Latest appointments: Yorkshire Water welcomes new director; Promotions at Ward Hadaway; and more

LIZ Barber, audit partner at Ernst & Young and leader of the company’s water sector team, has been hired by Yorkshire Water as director of finance and regulation.

Ms Barber’s appointment follows a 23-year career at Ernst and Young, where
she has led audit work for some of the UK’s biggest companies.

Since 2006, she has built a team of specialists focused on the water industry and developed key relationships with regulators and companies.

In her new role at Yorkshire Water, Ms Barber will be responsible for the financial management and regulatory performance of the £4.5bn business.
 
Yorkshire Water’s chief executive, Richard Flint, said: “We are absolutely
delighted to have appointed Liz. She is very well respected in regulatory, business and financial circles and I have no doubt that she will make a huge contribution to the calibre of the Yorkshire Water board and to the success of our company.”

Ms Barber is expected to take up her new position at Yorkshire Water in the autumn following the completion of a number of ongoing assignments.

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LAW firm Ward Hadaway has a newly promoted partner at its Leeds office.

Laura Harper joined the firm in March 2009 as an associate in the intellectual property team.

Her promotion to partner comes after her work to establish and lead Ward Hadaway’s creative industries team, which provides legal advice to organisations and individuals in the creative and digital sectors.

Her clients include international artists, games and technology companies and advertising and design agencies.

Ms Harper is one of six lawyers to be promoted at Ward Hadaway, which also has an office in Newcastle.

Fellow associate Lisa Evans has been promoted to partner with assistant solicitors Katy Lund, Sharon Mathieson, Stuart Craig and Sophie Claughton all becoming associates.

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PROFESSOR David Fleming has been announced as the new vice chancellor of York St John University.

Professor Fleming has extensive experience of university leadership, most recently as deputy vice chancellor in the North East of England.

He has track record in the higher education sector within specialist areas of student experience enhancement, learning and teaching, international collaboration, research, third-stream initiatives, and widening access and participation. He also worked for a number of years in professional practice in the commercial sector before entering education.

Professor Fleming takes over the role from Professor Dianne Willcocks, who led York St John for 11 years.

Over that period the university underwent extensive transformation, including £70m investment in its campus estate, the award of university title in 2006 and significant expansion in student numbers.