People: Azets; Aptamer Group; Rollits

Accountancy and advisory firm Azets has bolstered its Yorkshire audit and assurance offering with the appointment of Alain de Braekeleer as a financial services audit partner.

He joins after 20 years in the financial services audit practice at KPMG, and will support Azets’ clients in asset management, asset finance and fintech as well as a range of other types of financial services firms.

Russell Turner, regional managing director for Yorkshire, said: “Alain brings exceptional experience and expertise in the highly-specialist, sophisticated and exacting FS audit space which will allow us to bring this new service to clients across the north.

“This will complement both our existing audit and assurance offering in the region and our well-established and successful FS audit services in London and the south east.”

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Aptamer has appointed former Proactis chief executive Tim Sykes as a non-executive director with immediate effect.

The AIM-listed group develops novel Optimer binders to enable innovation in the life sciences industry,

Dr Adam Hargreaves, chair of the board of Aptamer Group, said: “As we refocus the group to capitalise on the Optimer assets that have been developed, it is important that the Aptamer Board has the right commercial, financial and operational expertise to support this.”

Sykes has also served as fractional or transitionary CFO at Avacta Group, Altitude Group, and Eleco, and currently is a non-executive irector at Data Connect Group.

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Rollits’ solicitors Millie Bird and Molly Bloom

Rollits has promoted two trainee solicitors to continue their development at the Yorkshire law firm.

Millie Bird has been promoted into the firm’s dispute resolution department, after first joining Rollits in 2021 as a paralegal.

Molly Bloom’s first experience of the firm was as a participant in the summer work experience scheme in 2019, before she started her training contract in 2022, and has now joined the firm’s employment law team.

Ralph Gilbert, managing partner at Rollits said: “As a firm we’re committed to encouraging and facilitating the various avenues into the legal profession and it is incredibly satisfying to see people take these opportunities.”