This week’s North West appointments

Joanna Greska, Danny Reid and Lucy Buck, Mitchell Charlesworth Widnes

Mitchell Charlesworth, the North West accountancy firm, has appointed a new member of staff and promoted two others as part of its drive to increase its turnover to £10m by 2020.

Joanna Greska, a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians, has been hired in the role of accountant assistant. As a Polish speaker, Joanna will boost the firm’s offer for European clients as she prepares year-end accounts along with personal and VAT returns.

Danny Reid, who has 24 years of experience at Mitchell Charlesworth, has been the firm’s assistant manager for the past 15 years and is now promoted to manager, while Lucy Buck has been promoted to the role of assistant manager. Lucy, who focuses on the sport and entertainment sector, has worked at Mitchell Charlesworth for eight years.

Lorraine Whittaker, a partner at the firm’s Widnes office, said: “Mitchell Charlesworth is focussing on delivering locally based, complete financial solutions for businesses and individuals.

“We intend to become a £10m turnover practice by 2020 and become the top SME advisor in North West England.

She continued “A key element in this strategic vision is to train and develop high quality staff who perform in a range of disciplines across all offices, including Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, Warrington and Widnes.

“This is vital in being able to offer a personal service to our clients, demonstrate a genuine interest in their affairs, and critically help their businesses succeed and grow.

“Danny and Lucy are perfect examples of our highly capable staff members who we want to reward for their consistent, quality work.”

Tricia Morrison, Hill Dickinson

Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has announced the appointment of Tricia Morrison as its new construction legal director.

Tricia, the former head of construction at with North West law firm Napthens, has 20 years’ experience in the industry, half of which has been spent specialising in construction law.

According to bosses at Hill Dickinson, the appointment follows growth in the firm’s construction team, which operates in Manchester and Liverpool.

Alan Pugh, the head of construction at Hill Dickinson, said: “This appointment underlines the firm’s ongoing commitment to investing in the best people to help support our growth.

“The construction sector continues to be extremely buoyant following a strong performance during the past 12 months and I see no reason why this momentum will not continue and it is fantastic to welcome a lawyer of Tricia’s calibre on board.”

Alan added: “She adds considerable expertise to our offering to market particularly in relation to her dispute work.

In her new role, Tricia will split her time across Hill Dickinson’s offices in Manchester and Liverpool.

She commented: “The team at Hill Dickinson is highly regarded, and its depth and skill is recognised throughout the UK.

“I’m delighted to become a part of ’it and look forward to working alongside Alan and Head of Business Services, David Chinn to realise its aspirations for growth.

Tricia continued: “The north-west continues to change at an exciting rate with a number of major construction projects currently underway and many more planned. I’m looking forward to getting immersed with a number of clients across the region.”

Pictured L-R: Katy Parkinson, Julie Duane, Oliver McCann, Carley Kerrs-Walton

Julie Duane, Katy Parkinson and Toni Brockbank, Napthens

Law firm Napthens has welcomed two new solicitors to its Blackburn-based employment and HR team.

Julie Duane, who trained as a barrister and worked as an in-house employment law advocate with North West-based Simpsons Solicitors, will advise Napthens’ clients on issues facing businesses such as redundancy, dismissals and discrimination.

Katy Parkinson, meanwhile, qualified as a solicitor in 2015. At Napthens, she will work alongside employers to provide assistance in areas such as employment contracts and grievance issues.

Napthens’ employment partner Oliver McCann, who heads up the Blackburn office, commented: “The employment team has grown significantly in recent years and the appointment of Julie and Katy in Blackburn signals our commitment to the East Lancashire market.”

Elsewhere, Napthens has welcomed Toni Brockbank (pictured above) to its internal HR support team.

Toni previously worked for Lancashire County Council, where her most recent position was business support officer.

She commented: “I’m really excited to return to a role purely in HR and look forward to working with the team at Napthens and playing a part in the firm’s future.”

With Napthens, Toni will help the company deal with responsibilities such as staff welfare, benefits, training and recruitment.

Napthens’ director of HR, Kay Jackson-Leigh, commented: “Napthens is a growing firm, and with that growth comes the need for increased HR support, in bringing new people on board and in developing and supporting our 220 plus staff in their day-to-day roles.

“Toni will play a vital part in this.”

Peter Harris and Stuart Hornby, IF

Creative agency IF has bolstered its ranks with two appointments in its senior team.

Peter Harris has been taken on as IF’s new science director. Having joined the firm from online retailer Shop Direct, where he worked in a similar position for four years, Peter will assist IF’s clients with data analysis and communication planning, covering channel optimisation, ROI, email performance visualisation and other areas.

Elsewhere, the firm has appointed Stuart Hornby as its new director of client services. With IF, Stuart will work on all aspects of client management and play a key role in new business development.

The appointments coincide with the launch of a data division, introduced following several years of growth for the Manchester-based firm.

Christian James, the managing director at IF, said: “We want to deliver an inspirational response to every one of our clients. To do this we need inspirational leadership at the agency.

“With Jo Whiteley at the creative helm and now Stuart and Peter, I believe we have just that.”

David Cooper, FPE Global

FPE Global, the Cheadle-based materials handling machinery manufacturer, has appointed a new CEO.

David Copper has joined the firm from Matcon, where he worked as managing director leading various strategic initiatives to drive growth.

Commenting on his appointment, David said: “It is a privilege to be joining FPE Global, where we have an opportunity to build a world-leading materials handling platform that delivers significant and unique value to our customers and shareholders.

“We’ve seen increased demand for innovation and excellence in materials handling on a global scale, which presents a huge opportunity for the business. I am very excited to be leading the company through this next phase of growth.”

Peter Williamson, the chairman of FPE Global, said he believes David was “instrumental in the transformation of Matcon”.

Speaking further, he said: “[David’s] expertise of servicing the food and pharmaceutical sectors will add tremendous value to FPE as we target expansion in overseas markets.”

Philia Riaz, 360 Audit

Daresbury-headquartered royalty auditing firm 360 Audit has appointed Philia Riaz to the role of global head of audit.

Philia, who has previously held senior auditing roles with professional services firm PwC, Grant Thornton and Arup, will be responsible for overseas audits in her new role.

360 Audit is led by Henna Riaz, who recently bought out her co-partners to acquire full ownership of the company. The firm has secured contracts with a number of high profile brands, including Nickelodeon, WWE and Michelin Tyres.

MD Henna Riaz said: “We have ambitious international growth plans and Philia is perfectly placed to lead the business forward in this area.

“She brings a wealth of experience to the role and joins us at an exciting time as we experience demand for our services in new territories.”

She added: “In the next 12 months we have plans underway to open a US office and grow our team of experienced auditors.”

Andy Herricks, Taylors Solicitors

Commercial law firm Taylors Solicitors has strengthened its corporate team with the appointment of Andy Herricks to the role of corporate partner.

Andy, who was a founding partner of Blackburn-based legal practice Garricks and also headed up the company’s office in Wigan, has close to 20 years’ experience in advising SMEs and owner-managed clients in the North West

Commenting, he said: “I do not give black and white legal advice. I always try to be commercial and look at issues from every angle.

“If I have to inform a client that he cannot do something, I will also try to provide an alternative solution.”

He added: “The law is a business tool which all clients can work with.”

Taylors Solicitors’ managing partner, Elaine Hurn, said she is “delighted” to welcome someone with Andy’s experience to the team, adding that she worked with Andy when he was a young corporate solicitor.

Speaking further, she said: “[Andy] will add a significant resource to our established team’s ability to meet increasing new client demand across our corporate and specialist commercial services.”