People: SM UK; Hill Dickinson; and more

Leeds-headquartered auto electrical installation company, SM UK, has appointed Dave Wilman as its new managing director.

With immediate effect Wilman will take full responsibility for the continued leadership and development of SM UK, playing a key role in taking the company forward into its next phase.

With over 20 years in the industry, he has a proven track record for delivering growth and excellence in driving fleet safety. 

Initially starting his career at SM UK as an engineer, he became operations director in 2018, enabling him to build a deep and formidable skillset which he has used to help shape SM UK into the business it is today.

Company founder, Steve MacDonald, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to make this appointment and step down from the role, allowing me to focus on other projects.

“Since joining SM UK in 2000, Dave has delivered consistent growth and demonstrated strong leadership skills whilst increasing operational efficiency across all areas of the business including Tamworth and of late the transition to a 40,000sq ft new HQ in Leeds as well as our latest acquisition in Dartford.

“It therefore felt like a natural progression to hand the day-to-day running of the business over to such an experienced individual and I’m excited to give Dave the freedom to execute his vision for the next phase in SM UK’s development.”

Willman added: “I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to shape the future of a business.

“I care deeply about the success of SM UK and I am incredibly proud of what our team has achieved over the past few years.

“Steve has always said that he doesn’t just want SM UK to be big, he wants it to be great, a statement that resonates with me and I wholeheartedly agree with and one that will continue to be at the heart of our business.”

MacDonald will take up the role of chairman with a view to exploring new products and fresh ideas that will support the ongoing growth and direction of the firm.

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Lemi McAuley

Commercial law firm, Hill Dickinson, has made two lateral partner hires with the appointment of commercial litigation partner Amanda Burge and corporate restructuring and advisory partner Lemi McAuley.

Their arrival brings the number of partner hires across the firm to 18 in the past 12 months.

McAuley joins Hill Dickinson’s Leeds office, adding breadth and depth to the firm’s national restructuring and insolvency capability by opening a new team base in the city.

He arrives from Shoosmiths, where he spent three years as a partner based in Leeds leading a team specialising in corporate restructuring work.

With experience of both contentious and non-contentious aspects of restructuring and corporate insolvency, McAuley specialises in board advisory and transactional matters, including advice on restructuring, turnaround and directors’ duties.

His expertise also lies in distressed business sales, together with all aspects of formal and informal insolvency procedures, including administrations, restructuring plans, liquidations, and receiverships.

He has extensive experience in advising numerous categories of stakeholder in financial distress situations, including corporate clients, private equity providers and insolvency practitioners.

McAuley’s recruitment expands the specialist service offering of the Leeds Business Services Group.

Burge joins Hill Dickinson’s London City office from Hamlins, where she was head of dispute resolution for over six years.

She was a partner at Enyo Law prior to that. She also headed the dispute resolution sub-group of an international network for several years.

With 25 years of experience, she is recognised as a leading individual in commercial litigation and professional negligence and is recommended for contentious construction.

As well as expertise in shareholder, directors’ duties, partnership and fraud disputes, Burge has additional specialisms including construction and engineering issues, insurance coverage disputes and IT/software licensing disputes.

Amanda Burge

Craig Scott, national head of the firm’s Business Services Group, said: “As we hit our stride in this new financial year, we are continuing to build senior level capacity in key practice teams across all our UK offices – and the market is taking note.

“It is particularly pleasing that lawyers like Amanda and Lemi, who have amassed significant experience in their respective fields are choosing to join us in this exciting phase of our ongoing growth journey.

“The new hires signpost our expansion not only in London, but further afield in Leeds where we have just announced our office move to 11 Wellington Place following the rapid growth of the team from three to over 35 employees in the last five years.”

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Leeds-based TransUnion, a global information and insights company, has named Kaushik Gopalan as its chief human resources officer in the UK.

He will lead TransUnion’s HR strategy and colleague initiatives for the UK and Europe, with responsibilities spanning talent acquisition, learning and development, colleague engagement and people operations.

Gopalan said: “I’m thrilled to be working with the executive team and all our colleagues here at TransUnion to support our plans for long-term growth by offering colleagues a workplace where they can thrive.

“A key priority will be to ensure our culture of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging goes from strength-to-strength.

“Additionally, I’m very excited to create new opportunities for colleagues to come together during moments that matter and creating a purposeful workplace in this increasingly hybrid world of work.”

Gopalan brings more than two decades of HR experience to the role. He previously served as the senior director of human resources and international markets at Neustar – an identity resolution company, which was acquired by TransUnion in 2021.

Satrajit “Satty” Saha, CEO of TransUnion in the UK, said: “With a proven track record of implementing effective HR strategies, Kaushik is a great addition to our leadership team.

“As we continue to innovate and grow as an organisation, his expertise will be instrumental in shaping a workplace culture that empowers our colleagues to succeed in an environment that’s welcoming and rewarding.”