People: MSB Solicitors; Liverpool Chamber; Blume; University of Salford; Essity; UM Terminals; Pannone Corporate; Five Wealth

Susan Alexander

MSB Solicitors has appointed Susan Alexander as a new Family Law specialist at its Chester office. With more than 40 years of experience in the field, Susan brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the firm.

Susan is a specialist in family law, collaborative law and mediation, holding Resolution accreditation in domestic abuse and separation. She is currently serving as Secretary of the Cheshire Collaborative Family Lawyers Group, showcasing her dedication to resolving disputes amicably. 

Starting her career in Scotland in 1981, Susan quickly rose to become a full equity partner at Russells, where she managed the Family Law division.

She was a founding member of the Family Law Association in Scotland, advocating for children and vulnerable individuals in court proceedings as appointed by the Sheriff Principal. 

Her expertise in cross-border English/Scottish work will enhance the firm’s capabilities and relationships with Scottish connections.

Transitioning her practice to England and Wales in 1994, Susan has since developed extensive experience handling complex cases involving domestic abuse and surrogacy.

Susan Alexander said: “I am thrilled to join the talented and dynamic team at MSB Solicitors. I’m looking forward to contributing to the ongoing expansion of the Family Law team, while helping people and offering my support to the next generation of lawyers.”

Emma Carey, Managing Partner at MSB Solicitors, said: “Her extensive experience, particularly in mediation, will be a valuable asset as we continue to expand our services.

“Her experience, stellar reputation, and compassionate approach to advocating for her clients will undoubtedly make a significant impact – not only in our newly opened Chester office, but nationwide. We look forward to Susan joining us on this exciting growth journey for the firm.“

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Christine Vaudrey

Liverpool Chamber has made two additions to its senior leadership team as part of a significant period of recruitment.

Highly-experienced duo, Christine Vaudrey and Samantha Barker, join the organisation as director of business and stakeholder engagement and director of policy and skills, respectively.

Vaudrey arrives at the chamber following four years as group director of strategy and communications at Torus, having previously worked in senior business development and international relations roles at Liverpool Vision and Liverpool City Council. She will combine her role with other external engagements.

Barker has more than 20 years’ experience in senior policy, stakeholder engagement and skills roles at organisations across the UK, including Federation of Small Businesses, Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Kier Group and WSP.

Samantha Barker

They are joined at Liverpool Chamber by three other new recruits across a range of roles. Debbie Elliott-Brown is its new business support engagement manager, Aoibheann McCormack has joined as business support events co-ordinator, and Lucy Welsh arrives as business support marketing assistant.

Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber, said: “This is an exciting and important time for the chamber as we experience sustained growth across our membership and increasing demand for our range of business support services.

“The arrivals of Christine and Samantha allow us to add a real depth of knowledge and experience to our team as we enter our 175th anniversary year in 2025 and a new phase of development on behalf of our members.”

He added: “We are thrilled to welcome all of our new colleagues to the chamber and collectively we will be working hard to ensure our organisation remains a trusted and authentic partner, voice and support provider for our members and businesses.”

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Adam Fletcher

Blume, a specialist marketing collective for the legal sector, has strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointment of Adam Fletcher as Chief Customer Officer. 

Adam joins from Bush & Co, a provider of case management and rehabilitation services, where he was Client Director for just under six years. Prior to that, he held a series of senior sales and business development positions at Verisk and piCalculator. 

In this newly created role, Adam will be responsible for growing relationships with Blume’s existing panel members, identifying new business opportunities and building strategic partnerships within the personal injury and clinical negligence sectors. He will play a key role in realising Blume’s growth strategy and increasing visibility of the brand and its value added services.

Blume Chief Executive, Alex Kenny, said: “Adam has a terrific reputation in our sector, and an outstanding track record in driving growth, value, and innovation. Alongside his excellent connections and passion for building talented teams, Adam’s experience and passion for championing the customer will be invaluable as we continue to focus on delivering exceptional value to our panel members.

“Adam is the perfect fit for the next phase of Blume’s growth, and I’m thrilled to welcome him on board.”

Adam Fletcher said: “Blume is very much a high performing business that has built a very strong market presence over the past few years, something I have admired for some time now.

“My primary focus will be on delivering the strategic plans of the business, with a focus on putting our members centre stage of everything we do, while supporting and developing the business development function. I can’t wait to use my expertise to drive plans forward and build on the great work already started by the team.”

Blume opened a new office at Towers Business Park in South Manchester in April this year to accommodate continuing growth in employee numbers and client demand. It also unveiled a restructured executive leadership team led by Chief Executive Alex Kenny, including Lisa Emsley as Chief Operating Officer and Joe Morgan as Finance Director.

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Dr Taylor Umland

The University of Salford has appointed former NBC news reporter, Dr Taylor Umland, to lead its new Sports Journalism course with teaching to take place at the MediaCity campus.

Taylor joins Salford after more than three years as a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University and as a former news journalist for NBC affiliate KWQC-TV in Davenport, Iowa.

He will spearhead the university’s new BA Sports Journalism programme, which will deliver specialist training from tutors across a wide range of multimedia sports content.

Taylor said: “With the exceptional facilities at our perfectly-located MediaCity campus, outstanding training from our talented tutors and the ability to be embedded in and cover a variety of sports in and around one of Europe’s biggest sporting ecosystems, students can hardly study in a better place.

“We are very ambitious about what we can achieve with this programme as we know that we can offer an unmatched plethora of opportunities for our students that will give them the best possible shot at a career in this dynamic and exciting industry.”

Dr Richard Jones, Director of Journalism, Politics and Contemporary History at the university, said: “Sport is a bigger part of our lives than ever and journalism and the media are at the centre of that. 

“With BBC Sport, BBC Radio 5 Live and ITV among our close neighbours, we’re well placed to help train the next generation of sports broadcasters, writers and content creators.”

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Nicola Conway

Essity, a global hygiene and health company with brands such as TENA, Tork, Cushelle, and Bodyform, has appointed a new commercial director for the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Nicola Conway will head up the commercial sales team across the region, helping to enhance the success of Essity’s brand portfolio, based in the company’s Didsbury office. 

Conway brings more than  two decades of commercial experience working for major food retailers including Iceland Foods, convenience food producer, Greencore, and Uniq Prepared Foods, to her new role. She joins Essity from Nomad Foods, a frozen food company which supplies popular brands including Birdseye and Goodfellas, where she acted as Grocery Director  with responsibility for northern customers.

Lee Doherty, VP of Sales and Marketing, Consumer Goods UKI & MEA, said: “Nicola is a great hire who will bring a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm for driving sales for Essity’s much loved brands. We also welcome Nicola’s keenness to support our people in living and breathing our culture of care, collaboration, courage, and commitment, as well as developing the team professionally.”

Essity’s North West office is close to the business’s Trafford Park paper mill, which is responsible for creating Plenty kitchen roll, Cushelle toilet roll, and own brand labels for major UK customers..

Nicola Conway said: “I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned in the world of FMCG to my new role, leading some of Essity’s major household hygiene and health brands. I am excited about having the opportunity to apply my experience across manufacturing and retail, brand and retailer brand to leading some of Essity’s major household hygiene and healthcare brands.”

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From left: Harry Cain, Jake Ellis, Paulie Twigg

Bulk liquid storage specialist, UM Terminals, has recruited two apprentices as part of the expansion of its in-house maintenance team.

Paulie Twigg and Harry Cain, both 18, will undertake a four-year apprenticeship based at the company’s Regent Road head office in Liverpool, but also spending time at UM’s other UK terminals in Hull and Portbury.

Jake Ellis, UM Terminals’ Maintenance Manager, said: “We had considerable interest in the apprenticeship programme with 12 candidates attending final interviews. Paulie and Harry were the standout candidates from a strong field.”

The apprenticeship programme is run in conjunction with Liverpool-based North West Training Council.

The two apprentices will spend four days a week working at UM Terminals and one day attending college. 

Paulie, from Stockbridge, Liverpool, and Harry, from Bootle, Liverpool, will be supported in their development by mentors from the maintenance team at UM Terminals. 

Jake added: “While the apprentices will primarily work out of our Liverpool terminals, they will also spend time working with colleagues at our other terminals in Hull and Portbury.

“This is the first time we have recruited apprentices and is an important element of our strategic decision to expand our in-house maintenance capability.

“With other appointments in recent months it means we now have an eight-strong team including technicians, fitters and an electrical controls and instrumentation specialist giving us the capability to run an ongoing programme of maintenance across all of our assets.” 

UM Terminals is also creating a dedicated maintenance workshop in a former boiler house at its Regent Road terminal including a bespoke workshop, storage area and staff kitchen.

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From left: Emma Haymes, Burak Demir, Sophie Adshead

Pannone Corporate has welcomed a trio of new hires, as it continues to grow its Manchester team.

Emma Haymes joins the law firm as a senior associate in the dispute resolution team, having previously spent seven years working in-house at a FTSE 100 telecoms company. Emma will support the team on a range of commercial dispute issues, including contractual and intellectual property disputes, risk management and dispute avoidance, bringing vast experience in the IT and telecoms sectors, further strengthening Pannone’s specialist TMT team. 

Emma is joined at the firm by Sophie Adshead, who has been appointed as an associate in the corporate team. Joining from SAS Daniels, Sophie will assist the team across a wide range of corporate activity – from acquisitions and disposals of companies in a variety of business sectors, to venture capital investments and private equity transactions.

Burak Demir completes the trio of appointments. Burak joins Pannone as a solicitor in the real estate litigation team. Burak will support the growing team in advising on a wide range of property litigation issues for a number of sectors including retail, owner occupiers and commercial landlords.

Paul Jonson, senior partner at Pannone, said: “Our team is the lifeblood of our business, with new talent playing a pivotal role in our ongoing growth.

“Each new appointment brings a fresh perspective and expertise to the firm.”

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From left: Amy Grace, Rick Gosling, Liz Colfer

Manchester-based wealth management firm, Five Wealth, has promoted three of its associate directors to director level, following approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Rick Gosling, Liz Colfer, and Amy Grace, all of whom have been integral members of the management team for the past 18 months, have stepped into director roles. During their time as associate directors, they were instrumental in shaping the firm’s strategic direction and leading on key projects that have driven the business forward. 

Phil Shaw, managing director at Five Wealth, said: “Rick, Liz and Amy have been active members of the management team for nearly 18 months now, helping to lead on projects, navigate the business on a day-to-day basis and set the strategy for the coming years, as well as providing excellent service to clients old and new.

“They have effectively been ‘doing’ the job for some time now and it’s great that this is being recognised with their promotions.”

Liz Colfer said: “It’s been great to be part of the management team at such a pivotal time for Five Wealth.”

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