People: Davies; Bexley Beaumont; Wesleyan

Bexley Beaumont has strengthened its Midlands operations with the recruitment of another senior lawyer.

Corporate law specialist Phil Miles has joined the firm as legal director, becoming the fifth member of Bexley Beamont’s corporate team in Birmingham.

Having qualified at the international firm  DLA Piper, Miles has since been involved in a large volume of corporate transactions, including sales, acquisitions and company restructuring, during spells with a number of familiar legal brands.

Chief executive Karen Bexley, said:”Phil is both experienced and very talented, and has developed a glowing reputation from his role advising owner-managed businesses in particular on a wide range of corporate and business law issues. Over the course of the last year or so, we have seen an increase in the caseload which we have handled on behalf of clients in the Midlands. That is due to the strength in depth which we possess across the full spectrum of corporate and commercial law.

“We have succeeded in attracting very capable lawyers like Phil because they recognise how distinctive the team culture within our business is and how the collaboration between our colleagues enables them to deliver the best quality work possible for clients. We believe that they leave us extremely well-placed to make more headway in the Midlands and elsewhere into the future.”

Financial services specialists Wesleyan has bolstered its group executive team with two new appointments and a board-level promotion, as it enters the next phase of its growth strategy.

Nathan Beckett was promoted to the role of chief financial officer on 1 April from his position as managing director of dental, general insurance and direct. He now sits on the society’s board of directors. Beckett joined Wesleyan in 2008 as part of the corporate audit team.

He has held several senior roles across the group, including managing director of the practice plan group, a Wesleyan subsidiary specialising in providing practice-branded dental membership plans.

Beckett is a qualified chartered accountant and, prior to joining Wesleyan, held roles in audit practice and financial training. In addition to finance, he is responsible for the company’s secretarial and legal teams.

Katie Wadey joins the business as chief product and commercial officer from Simplyhealth, where she held a similar role.

She has over 20 years’ experience working in a range of customer-focused and commercial roles within blue chip companies including British Gas, BT and Tesco, where she was customer experience director and was also group customer director at Aviva and chief customer officer at LV=.

Wadey will play a key role in setting Wesleyan’s future direction as it evolves its strategy of sustainable growth, focusing on meeting the changing needs of customers. She will lead Wesleyan’s corporate strategy, new business development, products, proposition, marketing and communications teams.

Karen Blatchford joined Wesleyan in February as managing director of dental, direct and intermediary distribution, after eight years at Quilter.

Her most recent role there was as distribution director, responsible for the UK platform and associated products. She has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector, including 17 years at Legal & General, and has held senior roles in distribution, products and proposition development, sales and marketing.

Group chief executive Mario Mazzocchi, said: “This is an exciting time for Wesleyan. Over the past four years we have made significant progress in delivering a complex transformation strategy, designed to strengthen the foundations of the business and giving us a strong and sustainable base on which to grow.

“We are now ready to focus on unlocking the huge potential we have to increase the reach and depth of our specialist offering, while evolving to meet changing customer needs and also strengthening our position in the intermediary market. I’m delighted to have Nathan, Katie and Karen join the Executive team and I’m confident that, together with our colleagues, we’ll lead Wesleyan successfully through the next chapter of its 183-year history.”