People: Tyr; Definition; Objective; and more
Leeds-based commercial law firm, Tyr, has promoted commercial litigator Rebecca Birkby to partner.
She joined from RPC in 2020 and becomes the first internal candidate to be promoted to partnership at Tyr.
Birkby specialises in commercial disputes and advises on a broad range of claims including contractual disputes, professional negligence matters, shareholder disputes, investor disputes, civil fraud and matters involving breach of confidence.
She acts for a range of clients including high net worth individuals, large multinational corporates, companies and hedge funds over a variety of industry sectors.
Tyr is a commercial law firm which offers a full service to its clients.
Partner, Alistair Kennedy, said: “Rebecca has made a significant contribution to the commercial litigation team and wider firm.
“She is our fifth commercial litigation partner, and 14th partner overall, as we continue to recruit and develop lawyers of the highest quality who are committed to our core values and providing excellent service to our clients.”
Birkby added: “I am thrilled to be joining the partnership at Tyr and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me in reaching this milestone.
“I am looking forward to the next chapter and continuing to support and grow the commercial litigation offering and the firm.”
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Former MD and co-founder at Definition Agency, Louise Vaughan, is being promoted to chief client officer at Definition Group, and former director of client relations Katy Bloomfield is taking over as Definition Agency’s managing director.
The promotions, which are effective immediately, are designed to advance growth plans which have seen the business increase its revenue five-fold to £10m in the last two years.
In her new role, Vaughan is charged with developing the proposition for the expanding group – which now comprises of six agencies – deepening client relationships and developing new service lines.
A co-founder of Definition Group, Vaughan has led the PR operation of the business since 2015.
As managing director, Bloomfield will focus on driving forwards Definition Agency’s PR, content and SEO proposition for global clients including ABB, Cielo, Bullhorn, Saft and Benenden Health.
She previously led TopLine Comms’ client service teams and held roles at marketing agencies Founded (now Iris) and gyro (Dentsu International).
Heather Baker, CEO at Definition Group, said: “As Definition Group continues to grow, we need to ensure we have the structures in place to support that growth and facilitate collaboration between the businesses in the group.
“I am pleased that Louise and Katy are both stepping up to be instrumental in this process.
“As Definition Group’s chief client officer, Louise will apply her outstanding people, new business and leadership skills to take charge of driving revenue synergies across the group, building our client relationship programme and promoting the group proposition to market.
“Katy has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, strategic and creative thinking, and an ability to forge strong relationships with clients and colleagues – strengths she will use to take Definition Agency forwards as managing director.”
Vaughan said: “The breadth of the services we now have across brand experience and communication, combined with a client portfolio of some 170 businesses from global brands to market challengers presents a fantastic opportunity to evolve our offer, putting clients firmly at the heart of our thinking.
“I’m incredibly excited by what lies ahead.”
Bloomfield, managing director at Definition Agency, added: “It’s an honour to be leading Definition Agency through our next phase of growth.
“We have a hugely talented team of colleagues across specialist teams which will be important as we build upon our vision for the future of comms and expand our client relationships.”
The promotions follow Heather Baker’s appointment to CEO in June.
Definition Group recently announced it had secured £7m in growth capital funding from ThinCats to support the business in its expansion through a buy-and-build strategy.
The Group comprises a team of nearly 100 across its three locations in Leeds, Manchester and London.
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Sheffield B2B creative marketing agency, Objective, has strengthened its team with two new appointments.
Joe Sleney, who joins as creative designer, has five years B2B creative experience with a leading global manufacturing business.
Ben Shaw, who joins the Objective Digital Marketing team, is a Sheffield Hallam University graduate and a Google accredited digital marketeer.
“We are pleased to welcome both Joe and Ben to the UK’s fastest growing B2B creative marketing agency” said Objective managing director, Dan Broadbent.
“This year we have appointed five B2B specialists to our team based in the heart of Sheffield City Centre.
“Our investment in fantastic people and sector leading infrastructure has helped us generate more than £1 million of qualified B2B sales leads on behalf of several clients.”
Objective work with businesses at board level to deliver strategic marketing, creative and digital projects.
Ben said: “I’m delighted to join Objective at such an exciting time for the agency.
“We are achieving great results for businesses by delivering the first SEO service designed exclusively for B2B clients.”
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H&H Land & Estates, land and property specialists operating across the north of England and southern Scotland, has confirmed the promotion of Tim Sedgewick to director.
He is a respected member of the H&H Land & Estates team, who has been with the company since 2012, originally starting as a graduate surveyor.
Brought up on a farm in South Durham, Sedgewick has been involved in the agricultural industry his whole life.
He is a graduate of Harper Adams University with both a degree in Business Management and Marketing, and a Masters in Rural Estate & Land Management.
He said: “I am thrilled to receive this promotion and I am looking forward to taking on new responsibilities.
“I have a background in rural and commercial property, and I am passionate about rural issues.
“We are facing some challenging times for both the property and rural sectors and as a company we have a wealth of knowledge and expertise, meaning we are ideally suited to advise and support our customers to ensure that they maximise all opportunities.”
“In taking up this new role my aim is to ensure we provide effective and efficient services and ensure we stay at the forefront of the property and land market.”
Mark Johnson, managing director for H&H Land & Estates, said: “I am delighted by Tim’s promotion; he has been with the company for 10 years and as director he will now also join the Executive Board of the H&H Group.
“As part of his new responsibilities Tim will be directly involved in the day-to-day management of the company and take a lead on the progression of the business and its people. I wish Tim every success for the future, and I am sure he will do a tremendous job in his new role.”
