People: Leading cyber security specialist joins PwC; Law firm boosts corporate team; and more

A leading cyber security specialist has joined professional services firm PwC to bolster its growing Midlands-based cyber security team.

Vanessa Tufnell has joined PwC as a senior manager based in the firm’s Birmingham office bringing an extensive professional network from working collaboratively with clients and sharing security knowledge with law enforcement, regulators, government and security professionals across industries.

She joins following seven years at Lloyds Banking Group. During this time she managed the bank-wide incident management policy and framework and the incident activity for major crises, including cyber attacks, IT system failures, economic instability and physical attacks. She also managed the gathering, analysis and reporting of security intelligence so the bank could be briefed on and respond to potential security threats. Most recently she managed the security review of the bank’s most critical suppliers.

Prior to working for Lloyds Banking Group, Tufnell spent eight years with Accenture and EY delivering major transformation projects covering process redesign, tools implementation, organisational restructure and governance enhancements.

She said: “I’m delighted to be joining PwC in the Midlands at a time when cyber security is a priority growth area for the firm. I look forward to bringing my knowledge and experience, particularly in the financial services sector, to help our clients navigate an increasingly challenging cyber risk landscape.

“I have a real passion for cyber security and enjoy supporting clients through all aspects of understanding and managing their security risks including security assessments, strategy development and delivering transformational change. ”

James Hampshire, cyber security lead for PwC in the Midlands, added: “Vanessa is a key strategic hire for the cyber security practice as she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to benefit our clients and strengthen our market position, with our growing client portfolio. It’s also great to increase the gender diversity on the team, especially at a senior level, as this is a key challenge for the cyber security industry.”

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Thursfields Solicitors has recruited a corporate lawyer with more than 30 years of experience working across the Midlands.

Fiona Boxwell studied law at Birmingham University and what was then Birmingham Polytechnic before training and qualifying in corporate law at Edge and Ellison in Birmingham in the late 1980s.

She worked in-house at the National Home Loans Group in Solihull before moving into mainstream corporate and commercial roles at various law firms in Warwick and Birmingham, then becoming an equity partner at Kent Jones and Done in Stoke-on-Trent, specialising in corporate transactions and company law matters.

Boxwell later became a partner in the Smith Partnership in Derby, heading up its company and commercial department, and from 2015 has worked at George Green in Cradley Heath, focusing on transactional and company law matters.

She has now joined Thursfields as an associate director based at its Birmingham office as part of its expanding corporate team.

Michelle O’Hara, director of commercial services at Thursfields, said: “We are delighted to have recruited Fiona who will bring all her knowledge and skills to our expanding business.

“It says something about the growing reputation of Thursfields that we are able to attract lawyers of such quality and experience.”

Boxwell has developed an expertise in the residential healthcare, manufacturing and engineering sectors, and has wide experience of business sale and purchase transactions, complex group reorganisations, lending and security matters and various company law-based work.

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