People: Schofield Sweeney; BHP Corporate Finance; Multitask Personnel; and more

Rachael Brook has joined the Schofield Sweeney private wealth and succession team in Huddersfield as a partner.

She will be bringing over 17 years of experience in helping individuals protect their family, reputation and wealth.

Her expertise includes charity gifting and philanthropy, working collaboratively with other professional advisors to advise clients on tax-efficient lifetime and succession strategies.

She has significant experience in advising high net worth individuals with the preparation of wills, trusts and powers of attorney, and supporting agricultural families and equestrian business owners through diversification and generational planning.

Brook said: “I am excited to be joining the private wealth team and to further develop the agricultural practice.

“Schofield Sweeney has an understated excellent reputation and loyal client base, which is testament to the individuals across all areas of the business, and the outstanding service levels they deliver.

“Succession planning is essential, and more prevalent following COVID-19 and the proposed reforms to inheritance tax.

“I am looking forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues to help individuals plan effectively to protect their legacy.”

Brook is regularly appointed as a professional attorney, executor and trustee, and deals with all aspects of probate, estate and trust administration, often with cross-border issues.

Ashley Iredale, partner at Schofield Sweeney, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rachael to our established team. As an experienced advisor she will add to our wealth of talent across our three offices, providing a wealth of knowledge to our clients and contacts.”

The team has also recently been joined by Amanda Saul, a paralegal in Bradford.

Saul has considerable experience in the field of court of protection and regularly assists in the administration of complex estates. She will provide valuable support to the team as they continue to grow.

The firm has also been bolstered by several other appointments. These include: Sabine Rodwell, solicitor, who has joined the employment team, Jon Exall, solicitor, who has joined the litigation team, Sadia Ali, solicitor, who has joined the commercial property team and Liz Coe, solicitor, who has joined the residential conveyancing team.

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BHP Corporate Finance has strengthened its team with the addition of three new full-time recruits across its offices in Leeds and Sheffield.

The team has welcomed Luke Harrower, who has just qualified as an ACA with a top four firm, Zaryab Hussain, a graduate who will be studying towards his ACA exams, as well as Charlotte Chaplin who has joined on a placement from Leeds University.

In addition, Jovindra Hussnain has enjoyed a summer placement with the team.

BHP Corporate Finance provides a range of lead advisory and transaction support services for corporates, management teams, investors and funders. The new recruits take the total number of staff working in the corporate finance team at BHP to 20.

All three new starters are joining at either executive or analyst level, which continues the team’s investment in the corporate finance stars of the future.

Kevin Davies, partner at BHP Corporate Finance, said: “With a healthy pipeline of transactions we’re feeling very positive coming out of the last 18 months of the pandemic.

“As we continue to commit our energies to the future of the team we feel that introducing these new starters at this level is a great investment in the future.

“We are looking forward to supporting each of them grow into their brand-new roles.”

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Multitask Personnel, a Rotherham-based specialist recruitment consultancy, has strengthened its’ Construction desk with the appointment of Mark Taylor as its new recruitment associate.

Taylor, who has a number of years’ experience working in industry in construction and building maintenance, brings an additional ‘client side’ skill set to the team as it continues to grow amid renewed activity across the sector.

Working on permanent construction positions, he will be responsible for growing the candidate database.

He said: “I’m delighted to join Multitask Personnel and to develop a career in recruitment.

“My experience of working within the construction industry gives me additional knowledge of how businesses in the sector operate, which will not only help employers as I know how they operate, but also help candidates as I will be able to identify the key personality traits and skill sets required to work in the industry.

“My aim over the next six to 12 months is to become an all-round recruitment consultant by utilising my contacts and understanding of the sector, whilst learning from the experienced recruiters here at Multitask, to repay the faith Claire and the team have put in me. I’m relishing the opportunity.”

Claire Lee, managing director, said: “Mark joins the construction desk at a key time as the industry starts to experience rapid growth again.

“We always need to stay ahead of the game in recruitment to ensure we can meet demand and exceed our client’s expectations, and with the forecast of increased growth in the sector we have identified the need to strengthen our team.

“Mark brings a new skill set to the team because he has worked on the client side, so whilst the wider team will be able to teach him about recruitment, he can also advise our more experienced recruiters on some of the key traits of the industry.

“We’re looking forward to developing our combined knowledge to the benefit of both employers and job seekers and would like to wish Mark a really warm welcome to the team.”

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Wakefield-headquartered Card Factory has appointed Robert McWilliam as independent non-executive director with effect from 1 November 2021. 

He will be appointed as a member of each of the company‘s Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee from his appointment.

And he will assume the role as chair of the company‘s Audit and Risk Committee with effect from 30 November 2021, succeeding David Stead who has indicated his intention to step down from the firm’s board.

McWilliam was chief financial officer of Asda from 2018 and 2021; and between 1997 and 2012, held a number of senior roles within the Asda group including commercial finance & strategy director and business change director.  

In between his two periods with Asda, he was vice president, UK, finance director and then vice president of Consumables at Amazon UK.

He is currently non-executive director and trustee of Jisc, and non-executive director of Venture Simulations Limited.

He was independent director of YPO (from 2017 to September 2021) and was previously a non-executive director of Ten Entertainment Group plc where he was also the chairman of the Risk and Audit Committee.  

Paul Moody, Card Factory chairman, said: “Firstly, I would like to express my thanks and personal appreciation to David Stead, who has given unwavering service and, always, insightful and valuable counsel to the Board, the senior leadership team and the wider Card Factory business, since joining the board just prior to the IPO of the company in 2014. 

“All of his colleagues sincerely thank him for his contribution to the business and wish him continued success in his non-executive career.

“We are delighted to welcome Rob to Card Factory. Rob brings extensive retail and digital business experience, which is aligned with Card Factory‘s strategic priorities, which were recently shared with market.  

“Rob will bring a depth and breadth of knowledge and commercial insight that will add capability and capacity to the board.

“Additionally, Rob‘s financial expertise ensures he has the relevant credentials to be appointed as chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, to succeed David in this critically important role.”

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Pet food manufacturer Inspired Pet Nutrition – home of the brands Harringtons and Wagg – has appointed Will Bushell to the newly created post of head of marketing – dog.

Bushell will focus on continuing to disrupt the category and make Harringtons the clear category leader through dry and wet food.

He joins following a successful 11-year career with L’Oréal – the world’s largest cosmetic company – where he held a range of senior marketing roles culminating as UKI marketing director of Kiehl’s, in the group’s luxury products division, which has a turnover of some £46m.

He successfully navigated the brand through the COVID-19 lockdowns by launching a range of digital services which enabled it to significantly outperform the market and also achieve triple digit e-commerce growth.

Chris Wragg, marketing director at IPN, said: “Will shares our agile, disruptive and fast growth mindset and has proven expertise in driving innovative product launches, accelerating the growth of established brands and implementing innovative ways of communicating with consumers through digital media.

“His experience in sustainability will be a major asset as IPN focuses on becoming the UK’s most loved and most sustainable home of pet food brands, having recently become the first major pet food manufacturer to be carbon negative.”