in a competitive marketplace.”
Earlier this year, Slater Heelis marked Lawfront’s third acquisition in the last 12 months, bringing its revenue to £70 million.
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Oliver Jones-Orrells
Oliver Jones-Orrells has been appointed to the assistant director role at Manchester City Council to support development, investment and continued economic growth in Manchester.
Previously Head of Estates at Transport for Greater Manchester, Oliver has working alongside the Council on projects such as Mayfield and Electric Park but originally started his career here, training as a Chartered Surveyor and working on Eastern Manchester investment and regeneration. He will take up his new role in August.
During his time at TFGM Oliver oversaw a variety of property development and disposal activities including roles delivering the Bus Depot Acquisition programme which enabled the rollout of Bus Franchising in GM.
He also oversaw land assembly activities relating to the Trafford Metrolink extension including a joint venture with Peel at Trafford Wharfside, and he was a Director of the Mayfield Partnership.
During previous roles at Manchester City Council, Oliver was the property lead for the Eastern Gateway which included roles working alongside private and public stakeholders to facilitate development and land assembly in Ancoats and Islington, Holt Town and the Etihad Campus, alongside secondments to the New East Manchester Urban Regeneration Company.
He will take up the assistant director for development and investment role from late August 2024.
Oliver said: “Manchester has been a hugely rewarding place to live and work and the development and growth of the city over the last twenty years has been an immense source of pride for me.
“But there is still much more we can do and I relish the opportunity to contribute towards the city’s continued ambition for sustainable and inclusive economic growth – and the creation of great neighbourhoods that strengthen communities, attract investment and create jobs that will make sure that Manchester continues to thrive.”
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Tony Dean
Veteran banker Tony Dean has joined Shawbrook Bank.
With 30 years corporate banking experience, operating at executive level, he said he was drawn to Shawbrook for the following reasons: “They operate a truly differentiated model, focusing on a premium service, flexibility around structure and certainty of funding. I saw this in my previous advisory role. In the short period I have been with the business I have met many great people, many of whom I have worked with previously!”
Formerly with RBS, and then HSBC, he joins from Knights plc where he developed the debt advisory business for the last two years.
He will be working on funding for businesses typically in the range of £2m – £20m, serving mid market corporates.
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Carl Hallows, Rob Laurie and Neil Armistead
Cumbrian engineering solutions firm Forth has appointed a new Operations Manager to lead work at its Barrow fabrications facility.
Furness-born Carl Hallows joins Forth’s senior management team following a 30-year career encompassing manufacturing, renewable energy and subsea electrification.
From its bases in Flimby, Cleator Moor, and Barrow, Forth provides innovative engineering solutions to clients including Sellafield, BAE Systems, NRS (formerly Magnox), EDF, Spirit Energy, Rolls Royce and One Subsea, as well as global markets in marine, renewables and agricultural markets.
He said: “Building and managing successful teams has been one of my most satisfying roles and for me it’s all about people.
“Forth was founded on strong values around investing in people, respecting each other and being the best we can be. These values were a key factor in my decision to apply for this position.
“Forth operates across many industrial sectors and manages several important future concept projects, which I am excited to be working on with the support of a terrific team.”
His appointment coincides with the internal promotion of two team members from Forth’s Barrow sites – Rob Laurie has been appointed as Quality, Safety and Environmental Manager whilst Neil Armistead is promoted to Workshop Manager.
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James Scanlon
James Scanlon has joined acquisitive software business Citation Group in the Mergers and Acquisitions team.
He joins from Seneca where he spent two years as part of the Growth Capital team. He was involved there in growth capital transactions across a broad range of sectors (both private and quoted on the AIM market).
A Chartered Accountant, he started his career at EY on an apprenticeship scheme as an alternative to university. He also holds the CFA IMC.
He also sits on the Green Shoots Committee of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association, a young professionals network from across the EIS ecosystem.
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Jim Bridgen
Campfire has appointed Jim Brigden as its new Chairman. He brings a wealth of experience as an entrepreneur in the digital media space, having led iconic businesses such as Brainlabs, I Spy, The Search Works, and Overture to growth and highly successful exits.
He joins just as the Manchester-based social-first marketing agency has received an undisclosed investment from London’s Literary Capital.
The investment firm describes its stake as a ‘significant minority’ holding in a move aimed at supporting and accelerating Campfire’s growth under founders, Alex Brown and Joe Gradwell’s continued leadership.
