People: Gordons; BGES Group; Thackray Museum of Medicine; and more

Law firm Gordons has appointed commercial litigation solicitor and current Leeds Law Society president, Catherine Woodward, as its head of diversity and inclusion (D&I).

The role has been created to place an even greater emphasis by the Leeds and Bradford-based firm on its ongoing commitment to D&I, and to raise awareness of its importance within the legal sector.

As president of Leeds Law Society, Woodward helped Leeds Law Society’s D&I committee instigate its inaugural D&I conference in September 2020. This was the first conference of its type held by any UK Law Society and, following its success, is now an annual event.

Woodward said: “Gordons is a progressive firm and one which has always naturally embraced diversity and inclusion due to its long-established values and people.

“As head of diversity and inclusion, I have been empowered to drive forward the firm’s existing initiatives, create new ones and forge partnerships with like-minded individuals and organisations.

“Our people and our clients are fully supportive of the approach we are taking, and it is the firm’s ambition to be regarded as a diversity and inclusion exemplar in the legal sector and beyond.”

Woodward, who is from Wakefield, joined Gordons in 2011 and qualified as a solicitor in the dispute resolution department in 2015. She has broad range of experience including contractual disputes, professional negligence and shareholder disputes.

Gordons partner and a member of the firm’s three-person executive board, Victoria Davey, said: “Catherine is the ideal person to be our of head of diversity and inclusion.

“She is hugely passionate about it, and this translates directly into her drive and ambition to ensure Gordons leads from the front regarding this very important workplace and societal issue.

“Everyone at the firm is aligned in wanting to further enhance diversity and inclusion in the legal sector. Catherine will ensure we continue to deliver against that objective for the benefit of our people and clients.”

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Terry Greeno

Sheffield building management solutions firm, BGES Group, has welcomed two new industry experts to its team – Terry Greeno and Dan Cole.

Greeno joins as senior project manager. He is a BMS industry veteran, with over 35 years’ experience; this includes over 16 years at Trend, latterly as regional operations manager.

He brings to BGES a deep understanding of building controls technology – and how it can be harnessed to meet clients’ health, wellbeing and efficiency goals.

He said: “After several conversations with the BGES team it was clear they had the same enthusiasm and drive as I have to evolve their services to meet clients’ ever-changing requirements.

“I am excited to be working at a company that is at the forefront of the move to healthy, low carbon buildings.”

Cole arrives as project manager. He has 12 years in the industry, including 10 years as a commissioning engineer.

Dan Cole

He previously worked at Horizon Controls and has a wealth of experience across a wide range of sectors, including museum and heritage sites, where precise environmental control is essential to protect important artefacts.

Cole said: “As the UK works towards net zero, more and more companies are taking action on their building emissions. What BGES does is at the heart of this and I’m delighted to have joined at this exciting time in the industry.

“BGES Group offers excellent training and progression opportunities for its staff, which is really important to me, and a crucial part of their success.”

Gareth Barber, managing director, added: “We are working on a wide variety of projects, and Terry and Dan bring with them a solid track record of excellence in delivery across a range of sectors.

“We pride ourselves on exceeding client expectations and having this expertise in-house will only reinforce this.”

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The Thackray Museum of Medicine, in Leeds, has appointed Sam Dixon to its executive board of trustees.

Dixon joins a board comprised of chairman Dr Neil Kaiper Holmes, medical director, Simon Kay, Dr Atia Khan, Nicole Fowler, Jo Norry, Nosober Latif, Sharon Heal, Aidan Hindley, Dr David Hopes, Mark Goldstone, and Hannah Fox.

Dixon is a partner and UK head of innovation at Leeds -ased transatlantic law firm, Womble Bond Dickinson.

He sits on the Yorkshire board of the Turnaround Management Association and has extensive experience of advising businesses, charities and providers of public services on navigating through changes and challenges.

In his role as head of innovation, he has responsibility for shaping innovation strategy and has experience of rolling out technology solutions including automated processes and the use of machine learning.

He has a long-standing interest in how technology can help to shape the future. Prior to qualifying as a lawyer, he led and grew the online retail division of Outdoor Action in the early days of online retail.

He subsequently became an early adopter of music technology which helped to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming a professional DJ.

Dixon said: “The Thackray already plays an important role in inspiring the next generation of people who will go on to save people’s lives; whether as healthcare professionals or by coming up with the next big healthcare innovation.

“With the strong medtech sector here in Leeds, the museum is ideally located to grow in its national and international importance. I look forward to working with the rest of the team to help deliver that.”