People: Freedom Media Group; Chetwood; Landwood Group; Headstar; WeDo; Harrison Drury; Ward Hadaway
Marketing agency, Freedom Media Group, has expanded its team with the key appointment of Gabrielle Pester as Account Director.
Headquartered in Marple Bridge, working both nationally and internationally, Freedom Media Group works with brands to navigate the complex and vast choice of media services including audio, Out of Home, connected TV and more.
Gabrielle joins with nine years’ experience at independent, heritage media agencies. Throughout her career, she has worked with clients, from globally recognised brands to local businesses. Her expertise spans multiple industries and client needs, making her a valuable addition to the team.
Gabrielle said, “I’ve built my career from executive to account director in nine years, starting in sales for OOH and moving up to account director for a TV first agency. I’m excited to be part of FMG to bring my expertise and experience to a great set of clients and a great team to push forward immediately and into 2025.”
Dan Thompson, founder and MD of Freedom Media Group, said: “Gabi brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge and I’m thrilled to welcome her to Freedom Media group.
“We’re seeing incredibly strong growth across our business and Gabi is well placed to accelerate that success, especially across our TV and OOH offering.”
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Paul Noble
Paul Noble is to replace Andy Mielczarek as CEO of Chetwood Financial who is stepping down almost 10 years on from having co-founded the company. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Founded in 2016, Wrexham-based digital bank Chetwood Financial received a restricted banking licence in late 2017 before being granted a full UK banking licence in December 2018. Since 2019, more than £3.5 billion has been deposited with Chetwood Financial’s savings proposition SmartSave.
Earlier in 2024, the company also entered the buy-to-let mortgage market with the acquisition of the specialist lender CHL Mortgages for Intermediaries from Barossa Asset Purchaser Sarl in May and will launch ModaMortgages in the near future.
Mielczarek has been Chetwood Financial’s CEO since its inception. Before this he was the deputy head of HSBC’s UK Retail Bank, having previously been Commercial Director and Head of Retail Products for HSBC Europe. Prior to that he held roles including CFO at M&S Bank, Head of Commercial Finance at MBNA, and Brokerage Operations Director at Charles Schwab.
Mielczarek will leave the company at the end of this month. He is taking some time out before deciding on his next move.
Paul Noble joins Chetwood Financial from JN Bank UK, where he was CEO of the banking outfit whose products and services include savings accounts, loans and mortgages.
Noble has over 25 years’ experience in financial services, spanning startups and large banks. Before JN Bank, Noble spent six years at Pollen Street Capital, an asset manager focussed on financial services. There he led the investment into Tandem Bank which was complemented with additional business acquisitions.
Noble previously co-founded 118 118 Money to provide an alternative for customers unable to borrow from their bank.
Andy Mielczarek
Mielczarek said: “After ten years, now’s the right time for me to hand over the reins to someone new. There are such exciting, bold plans for Chetwood over the coming months and years, and now’s a logical time for a change in leadership to inject fresh life into the business and guide it through the next stage of its journey – I’ve no doubt Paul is the right person to do just that, and I wish him and the entire organisation all the very best.”
Noble commented: “There are really exciting plans in place, and I can’t wait to play my part. The emphasis will remain on delivering exceptional products and service to all our customers, but we have ambitions to enter new markets and fast-track our growth in the future.”
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Amy Selfe
Manchester-based nationwide property firm, Landwood Group, has appointed Amy Selfe to bolster the company’s growth trajectory and expand its agency presence.
Amy Selfe, who has worked for eight years at Landwood, will now drive the firm’s efforts to grow the agency side of the business in the North West market.
This move will see Amy join the five-member property sales team and she will focus on a wide range of property sales, with a particular focus on commercial properties ranging from single units to large investor portfolios.
She said: “I’m eager to contribute to the expansion of the agency team at Landwood. We’re focused on scaling our operations and enhancing our market presence in the North West.”
James Ashworth, Partner at Landwood Group, said: “Whilst we’ve always achieved very good results on the property agency side, we’ve tended to act predominantly for our core client base in the recovery sector.
“We see this as a great opportunity to grow our business, win new clients and offer them the chance to benefit from our skills in selling property assets.”
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Olivia Greer
Specialist finance recruitment consultancy, Headstar, has bolstered its presence in the North West with the appointment of a regional director, as it responds to growing demand for its services.
Olivia Greer joins Headstar with a decade of experience in the qualified finance recruitment market, having progressed to associate director at a national blue chip recruiter, where she led a team of 10 experienced recruiters.
Over the course of her career, she has built an extensive professional network across Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, successfully placing finance professionals at all levels, from finance directors to newly qualified hires, both on permanent and interim assignments.
Olivia said: “Headstar’s unique combination of finance recruitment and consultancy services, led by qualified finance directors, is increasingly resonating among SMEs in the North West, and I’m looking forward to helping more businesses in the region grow by connecting them with top finance talent.”
Headstar managing director, James Roach, said: “Supporting SMEs based in the North has always been an important part of our mission, and with demand for our services in the North West growing rapidly, it made complete sense to strengthen our presence in the region.
“Olivia’s appointment strengthens our ability to connect ambitious businesses with the financial leadership they need, and I’m excited to see the impact she will have in driving our growth by supporting the buoyant North West business community.”
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Vince Tovey, left, and John Rourke
WeDo Business Services has made a senior appointment in its trade finance division to support its growth.
John Rourke has joined WeDo Trade Finance as senior commercial manager, a new national role for the business.
He has more than 16 years’ experience in business finance and has moved from 4Syte, where he was a senior manager and set up its trade finance department.
WeDo Trade Finance provides SMEs with funding of between £25,000 and £2m, including revolving facilities, to ease their cashflow pressures by financing the purchase of finished goods from suppliers so they can fulfil orders from their customers upfront.
John is based at the WeDo group’s headquarters in Oldham and works across the UK.
His role sees him managing client relationships and risk, driving new business opportunities and supporting Vince Tovey, managing director of WeDo Trade Finance, in the management of the division.
Vince said: “John is a great fit for WeDo in this new role and is a welcome addition to the team. He brings plenty of experience and ideas which I am sure will help to take the business to the next level.”
John said: “I look forward to contributing my skills and collaborating with an inspiring team who are dedicated to helping SMEs get the funding they need to accelerate their growth.”
John’s arrival follows the appointments earlier this month of Sam Wilson and Eileene Hardy as chief commercial officer and business development manager for the group, respectively.
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Victoria Taylor and Ed Stanley
North West law firm, Harrison Drury, has grown its expertise in helping clients overcome complex wills, trusts and inheritance disputes following a key appointment.
The firm has expanded its contentious probate and trusts team with the appointment of senior associate solicitor, Victoria Taylor.
Victoria has practised in private client litigation for more than a decade handling cases in the High Court, County Court, Probate Registry and Court of Protection.
Victoria joins the firm from Napthens, where she worked for more than seven years. She will be based at Harrison Drury’s office in Clitheroe and support clients across the region.
Edward Stanley, partner and head of the contentious probate and trusts team at Harrison Drury, said: “Victoria brings a huge amount of experience to our specialist team and her knowledge and approach will help our clients enormously.”
Victoria said: “I’m proud to be joining a firm with an excellent culture for supporting and recognising its people, clients and communities. I can’t wait to advocate for our clients across the region.”
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Ward Hadaway 2024 trainees
Manchester law firm, Ward Hadaway, has welcomed 14 new trainee solicitors and one solicitor apprentice.
The appointments form an ongoing part of the firm’s ambitious growth strategy, spearheaded by new managing partner, Steven Petrie, who stepped into the role in May 2024.
The 15 recruits are based across the firm’s three regional offices in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle with three based at Chapel Walks. It brings the company’s total headcount to more than 500 and will see the trainees undertake two years of training before qualifying in 2026, with the apprentice qualifying in 2030.
Partner and training principal, Matt Cormack, said; “It’s my pleasure to welcome the class of 2024 to Ward Hadaway. To have been awarded a training contract with the firm is testament to the skills and aptitude that our new trainees have demonstrated to secure their place on our award-winning programme.”
Caroline Jones, emerging talent manager, who oversees the training programme said; “We pride ourselves on nurturing our people and several of our senior management team joined us as trainees, demonstrating our commitment to providing lifelong careers and progression at every level.”
The trainees are Dania Abu-Harb, Josh Cela, Laurence Colgan, Charlie Davies, Sophie Edgar, Ella Edmunds, Alice Ferguson, Abigail McAllister, Laura McLaughlin, Liam Middleton, Aisha Rutherford, Olivia Smith, Elizabeth Swales, Anna Thorp and Nick Williams.
Laurence Colgan said: “The firm has a stellar reputation for helping mould the legal talent of the future, and it’s inspiring to know that many of the partners and senior people here started where we are now.”
