On the Move: Teachers Building Society; TLT; Ellis Jones
Teachers Building Society has welcomed Gavin Opperman as its next chief executive and executive director.
He will join the Dorset-based mutual on April 2.
His appointment follows Simon Beresford’s announcement to the board in Autumn 2024 that after eight years he will step down from his role this month.
Gavin joins the Society from a career spanning three decades in financial services, most recently as banking director of Virgin Money PLC.
Julie Nicholson, chair of the Teachers Building Society board of directors, said: “The Board is delighted that Gavin has agreed to join Teachers Building Society as our next Chief Executive. Gavin brings significant financial services leadership experience from over three decades spent supporting the development of best in class financial brands.
“I look forward to working with Gavin in shaping the future of Teachers Building Society for its members and to benefit those working in education.”
Opperman said: “As a national building society with a sector specific focus Teachers really is a unique mutual. I’m excited to lead the Society on its next phase of growth and ensure that the Society’s founding mission, of helping every teacher own their own home, continues.
“I’ve been a long-time fan of the mutual model and firmly believe there remains an important societal role for organisations like Teachers Building Society to deliver products and services to the education sector, whose members dedicate their careers to shaping future generations. By continuing to support their financial needs, we can help them achieve stability and security, ensuring they can focus on the valuable work they do.”
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Jane Wallenstein
Bristol headquartered law firm TLT has promoted seven lawyers to partner, including promoting one knowledge lawyer to knowledge partner.
The newly appointed partners are Richard Collie, competition, regulatory and trade; Emma Erskine-Fox, tech, IP and data; Andrew King, public inquiries and public law; Jane Wallenstein, employment; Joseph Meredith and Tom White, real estate; and Alison Johnson who has been promoted to knowledge partner in the corporate team.
The promotions follow a year of significant growth during which TLT has welcomed 16 new partners to meet increased demand across all its sectors and service lines. Earlier this year, the firm also announced it will be adding 29 lawyers to its future energy, infrastructure and planning capabilities creating one of the largest practices of its kind in the UK. The group will include eight partners and 21 associates, bringing the total number of lawyers specialising in these practice areas at TLT to more than 150.
Senior partner Sasha Butterworth said: “TLT has enjoyed another year of growth, creating further opportunities for our clients. One of the benefits of this is to be able to mark the success with the promotion of new partners and others across the firm. At TLT we provide people with a clearly defined career path and accelerate our exceptional performers. These promotions recognise the critical contributions our people make to our clients and the wider business. Congratulations to all those promoted this year.”
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Two employees at Ellis Jones have taken the next steps in their careers by qualifying as solicitors.
Ellis Jones Solicitors has welcomed the formal qualifications for Tayla Baird and Victoria Simpkin who work in its employment and business services departments respectively.
Victoria Simpkin
Simpkin joins two other team members at the firm who have passed the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) in the past six months.
Introduced in 2021, the SQE is a centralised assessment route designed to achieve consistently high practice standards in England’s legal profession.
Preparation involves balancing the demands of day-to-day work with rigorous study ahead of a two-stage exam process.
Simpkin joined Ellis Jones as a Legal Secretary in 2015 working as a paralegal before starting her solicitor training.
Based in Bournemouth, she covers a range of business-related legal issues including shareholder agreements, trademark applications, Companies House filings, selling and buying businesses, prize competition assistance and company restructure advice.
Tayla Baird
Baird, who is based at Ellis Jones’ London office, completed a Masters in Law in 2020 and has qualified after completing a training contract at the firm.
Her caseload includes advising on workplace disputes and employment tribunal claims.
Nigel Smith, Ellis Jones managing partner, said: “Congratulations to Victoria and Tayla on their hard work and much-deserved solicitor qualifications. It is immensely pleasing to see team members with an interest in furthering their legal careers do so well.”
The firm, which has eight offices in Bournemouth, Dorchester, Poole, Ringwood, Swanage, Broadstone, Wimborne and London, has a policy of providing training contracts and other professional development opportunities.
