People: Blacks Solicitors; BrightCloud Group; UXG; and more

Leeds-based Blacks Solicitors has welcomed a new starter to its Planning team, taking the headcount to three.

Katy McPhie has joined the team as a senior associate and brings with her significant planning, highways, and administrative legal experience in both public and private sectors.

Her appointment follows on from James Cook who joined Blacks Solicitors in 2019 as a partner to establish the Planning team, and the recent offer of a training contract to Ellie Stansfield in the firm’s September 2020 intake.

McPhie said: “I’m very happy to be joining James and the team at Blacks.  There’s no doubt that the planning system faces a variety of challenges at the moment.

“There are certainly going to be some interesting times ahead and the opportunity to work with James to enhance the services offered by Blacks during this time is an exciting prospect.”

Cook added: “We are delighted to welcome Katy to the Planning team at Blacks.

“Katy brings a wealth of planning experience with her and her arrival underlines the progress we have made in establishing our specialist service over the past 12 months.

“This is a pivotal time when the planning system is once again under scrutiny and review, and the pandemic is adding to the range of issues our clients are facing.

“I am looking forward to working with Katy to develop our service further as we continue to provide invaluable planning-related legal support to our clients.”

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BrightCloud Group, a contact centre and customer experience specialist based in Leeds, has announced the appointment of Matt Delargy as head of sales.

With 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, Delargy will lead the sales team in promoting BrightCloud Group’s contact centre platforms throughout the UK and European marketplace.

Having started out in Kansas City for Global Crossing in 1995, he returned to London in 2001 and continued to develop his career through senior positions within companies such as Energis, Talk Talk Business, EE and Hardware Solutions.

He said: “The initial attraction to joining BrightCloud Group was their credibility and reputation with Cisco and their partners.

“They are recognised as ‘the go to for everything Contact Centre’, and you cannot really get a much better endorsement than that!

“I am particularly excited to showcase our full capabilities to existing and potential partners, fully exploiting what makes us unique within this specialist market.

“With the uncertain environment we are currently working in, BrightCloud Group is perfectly positioned to enable our partners to evolve seamlessly.”

Founded in 2011, BrightCloud Group specialises in offering implementation, integration and support services to Cisco contact centres within a diverse range of sectors, including automotive, finance, utility, public sector, and retail.

Alex Morrison, CEO of BrightCloud Group, said: “As we focus solely on Cisco Contact Centres, we have to ensure our in-house capabilities and innovative platforms are being brought to market by the very best in this niche industry.

“With a clear path for development and growth, the group was searching for an experienced individual to be instrumental in driving this home. This had Matt’s name all over it.

“Not only did Matt’s previous experience make him the perfect candidate for our head of sales position, but he also embraced our ambitious vision for BrightCloud Group and we fully expect him to play a significant role in achieving it.

“We have no doubt that the impact of Matt’s appointment will be felt immediately as he leads BrightCloud’s technically talented team to continue to engage our key target markets across the UK and Europe.”

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Leeds-based digital solutions provider UXG has expanded its team with the appointment of Ryan Hill as product design manager.

He takes on the role left by Garry Pullan, who has been promoted to a newly created head of operations position.

Hill brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the team, having worked for five years at Decorative Panels, Europe’s leading supplier of flat pack furniture, as a designer on a range of projects for well-known retailers including Wickes and Dunelm.

In his new role, he will be responsible for taking client briefs and internal instructions and creating 2D AutoCAD layouts and 3D models to assist in the manufacturing process.

He will also lead on the creation of Bill of Materials, providing a comprehensive inventory of the raw materials, assemblies, subassemblies, parts and components, as well as the quantities of each, needed to manufacture each product.

UXG director, Alistair Wright, said: “These are exciting times at UXG, with our growing team working on a series of pioneering new projects and products.

“Garry’s recent well-deserved promotion has left some big shoes to fill, but we’re confident that in Ryan we have someone who can take our design capabilities to the next level and wow clients with his creative thinking.”

Hill said: “I’m proud to have joined such a talented and driven team. UXG is renowned for its industry-leading capabilities and products, and I’m looking forward to playing my part in helping the company to reach new heights of success.”

Operating out of a 14,000 sq ft state-of-the-art design and production facility, UXG designs and manufactures digital, LED and retail displays for a range of clients across the UK and Europe, including Pioneer, Halfords, Dixons Carphone and YO! Sushi.

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Kate Jarman

EY has appointed one equity partner and one associate partner in Yorkshire.

Kate Jarman is now a partner in the company’s Assurance team, based in Leeds. She joined EY straight from university in 2004 after completing a summer internship with the firm.

She has been working in audit for more than 16 years and, in that time, has audited a wide range of clients from FTSE100 through to entrepreneurial and privately-owned businesses across a range of sectors and industries.

Jarman will now be responsible for growing the firm’s audit presence in the region and strengthening relationships with new and existing clients.

In addition to the new equity partner appointment, Penny Isbecque has been promoted to associate partner.

Isbecque has worked in EY’s Tax team in Leeds for 20 years where she initially founded the Yorkshire Global Trade practice.

She advises companies on global trade and both customs and excise duty matters.

She has helped businesses across a range of sectors, including chemicals, automotive, food, retail and engineering, to manage their customs compliance, international trade costs and improve the efficiency of supply chain operations.

Penny Isbecque

More recently, she has been helping clients prepare for the additional duty and compliance burden of Brexit, to help minimise the negative cost and compliance impact and ensure their goods can continue to flow smoothly between the UK and EU .

Prior to joining EY, she worked for HMRC in London. Throughout her career she has also worked in Europe and the Far East and has leveraged this extended experience to help clients across Yorkshire and the wider UK.

Suzanne Robinson, managing partner for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “Congratulations to both Kate and Penny who have worked exceptionally hard to achieve this career milestone.

“I know their expertise and leadership will help to strengthen our audit and tax businesses and their promotions are testament to their outstanding contribution to our continued growth in the region.

“Both these appointments demonstrate EY’s commitment to investing in our people and our client service offering. I’m really proud that we’ve continued to invest in top talent, despite the more challenging economic backdrop.”