People: Lancashire CCC; DWF; Driver & more

JUSTIN Hopwood, an experienced sports and leisure sector professional, has been named sales and marketing director at the  Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Hopwood, 41, will join from commercial ticketing company – the Mike Burton Group, where he was head of sales and marketing in February.

In his new role he will be responsible for the revenue generation and marketing strategy across all parts of the business, which includes cricket ticket sales, sponsorships and partnerships, hospitality and premium ticketing, memberships and all venue sales, as well as the new Hilton Garden Inn at Emirates Old Trafford hotel that opens in 2017.

LCCC chairman Michael Cairns said: “Our search for the right person to drive all our revenue streams forward, including ticket sales, our burgeoning conference and events sales, our brand new 150-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn hotel and all our other ancillary businesses, has been a long and thorough process and we are delighted to welcome Justin on board.

“He brings a unique set of skills to the cricket market place, particularly in the selling of tickets, travel and hospitality products within a stadium environment, with a core understanding of how a well-marketed sports brand can significantly grow a club’s supporter base.”

Hopwood said: “I am really excited to be joining such a high profile UK sporting institution, with such a rich balance between heritage and history, and future growth and development.”

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LAW firm DWF has announced 25 promotions across its Manchester and Liverpool offices, including three  partners, five directors, two new managers and 13 associate-level promotions.

New promotions from associate to partner include public sector specialist Colin Murray in the firm’s corporate team, and regulatory specialist Vikki Woodfine and family law specialist Elspeth Kinder in the litigation team.

Promotions from senior solicitor to associate include Darren Ormsby and Vicky Ross in the corporate team, Andrew Rogers, Daniel Williams, Georgena Clarke, Jonathan Hall and Lisa Turner-Hall in the litigation team and Rachel Lawler in the firm’s real estate team. New insurance associates include Amy Parrish, Carol Purang, David Woolley, Jayne Bamford and Michael Chambers.

DWF has promoted five people to director, equivalent to partner, namely commercial directors Chris Gee, John Dorney and Julie Agnew, and insurance directors Helen Coates and James Stevens.

Samantha Collier and Lisa Sanzeri have been promoted from senior paralegal to manager, the firm’s associate-equivalent. The remaining promotions are within the partnership.

David Pickering, executive partner for DWF’s Manchester office, said: “We continue to invest in key talent and the recent promotions highlight our commitment to developing our people at all levels of the business. Each promotion recognises the contribution that our people make and is testimony to their dedication and hard work to drive innovation and deliver client service excellence.”

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AIM-listed, Lancashire company Driver Group, a professional services consultancy to construction and engineering industries, has hired  Gordon Wilkinson as chief operating officer of its Initiate Consulting and a member of its executive board.

Wilkinson, a former equity partner at KPMG has industry experience with both Arup and more recently AECOM, where he was head of its global consulting and cost management businesses. 

At Driver he will deliver a four-year growth plan, which will include the core programme and project management services and also the expansion of existing fledgling services within the Driver Group such as asset management, strategic consulting and management consulting focusing at first in the UK.

Dave Webster, chief executive of Driver said: “I am delighted that Driver Group has been able to attract somebody of Gordon’s considerable stature. I am sure that with his drive, energy and experience he will contribute significantly to the executive board as a whole and to the delivery of our growth plans.”

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