People on the move: LDex; Colliers International; Rentalcars.com; Stephensons; Caddick Developments; O’Connors
Data centre provider LDeX Group has appointed Richard Webster to the role of group commercial director as part of its continued growth strategy.
Webster joins LDeX with 20 years’ experience having held senior sales positions at the likes of BT and Telecity Group PLC, and most recently global colocation provider Equinix.
In his previous roles, Webster was responsible for developing recurring revenue from a range of customers, from start-ups and SMEs to large enterprises.
In his new role as commercial director, Richard will be leading the sales team, ensuring that the current level of customer service is maintained for existing clients, while building on the company’s recent successes in securing new contract wins.
Webster said: “LDeX has experienced impressive growth over the last few years and established itself as a major player in the market.
“I am looking forward to developing existing customer relationships, both in the UK and beyond, and relishing the task of building the company’s client portfolio.”
Rob Garbutt, CEO at LDeX, said: “Not only has Richard demonstrated clear dedication and ambition throughout his career, he also shares our values for quality and customer service. With Richard’s impressive track record and sound industry knowledge, I am confident that he has the tools to help us deliver on our plans for further expansion.”
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Real estate advisors Colliers International has expanded its office serving the Liverpool City Region with two key additions.
Senior building surveyor Paul Harris has moved to Liverpool from the firm’s office in Chancery Place, Manchester while Liverpool-educated Craig Rigby has joined the firm as a graduate surveyor on the national graduate programme.
The arrival of the duo takes the total number of staff at the office in India Buildings on Water Street to five alongside director of development consulting and head of office Andy Delaney, licensed and leisure sector director Colin Siebert and associate Sophie Attwood who specialises in advising clients on rating issues.
As a senior surveyor in Colliers’ building consultancy team since 2015, Harris works alongside Delaney on a wide range of core building surveying, construction and project management services, assisting landlords and occupiers with the delivery of projects. He will continue to work with Colliers’ wider Northern team of behalf of clients across the entire region.
Rigby and Attwood act on behalf of clients for business rates appeals across all forms of commercial property. Rigby arrives with a BSc in real estate management from Liverpool John Moores University and spent time as an intern at the Liverpool office.
Delaney said: “Having secured a foothold in Liverpool with the opening of our office exactly two years ago, we have seen a marked increase in business with the addition of Paul and Craig providing further evidence of our cast-iron commitment to our client base, the Liverpool City Region and the wider Northern Powerhouse.”
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Manchester based Rentalcars.com, part of the Priceline group and the world’s largest online car rental service, has appointed Supriya Uchil as its chief product officer.
In this newly created role, Uchil will be responsible for driving the product direction and strategy for the company to align with the company’s vision.
She will focus her energy for the first year on growing, mentoring and hiring her product team and establishing the best product managers, designers, researchers, and customer insights teams to provide a differentiated and compelling online and offline car rental experience.
Uchil has joined Rentalcars.com from Amazon.com where she was Technical Advisor to the Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices.
Uchil was with Amazon.com for more than a decade in various strategic roles, leading large-scale projects for the online retail giant including directing an integrated social strategy for Amazon Kindle devices.
She said: “My vision is for Rentalcars.com to become a product centric company and to create a seamless customer journey; from making a booking on Rentalcars.com, to collecting the car with one of our supply partners, enjoying the freedom and flexibility that car enables, and finally, dropping the car off.”
Rentalcars.com CEO Ian Brown said: “I am thrilled to have a leader of Supriya’s calibre join our exciting business.
“Despite being only 12 years old, Rentalcars is a great UK success story and now the UK’s largest home-grown B2C tech business.
“Under Supriya’s leadership we are looking forward to developing many exciting products and features that will help make the whole car hire booking experience ever easier and simple for our customers, and help our supply partners to reach more customers more efficiently than ever before.”
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Stephensons, national full service law firm, has appointed solicitor Clare Gammond to its industrial disease department and will be based in its Wigan office.
Gammond has worked with cases of serious industrial diseases for several years and qualified as a solicitor more than 10 years ago.
Her previous fee earning role at BLM involved a fully litigated caseload of noise induced hearing loss and hand arm vibration syndrome (vibration white finger) claims. Clare’s background is in complex and high value claims.
Clare is looking forward to working with the local communities, support groups and charities such as the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group and British Lung Foundation.
Gammond said: “I have always been aware of the firm and its stellar reputation for quality legal advice.
“I am interested in the range and complexity of cases on offer and am delighted to have been presented with the opportunity to join Stephensons.”
Head of personal injury, Kate Sweeney, said: “We are delighted to welcome Clare to our growing team. Industrial and occupational disease is a growing issue throughout the UK and many cases can be complex and detailed.
“We have been expanding our expertise in this area for a decade now and Clare will join an already experienced team.”
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Multi-sector property developer Caddick Developments has appointed Steve Widdowson as its director for the North West.
Widdowson will spearhead the company’s growth in the region through investment in high profile projects, including city centre office and mixed use developments in Manchester and out-of-town industrial spaces in strategic locations across the North West.
He joins Caddick after a 20 year career at Magnus, where he worked as a director and was involved in the delivery or Birchwood Park in Warrington.
Widdowson’s appointment to the Manchester office strengthens Caddick Development’s presence in the region with the company committed to significant further investment.
He said: “Caddick Developments has a portfolio of notable developments in the Yorkshire region, including Quarry Hill and Crosspoint 33, and I’m keen to replicate that success in the North West. I’m excited about what the future holds at Caddick, there’s a lot of opportunity and I’m proud to be a part of that.
“With its impressive track record and highly respected reputation, Caddick Developments will be a welcome addition to the North West development landscape and I’m looking forward to working with the talented team and driving growth.”
Myles Hartley, managing director at Caddick, said: “Steve’s appointment is fantastic for our business in in the North West. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role and is focused on helping us to achieve our goals.”
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Liverpool and London-based law firm O’Connors has appointed corporate lawyer Christina Millan to its corporate team as it continues to build for the future.
Millan joins from the Liverpool office of DWF where she handled a wide variety of corporate and commercial transactions and corporate governance work.
O’Connors has gained a national and international reputation for delivering corporate, commercial, insurance and regulatory advice and sector expertise to help clients evaluate and manage risks and opportunities, wherever in the world they are doing business.
Millan’s appointment expands the firm’s capacity to handle the growing number of corporate transactions now being generated from within the firm’s entrepreneurial client base.
Millan said: “I am very passionate about the North West having lived, trained and worked here and I see a growing demand from the region’s successful businesses to buy specialist professional services locally, where such services are available.
“I believe the O’Connors legal project management model, which enables experienced transaction lawyers to stay hands-on at all times and deliver better support, cost control and results for clients, is exactly what the market is looking to buy and I am hugely excited to be part of this innovation.”
Head of corporate John Spofforth said: “Christina brings many things to the firm, in particular her corporate transaction experience and project management skills which fit perfectly with our business model.
“Christina will also be able to support our growing commercial team and bring the knowledge she gained during her time in DWF’s internal group legal team to our legal sector specialism. Our team now comprises eleven lawyers and a five-strong experienced support group.”
