People: Weightmans; Servo Group; Dynamic Networks Group; and more

National law firm Weightmans has expanded its Leeds-based corporate team with the appointment of Marc Allison to head its owner-managed business activity.

Allison has been a corporate partner at Weightmans for the last two years, having been part of the corporate team at Watson Burton, which was acquired by Weightmans in October 2019.

His move to the Leeds office brings fresh experience of corporate and commercial work with owner-managed businesses across the region, from M&A activity to complex cross border commercial agreements.

He has a particular specialism in property-related matters, joint ventures and franchising.

Allison joins an existing owner-managed business team made up of three partners and associates, supporting businesses of all sizes and sectors across the Yorkshire region.

Most recently, Weightmans advised Rotherham-based Bluetree Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing companies, on its acquisition of Kingsbury Press.

Allison said: “Leeds is a vibrant and flourishing city, reflective of the wider dynamism on display across the whole of Yorkshire.

“A well-established owner-managed business community underpins the region’s outstanding reputation in the technology, innovation, financial and professional services sectors.

“More traditional sectors like manufacturing are also thriving. With so much variety, it’s a genuinely exciting part of the country to be serving and a great time for us to grow and expand our owner-managed business offering.”

Formerly based in the firm’s Newcastle office, he will retain links with some key clients in the North East and Teesside.

Paul Raftery, partner and national owner-managed business lead at Weightmans, said: “After the last 18 months, and restrictions finally easing, we’re seeing many owner-managed businesses moving out of neutral gear and setting their sights back on growth and plans for the future.

“Bringing Marc on board in Leeds is part of our bigger plan to grow our team to reflect the increased demand for our services from ambitious firms across Yorkshire’s urban centres and beyond.”

:::

A multi-service provider has appointed a new group sales director to oversee its growing sales and business development division.

Servo Group, which has offices in Leeds and London, has promoted Jo Quinn from her previous role as business development manager.

Quinn, who has worked for Servo for just over a year, takes over the role from Nickie McIntyre, who had been with the business since its inception in 2013.

Quinn has worked in business development for over a decade, holding previous roles at Wakefield office supply firm, Complete Business Solutions and Powertherm Contract Services.

She said: “Being offered this role is the proudest moment in my career, I’m delighted to represent Servo at such a transformational and pivotal time.

“It’s been a whirlwind during lockdown but I’m proud of what I’ve achieved with tenacity, determination and lots of help and support from my colleagues.

“The biggest challenge for me will be filling Nickie’s shoes – her drive and determination is inspirational, and she’s been a real role model to me, not just within the company but the industry at large.”

Servo, which has its headquarters on Gelderd Road, provides security guards, CCTV, facilities management, rail labour and construction services to clients all around the UK.

In her new role, Quinn will be overseeing Servo’s sales and commercial team and growing the firm’s client list as it targets a £20m turnover in the next 12 months.

CEO Andrew McCallion said: “In her time with us, Jo has done amazing things and we have no doubt that she will rise to the challenge of this new role too.

“She is incredibly well thought of by both clients and colleague alike and we are excited to see how she is going to continue propelling Servo forward.

“We’re delighted to have been able to promote from within – as a company we like to give as many people as possible within the group the opportunity to excel.”

:::

Leeds-based Dynamic Networks Group has strengthened its IT managed services team with the appointment of six new members.

Grant Maguire joins the business as operations manager and a member of the senior leadership team.

He will oversee the customer engagement team, ensuring it is delivering on Service Level Agreements (SLAs). He will also work with new professional services manager Jamie Robson to build and enhance Standard Operating Procedures across the business as new service lines are introduced.

Robson is responsible for making sure that everything is specified correctly for every customer and project the team delivers, from pre-sales to ongoing service delivery. He is also responsible for the cyber security side of the business, as a Cyber Essentials Certified Assessor.

Maguire said: “This role is a fantastic opportunity to join a fast-growing company that has a positive culture and plenty of opportunities to contribute ideas and help shape the future of the business.

“When the MD, David, shared his vision with me during the interview process I bought into it immediately.

“It is so exciting to see how quickly the customer engagement team is growing, and it’s great to be part of that growth.

“I’m looking forward to working with Jamie and the team to make sure that our customers continue to benefit from the excellent service and technical support we have to offer.”

Ben Teggin also joins the Dynamic team as business development manager, along with three new experienced support engineers: Jordan Lewis, Ashley Ballance and Lewis Sambrook.

Group managing director, David Smith, said: “Grant, Jamie and Ben all come to Dynamic with proven track records from large managed service providers.

“They bring with them experience and knowledge of working with customers of all sizes and ideas that will contribute to the continued growth and success of our business.

“We have seen a surge in demand from businesses looking to move their centralised IT infrastructures to the cloud or adopt a hybrid approach.

“Strengthening our team means we can help more businesses with this transition as well as supporting their ongoing business and IT needs.”

:::

A former member of the Barclaycard UK leadership team has taken a senior role with sales development and coaching consultancy, SalesStar UK.

Tim Ogle, who was head of UK corporate clients at Barclaycard, has joined the Huddersfield-based firm as a high-performance sales transformation coach.

Aside from business development and account management experience gained during his six years at Barclaycard, he also brings with him over 20 years of expertise in sales strategy, leadership and transformation.

From devising strategies and transforming businesses sales process, he has acquired the skills and knowledge to drive growth and profitability in the corporate, acquisition and start-up arena.

Throughout his career, Ogle has worked for global, well-known brands such as BAE Systems, CSC, PA Consulting, IFS Defence, NCC Group and Reliance ACSN.

It means he has developed an understanding of blue chip, technology, cyber and payments businesses, obtaining solid experience in creating and executing B2B & B2B2C market propositions.

At SalesStar UK, he will be responsible for working with current and future clients to transform their sales effectiveness with the ultimate aim of enabling tangible business growth.

This will involve working with CEOs, business leaders and their teams to understand sales performance using science backed methods, then devising and executing the best path to embed lasting improvements to deliver business results.

Ogle said: “Sales is fundamentally about being inquisitive, problem solving and ultimately being in tune with what your customers really value – something SalesStar really recognises.

“Working with SalesStar as a coach, I will be able to bring these skills to the table to help many businesses transform their sales performance and deliver tangible growth for owners and shareholders.”

Pete Evans, UK partner of SalesStar, added: “We’re over the moon that Tim has decided to join the SalesStar UK team, especially during such an exciting time for the sector and our business.

“He brings a wealth of commercial and sales leadership experience to the growing UK team and has already gone above and beyond to support our new apprentice.

“Our existing clients are already benefiting from his coaching too and it’s a rewarding feeling knowing that we’ve been able to attract coaches of Tim’s calibre to our team to support them.”