People: Hill Dickinson; RSM; eviFile; and more

Law firm Hill Dickinson has made two new appointments to the firm’s Healthcare team in Leeds.

Heather Caddy, legal director, and Will Morris, associate, both join the Leeds office as part of the Health Advisory practice under partner Ben Troke.

The expansion of the team comes 12 months after Troke joined Hill Dickinson from Browne Jacobson with a remit to develop the advisory practice in Leeds to serve the firm’s fast-growing client base in the region and nationwide.

He said: “Our Healthcare team in Leeds serves a huge number of clients UK-wide, including the NHS and independent sector, and expanding the legal services we offer our clients is very much part of the agenda.

“I am delighted to welcome Heather and Will to the team and am very much looking forward to working with them to grow our health advisory practice.

“Each brings with them a wealth of experience that will add expertise, capability and strength in depth to the team.”

Caddy joins as a legal director from Browne Jacobson. She has particular expertise in dealing with complex inquests as well as claims and broader healthcare advisory work for a range of clients from the NHS and independent sector.

Morris has built his legal experience as an in-house lawyer in an NHS trust dealing with inquests, claims and general healthcare advisory work, and adds valuable insight and  understanding of issues from a client perspective.

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Audit, tax and consulting firm, RSM, has appointed Lee Lockwood as a partner in its Restructuring Advisory team in Leeds.

Lockwood joins from Begbies Traynor where he gained over 13 years’ experience working alongside large corporates; lenders; and other stakeholders, advising on a range of restructuring and distressed situations.

He also ran a two-year project on secondment with National Australia Bank advising on the disposal of distressed property assets.

In his new role, he will work with the growing restructuring advisory team at RSM to support regional businesses through unprecedented economic times.

The appointment reflects the firm’s continued commitment to invest in key talent and expertise to drive further growth, following the partner appointments of technology risk specialist Paul O’Leary and corporate tax professional Thomas Dews earlier in the year.

Michael Thornton, RSM office managing partner in Leeds, said: “We are delighted to welcome Lee to further strengthen our Restructuring Advisory team in the Leeds office.

“Whilst the restructuring market has been relatively quiet during the pandemic due to Government support, if the predictions are right, Lee joins us at the perfect time to help support clients as we come out of lockdown.”

Lockwood added: ‘The restructuring advisory team at RSM is highly regarded in the market and I’m looking forward to working with the growing team to help businesses to navigate what is likely to be a difficult time for many following the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Yorkshire-headquartered, construction and rail tech company eviFile has appointed Henry Ropner as its new non-executive director.

Following strong demand from the construction and utility industry, eviFile has seen top line growth and is currently increasing its monthly recurring revenue at a rate of over 50% per annum.

It has appointed Ropner to support its continued expansion across the UK construction, engineering, and project management sectors.

Previously a non-executive director of Masstech, Sohonet, Kallidus and Oka Direct, Ropner brings with him a wealth of engineering, software, and private equity experience, having spent over 12 years completing a wide range of MBOs and growth capital deals.

He said: “I have a genuine passion for civil engineering and high growth software businesses, having read civil engineering and construction management at university and spent 12 years working for a technology focused private equity firm.

“I’m excited to use my experience and background to help a small number of high-potential software businesses.

“I see real potential within eviFile, and it’s my role to help the company and management team achieve their ambitions.”

His appointment comes hot on the heels of a technical partnership with Nodes and Links, one of the world’s leading advanced analytics innovators in the rail, construction, and infrastructure sectors.

Luke Allen, managing director of eviFile, added: “I am delighted to welcome Henry to the Board, and his extensive experience will help us on our journey to transform how the construction industry operates.

“With a track record of working alongside, and supporting, management teams to execute key strategic initiatives and help deliver high performance, his appointment is crucial in supporting the management team during the next stage of growth.”

Ropner qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC.

His experience includes the MBO of Kallidus, a human capital management SaaS provider, which was acquired by Apse Capital in March 2019; the MBO of Masstech Innovations, a software solutions provider to the broadcast media sector, which was acquired by Telestream in March 2021 and a development capital investment into Sohonet, a global connectivity and software provider to the film and media industry, which was acquired by LDC in March 2021.

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Faithful+Gould, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has appointed Tim Ketteringham as regional director for the North of England.

In his new role, he will be responsible for expanding Faithful+Gould’s footprint in the region with a focus on the transportation sector and current clients such as Transport for the North, HS2, Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail and Highways England.

Ketteringham joins Faithful + Gould from Amey Consulting and bring over 18 years’ experience in transportation programme delivery, including work for Network Rail.

Joao Silva, managing director for transportation at Faithful+Gould, said: “Tim’s appointment will help us support the Government’s drive for economic growth through improved transport connectivity in the region.”

Ketterginham said: “It’s really important to me to generate employment and economic growth as well as improving the lives of people in the North through improved access to health, housing, employment and education.

“The Government’s agenda to Level Up and Build Back Better is something that both Faithful+Gould and I are determined to support our clients on.

“I look forward to bringing my experience from major transport schemes to help develop and strengthen our partnerships with clients across the North.”