People: Aon; MHA; Liquid

Professional services firm Aon has bolstered its commercial risk solutions team in Birmingham with the appointment of Steve Roberts.
Having spent the early part of his career in the IT and telecoms sector, Roberts made the shift into insurance over a decade ago and has since gained experience across a range of industries including manufacturing, engineering, and technology.
Working with large corporate clients, often with a global presence, he works with Aon colleagues across Europe, the US and Asia to create bespoke packages that can cover any combination of insurance needs from motor fleets, to marine risk, professional risk and personal director-level risk.
Roberts said: “My style of client management has always been driven by a desire to consult rather than sell. I pride myself on really getting to understand my clients and this maps well against Aon’s own consultative approach to commercial risk.
“By investing the time to get under the skin of my clients, I am better equipped to identify the best Aon solutions for them and where appropriate refer them on to my colleagues elsewhere in the business, for example those specialising in pensions and investments.”
Chris Barley, head of office for commercial risk at Aon in Birmingham, added: “Steve’s commitment to client management is almost infectious, and his enthusiasm for working with colleagues in distinct areas of the business to deliver the best solutions to clients compliments perfectly with Aon’s ethos of being in the business of better decisions. He’s already made a positive impact to the commercial risk team here and I’m looking forward to seeing the continued value that he can add.”
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Accountancy group MHA, the UK member of the Baker Tilly International network, has strengthened its corporate tax offering with the promotion of Beverley Scott to partner.
Scott joined MHA in 2019 and has over 20 years’ experience in tax, specialising in corporation tax. She started her career advising owner managed businesses and entrepreneurs before moving to into the Big 4, where she provided advisory services for large and multinational corporations. Her experience covers a number of sectors, including manufacturing, retail and real estate.
Her promotion forms a key part of MHA’s growing corporate tax offering, enabling the firm to better respond to clients’ changing needs. Based in the Birmingham office, Scott’s primary role will be to lead on tax advisory, tax audit, and due diligence services, within the Midlands, focusing on a variety of sectors.
Scott said: “Providing clients with a forward thinking and collaborative approach that meets their evolving tax needs is a key focus of mine and a key priority for MHA and Baker Tilly International.
“The tax landscape is constantly changing and there are major commercial opportunities for those who are agile enough to adapt. Making sure our clients are ready for the new digital tax age will be one of our main priorities. Helping businesses to adopt tax technology which is tailored towards meeting their own business needs means they’ll be able to make informed and effective decisions as to the impact of economic and legislative change which will allow them to drive efficiencies throughout their business.
“I look forward to developing my new role and helping businesses of all sizes across the country.”
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Communications agency Liquid has boosted its board with the appointment of Andy West as non-executive director.
West will provide Liquid with strategic guidance and support to help achieve its international growth ambitions.
His previous experience includes positions at a number of tech communications consultancies across the globe, where he worked with colleagues and clients in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. He has worked alongside well-known names within technology including Zoom, McAfee and NetApp, and launched two of his own dot-com businesses.
He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Liquid team and can’t wait to share my insights and knowledge to drive business growth and help the team achieve their goals.
“I’m passionate about supporting communications agencies to fulfil their potential and achieve high performance business outcomes, and have been doing so for many years, so I look forward to applying this experience at Liquid.”