People: Mills & Reeve; The Works; Xeros Technology and Pure
The Leeds office of national law firm Mills & Reeve has appointed Ellen Lucas as an associate in the family team.
Lucas, who has arrived from Jones Nickolds, advises on a wide spectrum of family law including complex financial matters, cohabitation and child arrangements.
She joins the team at a time of expansion as it continues to secure new talent and client wins.
Philip Way, family partner and head of the Leeds office, said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Ellen to the firm and I’m confident she will be a great asset to our family practice.
“The expansion of our team and the Leeds office is gathering pace.
“Our reputation for being a great place to work is demonstrated by our recent ranking in the UK 100 Best Companies to Work For 2021 list which saw the firm placed 23rd, and it also achieved an impressive second place in Law’s 20 Best Firms to Work For.
“This is a fantastic achievement and will help attract more highly-skilled lawyers as we continue to grow our team.”
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Dean Hoyle, the former owner of Card Factory and previous chairman of Huddersfield Town Football club has announced he will step down as chairman of retailer TheWorks.co.uk plc in September.
This follows seven years of involvement with the business, during which time The Works has undergone significant growth including openning 200 new stores and the IPO in 2018.
Hoyle has overseen a successful change in management and supported the business through the challenges of the pandemic.
Hoyle, said: “It has been a privilege to chair The Works since 2014, during which time the business has undergone a significant transformation. I am very proud of the important milestones reached, such as the IPO and opening our 500th store, but more importantly I am pleased with the journey The Works has been on more recently to make it a more agile and modern version of the business that our customers have always known and loved.
“The leadership team has already proven itself capable of guiding the business through the toughest of storms and despite the challenges posed by the pandemic The Works has emerged as a stronger business. I remain fully supportive of the business and its leadership and am sincerely grateful to my colleagues for their support, their continuing hard work and their ‘can-do’ spirit.”
Hoyle will be replaced as Carolyn Bradley as chair of the board, who noted she is looking forward to “supporting the business through the next stage of its growth”.
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Xeros Technology Group, the developer and licensor of platform technologies which transform the sustainability and economics of clothing and fabrics during their lifetime, has appointed Rachel Nooney to its board as a non-executive director.
Nooney is an experienced retail marketing executive having held senior head of brand and marketing roles at New Look and Marks & Spencer plc and is currently the owner and principal consultant of shoreseven, a strategic marketing consultancy.
Klaas de Boer, chairman of Xeros, said: “Rachel’s strong consumer retail brand and marketing experience and her strong focus on making the fashion industry’s supply chain more sustainable will add a new perspective, strengthen the Xeros Board and help drive market adoption of Xeros’ platform technologies. We very much welcome her appointment”.
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Paul Young
Leeds-based integrated marketing agency, Pure, has expanded its photography and video department with the addition of two new recruits, following a period of growth for the company.
Paul Young joins as head photographer and Rhianna Thomas as photography assistant.
With more than 10 years’ experience, Young brings a wealth of photography and video expertise gained at some of the UK’s largest photography studios.
As a specialist in room set photography, he has worked for a number of high-profile brands including B&Q, DFS, Nike, Mamas & Papas, Dunelm, Cotton Traders and SCS.
At Pure he will be responsible for leading photography and video shoots for the company’s vast client base.
Having achieved a first-class BA Hons in photography at Leeds Arts University, Thomas joins Pure full time after working with the company around her studies.
Tim Illingworth, director of Pure, said: “While the pandemic has created a shift in a more digital focus for many of our clients, our photography and video department has remained busy, not only shooting on location and in the studio, but also generating creative content for our various digital clients.
“Following a period of significant growth for the agency, the appointment of Paul and Rhianna both help to strengthen our photography and video production offering to clients.”
