Category Archives: Appointments

Accountancy & Accounts, Appointments, Newport, News

Business Services Team Expands at Thriving Accountancy Firm

Newport-based tax and accountancy specialists Kilsby Williams has appointed five new members to its business services team as it continues to expand.

The series of appointments, ranging from graduate to managerial roles, includes Pei Zhou and Rob Harding as business services managers, and James Travers, Ffion Williams and Arin Ozgul as a business services trainees.

Rob who joins Kilsby Williams with over 20 years’ experience in the accountancy industry believes this is an exciting time for the firm and, alongside Pei, will be responsible for managing a portfolio of client accounts.

Rob said: “To welcome five new team members in a short space of time is testament to Kilsby Williams’ ambitious growth plans. On a personal note, I’m looking forward to working with new clients, helping their businesses to thrive and being the best accountant I can be.”

James, Ffion and Arin will be responsible for preparing accounts for clients, and attending audits and stocktakes. All three hope in the longer term to earn their ACA qualification and become chartered accountants.

Ffion said, “This is a great opportunity for me to gain as much experience as I can, learning from talented accountants, while achieving a professional qualification and hopefully, building a successful career.”

Jonathan Harrhy, Partner at Kilsby Williams, said: “This is an exciting time for the business services team as we look to step up our provision. We’re very pleased to welcome Pei, Rob, James, Ffion and Arin to the business and look forward to seeing them thrive in this dynamic, fast-paced environment.”

Established in 1991, Kilsby Williams works with clients from across south Wales, the Midlands and London, ranging from sole traders to companies in international quoted groups.

 

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Image caption: L-R standing: Pei Zhou, James Travers, Ffion Williams, Rob Harding, Arin Ozgul. Seated: Managing Partner Simon Tee and Partner Jonathan Harrhy

Appointments, Charity & CSR, News

Punter Southall Governance Services announces eight internal promotions

Punter Southall Governance Services (PSGS) is delighted to announce that eight team members have recently been promoted.

The promotions include three of their accredited professional trustees – Curtis Mitchell, James Duggan and Fiona Lawrence – who have become client directors. All three have significant experience of providing trusteeship, scheme secretarial and governance services and offer clients a great deal of expertise and knowledge in scheme management.

Other promotions were for trainee scheme managers, Emma Anderson, Tom Corten and Jason Beach, who have completed their scheme secretary training and are now assistant scheme managers. They will be fully supported and developed in their roles working alongside PSGS’s professional trustees and scheme secretaries.

PSGS also welcomes a new addition to the governance team, with Tracey Brown moving from her finance administration role to become a pensions governance assistant, providing support for scheme secretaries.

The final promotion is Chloe Key, who has been promoted to digital marketing and technology associate, and will lead PSGS’s social media marketing activities.

Wayne Phelan, PSGS Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Well done to these eight team members who thoroughly deserve their promotions. We’ve always been committed to ‘growing our own’ and it’s great to be able to promote people internally at all levels. It boosts morale and demonstrates we’re an organisation that develops team members, providing training, opportunities and support to help them progress and fulfil their potential in their professional careers.”

Appointments, Business & Property News, International News, News

Amperity Accelerates European Growth with New London Office

Leading customer data platform company ramps up on-the-ground support with new executive hires to meet surging demand

Amperity, the leading customer data platform (CDP) for enterprise consumer brands, today announces its expansion in the European market with the opening of a new office in London and a trio of new executive appointments.

Amperity’s strengthened European presence is set to ensure brands in the region are empowered to unlock the value of their data to attract and retain customers, while saving money, time, and fostering business growth. Amperity is in increased demand as more brands in the region are realising that inaccurate or incomplete profiles alienate customers and waste resources — and that a holistic customer view reduces expenses, grows revenue and improves the customer and employee experience.

Overseeing the company’s success in the region is Matthew Biboud Lubeck, (pictured above) who has now been promoted to Vice President EMEA. The strong demand has also necessitated the onboarding of two additional senior hires Scott Boocock, Area VP EMEA Sales, and Alex Henry, Solutions Consultant, who will be helping brands realise the exponential opportunities that can only be unlocked with a full 360-view of the customer.

Bringing more than 15 years of experience, Lubeck joined Amperity in 2017. He is a true data mastermind with experience helping global beauty conglomerates Estee Lauder and L’Oréal better use data to unlock incredible experiences and emerge as industry leaders, Lubeck is overseeing Amperity’s growth and success in the region.

“There’s nothing quite like seeing the energy and enthusiasm of a team, reaching new audiences with great solutions. By expanding our presence in the European market, Amperity will be able to help more brands unlock the value of their customer data, driving growth and profit,” says Barry Padgett, CEO of Amperity. “With a demand that has continued to outpace our imagination, Amperity remains a power source for hundreds of brands to fuel their customer-centric growth strategies. Our customers and prospects in the region will be able to plug into this, drawing expertise from Matthew and the team from day one, putting the power of their customer data to work immediately.”

Amperity is experiencing significant demand from brands around the globe that are eager to utilise their first-party data to drive meaningful connections with customers as the deprecation of third-party cookies draws nearer, inflation rises, recession looms and privacy regulations tighten.

Lubeck says, “Amperity’s European brand portfolio is growing rapidly, and this represents a movement of forward-thinking industry leaders intent on leading their organisations through successful data-transformations. These brands are focused on unlocking game-changing AI-powered customer insights that will drive immediate marketing ROI as well as future-proof against market changes such as third-party cookie deprecation and increasingly strict privacy regulations. Most importantly, they’re focused on creating incredible value for their customers and businesses.

“We are committed to bolstering our presence in the UK and Europe, including a number of new local partnerships, the 2022 launch of Amperity’s EU data centre, and now, by welcoming two seasoned experts, Scott and Alex, on board to help accelerate the opportunity brands have to serve their customers at a time when demand for Amperity’s enterprise CDP is at an all-time high.”

Amperity is already seeing great traction in the European market, working with several leading brands, including Brooks Running, Citizen Watch, and Reckitt. Learn more about Amperity’s expansion in the UK/EMEA market here.

 

About Amperity

Amperity is the leading customer data platform provider that helps companies use data to improve marketing performance, build long-term customer loyalty and drive growth. Amperity’s flagship enterprise CDP is used by many of the world’s best-loved brands, such as Alaska Airlines, Endeavour Drinks, Kendra Scott, Lucky Brand, Planet Fitness, Seattle Sounders FC, Under Armour and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. For more information, please visit amperity.com or follow @Amperity.

 

 

 

Appointments, Law, Yorkshire

Double appointment strengthens company and commercial division at Ison Harrison Solicitors

Yorkshire law firm Ison Harrison has made two new appointments, further boosting its company and commercial law division.

 

Victoria Boid joins as a Partner in the Corporate team and Chris Thomson as Commercial Litigation Solicitor. Both will be based at Duke House, the firm’s city centre headquarters in Leeds.

A specialist corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer advising both buy and sell side clients with over 17 years’ experience gained in the commercial sector, Victoria Boid trained in London and has worked internationally. Having also worked as an in-house counsel within the Leeds tech sector, her most recent role prior to joining Ison Harrison was as legal director with DWF.

Having completed numerous client secondments over the years, Victoria has extensive experience of advising and representing owner-managed businesses, large corporates and financial institutions. Her new role involves supporting mid-market M&A activity in Leeds across a variety of commercial sectors and a diverse range of clients including those backed by private equity.

In her new position, Victoria will work closely with Richard Coulthard, Director and Head of Commercial services at Ison Harrison.

 

Chris Thomson is an experienced solicitor in commercial litigation work with a particular specialism in professional negligence, housing disrepair and financial mis-selling.

Previously with Jordans Solicitors and latterly heading up the professional negligence department, Chris brings over 14 years’ legal experience to his new role within Ison Harrison’s company and commercial division. Chris has specialist expertise in professional negligence claims against solicitors, unions, accountants and financial advisors and previously represented former coal miners recovering compensation for vibration white finger, where previous claims were under-settled.

 

Commenting on the appointments, Richard Coulthard, said: “We are delighted to welcome our newest recruits, Victoria and Chris to the firm’s company and commercial division. Our commercial services teams grew by over 30% in the last financial year and these appointments further expands our commercial offering. As the commercial departments continue to grow rapidly, Victoria’s appointment represents another strong strategic hire which further builds on the expertise and knowledge offered by the team. Victoria brings a highly valuable and varied skill set to the role that will serve to further our expansion plans for our commercial services. Chris’ appointment also serves to add considerable specialist expertise to the department, further diversifying the litigation team and our client base. The division as a whole continues to go from strength to strength and build on the outstanding successes achieved by the commercial team during the past two years.”

Ison Harrison, which has a network of seventeen offices throughout the region, was founded in 1978. 45 years on it now employs more than 240 staff across Yorkshire and offers the broadest suite of legal services in the region.

The firm, which became 100% employee-owned in 2022, has an annual turnover of £19 million and represents around 20,000 clients each year.

 

Jonathan Wearing, managing director of Ison Harrison, added: “A year after our new employee-owned structure was put in place, Ison Harrison remains totally committed to recruiting and retaining the very best people in the legal profession, as demonstrated by our two newest appointments. As an employee-owned business, we continue to attract highly experienced and skilled professionals to the firm. Making sure clients have access to such unparalleled expertise is a key focus for us in 2023 and to begin the year with two key strategic appointments represents a perfect start to what is shaping up to be another record-breaking year of success for the firm.”

Ison Harrison won Law Firm of the Year (Medium) at the Yorkshire Legal Awards in 2022 and currently holds 13 Law Society accreditations including Conveyancing Quality, Clinical Negligence, Children Law, Family Law, Immigration & Asylum, and SRA Higher Courts Rights – civil and criminal.

 

Image caption: Pictured (left to right): New recruits Chris Thomson and Victoria Boid with Richard Coulthard, director and head of commercial services at Ison Harrison.

Appointments, Games Sector, News

Gaming Executive and Insights Expert Emmi Kuusikko Appointed to GameHouse Executive Leadership Team to Drive Player-First Vision around Female Gamers

Kuusikko To Deliver 2023 “Me Time-Game Time” Strategy

 GameHouse, a leading global mobile and PC casual game developer and publisher, and subsidiary of RealNetworks LLC, a leader in AI-powered digital media software and solutions, today announces the appointment of highly respected product management and insights expert, Emmi Kuusikko, as Head of Product Strategy, Insights and Growth, effective immediately.

Kuusikko joins GameHouse with more than two decades experience in global product management and marketing,  business development and executive board roles, in gaming, frontier technologies and mobile applications. Kuusikko will be based out of Helsinki, providing a local GameHouse presence in this world-class mobile gaming stronghold.

Simonetta Lulli Gómez, CEO, GameHouse, said “We are delighted to welcome such high-profile leadership talent and analytics-driven expertise to the GameHouse executive team. We  believe that over the years, female players have adapted to games, but rarely has game design adapted to female player behaviours. At GameHouse our vision is to design around female player habits first and, for that, we needed an expert in Product Management with very deep knowledge around audience insights applied to game design. With Emmi on board we can ensure that we create an agile process where player-first vision is at the heart of everything we do. ”

Kuusikko’s expertise in user-centered design, and operation of f2p games has shaped business and product strategies in the games industry at such world-class studios as Microsoft’s Lionhead Studios, Next Games, Digital Chocolate and Habbo Hotel among others. In her previous roles, she created and led teams to drive acquisition, engagement, retention and monetization on leading f2p titles on mobile, PC and console.

Her appointment sees the continued restructure of existing development, product marketing and business development staff, merged under new global cross-functional teams. Through her tutelage, GameHouse will streamline creative and development processes around the female gaming audience across all products.

“I’m thrilled to join GameHouse at this exciting stage in its journey, with its incredible legacy and heritage in casual mobile and PC gaming of the past 25 years”, said Emmi Kuusikko, Head of Product Strategy, Insights and Growth, GameHouse.

She continued, “For the first time during my 20 year career in gaming, I am making games for a target audience that I belong to, which is exhilarating and refreshing.”

‘Me Time – Game Time’ Focus for Female Gaming Audience

Globally almost three quarters of women are playing games in 2023. Women represent a significant 46% of the global gaming market – a figure which is only set to grow. Within this, female gamers represent 48% of the global mobile gaming market; with 21% of adult mobile gamers being women aged 36+.

GameHouse is strategically positioned with its puzzle, narrative and storytelling games to connect with female casual gamers, that currently make up over 60% of the total players of the top 1,000 games on the Apple App Store.   GameHouse® has released over 5,000 games and apps that have been used by over 250 million players in over 215 countries, making it one of the top mobile games studios in the world targeted to female audiences. Currently the studio has 75,000 subscribers and 250,000 daily active users.

Kuusikko said, “GameHouse aims to own the ‘Me Time-Game Time’ mobile gaming experience, thanks to its unrivalled heritage of the past 25 years in the genres that women engage with the most.  Our research shows that women seek “Me Time” but feel guilty about taking it and that women find mobile gaming to provide the perfect escape, a means to unwind and have fun”.

She continued, “We believe that casual mobile gaming experiences, with strong relatable characters and story narrative, provide the perfect escape from day-to-day commitments, to unwind and recharge your batteries. We want to encourage women to claim their me time – we all need it! ”

 

Appointments, News

GWI Appoints new Chief Marketing Officer

GWI, the leading audience insights technology company, today announced that it has appointed Rhiannon Staples as Chief Marketing Officer.
Staples has over 15 years of experience building marketing teams for global, high-growth technology companies such as NICE Actimize and Sisense. She was most recently CMO at HiBob, a modern cloud-based HR platform provider.

At GWI, Staples will lead the strategy and execution of GWI’s brand marketing, product marketing, client communication and demand generation to drive growth and enable customer success and satisfaction. She will be based in the US headquarters in New York.

CEO and Founder of GWI, Tom Smith, comments, “Rhiannon is the perfect fit for our next phase of growth. Her prior experience scaling B2B SaaS brands will be invaluable as we continue to disrupt the market research industry with a research technology solution that helps businesses make more informed decisions, more quickly.”

GWI is a much-needed alternative to traditional market research, an industry which has struggled to keep up with the evolving needs in a rapidly changing world and challenging economic climate.

Companies today need a cost-effective, on-demand window into consumer behaviour, both locally and globally. GWI builds technology that gives people insights into their audience in the moment they need it through its intuitive and simple SaaS platform. Customers include Google, Spotify, Twitter, EA, Red Bull, WPP, and Omnicom.

Rhiannon Staples adds, “Audience insights are no longer confined to just one corner of an organisation. The value is in as many people as possible benefiting from a strong understanding of consumers and the market – especially at a time when spend is under intense scrutiny and every dollar needs to deliver strong ROI. I am excited to join GWI at such an exciting time of growth and to play my part in their mission to democratise audience insights.”

Following $180m in Series B funding last year, GWI will continue to scale in 2023. It will add even more data from global consumers in over 50 markets. The focus will also be on further developing its SaaS platform – making the technology even easier to use and more accessible across organisations.

Rhiannon will take up her role as of February 2023. GWI previously named marketing veteran Sara Spivey as Non-Executive Director in September 2022.

Appointments, News

Deputy appoints new CEO to supercharge global growth

Deputy, the shift management platform, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer, Silvija Martincevic, to scale the business as it reaches a milestone of serving 330,000 workplaces and 1.3 million shift workers globally.

In the UK and EMEA, Deputy has experienced 90% growth in its users since January 2020, despite the unforeseen impact of the Covid pandemic on hospitality and retail – two of its three key customer industries, along with care. Customers include Gymshark, Deliveroo, Jaguar Land Rover, Honest Burgers, IHG Hotels & Resorts and HC-One, Britain’s largest care home operator.

Martincevic, former London-based CMO and COO at Groupon, succeeds Deputy co-founder Ashik Ahmed as Chief Executive Officer. Raised by a family of shift workers and an immigrant herself, Martincevic understands first-hand the challenges facing the shift work community. Martincevic is passionate about building companies, growing high-performing teams and helping underserved communities to thrive through technology.

“Deputy has earned a strong reputation internationally and in the UK for product innovation in simplifying shift work. With its global footprint, 14 years of deep knowledge and accumulated workforce data, and a mission-driven approach, Deputy is best positioned to build a bright future for the world’s 2.7 billion shift workers – two thirds of the world’s working population,” said Martincevic.

“Trusted brands choose Deputy to communicate with, schedule, and create a more flexible and transparent workplace for their employees. I am proud to be Deputy’s new CEO, and I’m excited to work with our passionate team to improve the lives of millions of hourly workers and bring thriving workplaces to every community.”

Joining Deputy with previous experience as a CEO, COO and Founder in e-commerce and fintech startups, Martincevic brings over two decades of experience building, growing and scaling global teams. From her time at Groupon, she gained international experience leading a team of over a thousand with revenue of $1bn across 14 countries, and at Affirm she grew the merchant network from approximately 5,000 to more than 200,000 retailers representing nearly 60% of U.S. e-commerce, and grew revenue to over $1bn.

David Kelly, General Manager for UK and EMEA at Deputy said: “This appointment will really accelerate our growth, and cement our position as technology trusted by thousands of small and large businesses employing shift workers, whilst maintaining the strong values and mission we have as a business. When you marry Silvija’s ambition, ability and leadership with our people-centred, design-led product and engineering foundations, we’re in a really good position to help managers and their staff to create thriving workplaces where they can do their best work.”

Ashik Ahmed co-founded Deputy in 2008 and led the company through extensive international growth. He will transition out of the day-to-day operations and join Deputy’s Board of Directors where he will play an advisory role to ensure Martincevic’s transition is seamless as she assumes her global responsibilities.

About Deputy

Deputy is on a mission to Simplify Shift Work™ in every community. Deputy’s leading software solution streamlines communication, scheduling, tasks, and timesheets for millions of workers and businesses worldwide. More than 330,000 workplaces and 1.3 million shift workers use Deputy daily in over 100 countries. Deputy empowers businesses with the tools and insights to simplify compliance and build a thriving workplace.

Visit www.deputy.com, or find us on Twitter, Facebook, the App Store or Google Play for more information.

Appointments, News

Senior leadership changes as The SEO Works grows rapidly

Multi-award winning digital marketing agency, The SEO Works, have announced a number of senior role changes, as they continue rapid growth plans. Off the back of being awarded ‘Best Large Digital Agency’, the Sheffield-based business has promoted internally a new Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, and Deputy Head of SEO.

The appointments come as the agency looks to drive further growth, ensure longevity, and continue to nurture its internal culture.

Previously MD, Ben Foster will take over the role of Chief Executive Officer. Ben joined the agency with over 15 years of client-side and agency-side experience and has been instrumental in orchestrating the scaling of the business for more than half a decade.

In his new role, Ben will be responsible for the overall success of the business, including the vision, mission, direction and overall strategy. On his new position, Ben said – “I’m incredibly happy with how the business has scaled in the last few years, and these internal changes are our way of adding longevity to that. I’m looking forward to the experience and challenges of being CEO, and I have every faith that James is the perfect Managing Director to take the business forwards”.

Moving into the Managing Director role is James Corry – one of the agency’s first hires more than ten years ago. With an intricate knowledge of internal processes and strategies, as well as having occupied the Operations Director role, James will now lead the day-to-day management of the company, responsible for controlling and overseeing all business operations, people and ventures.

On becoming Managing Director, James said “I’m really happy to take on this role, and I feel that my skill set and history at the business will really add value. As we grow, maintaining our values and culture is crucial and it’s something I will be putting extra focus on in the coming years. Ben has done an amazing job, and I look forward to continuing this and taking it to the next level!”

Finally, Elliot Stanion has been appointed Deputy Head of SEO. Stepping in as second-in-command of one of the largest SEO teams in the North of England, Elliot will be focussed on planning & managing the capacity of the SEO team, pastoral care, quality output and the shared vision of the department.

“After a number of years climbing the ranks of our amazing SEO team, I’m really pleased to take on this exciting role. We’ve gone from strength to strength as a team, and are really becoming thought-leaders in the search space. As our team expands, it’s crucial that the right management structure is in place to accommodate that growth and I’m really excited to be part of that”, said Elliot.

The appointments follow a record-breaking year of growth for the business, as well as a number of enterprise-level client-wins, and a host of award victories.

The SEO Works specialises in SEO, PPC, Web, Digital PR and Paid Social advertising, working with leading brands such as Jessops, Decathlon, Weldricks Pharmacy, and IPAG.

To learn more visit https://www.seoworks.co.uk/

 

Appointments, Law, News

Wright Hassall announces eight promotions to kick-start new year

A leading law firm based in the Midlands has announced eight promotions across the business, including promoting two new partners.

Wright Hassall, which is top ranked in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK, has promoted both Freya Summers (Corporate) and Perveen Dhami (Property Litigation) to Partner with Parveen also becoming Head of Property Litigation

Two new Senior Associates have also been appointed, including Rachael Flanagan (Medical Negligence and Serious Injury) and Rees Herrod (Corporate).

Elsewhere, Kash Dosanjh (Employment) has been promoted to Associate, Wendy Eaves (Private Client) to Senior Probate Executive, Claire Davies (Conveyancing) to Senior Paralegal, and Shannon Lea-Belgrave (Business Immigration) to Senior Paralegal.

Phil Wilding, Managing Partner at Wright Hassall, which is headquartered at Olympus House in Leamington Spa, said: “This is fantastic news to kick-start the new year.

“We have always been committed to investing in the personal and professional development of our people, so I am delighted to see so many rewarded for their outstanding work over the past year and beyond.

“I would like to congratulate all of our newly-promoted colleagues and look forward to seeing them prosper in their new roles.”

Wright Hassall was established in 1846 and employs more than 245 people, including almost 40 partners.

Appointments, Insurance, News

Towergate Insurance Brokers expands claims team

Leading independent insurance brokers Towergate Insurance Brokers continues to strengthen its Cardiff claims team with the addition of two new starters.

Claire Richards has joined Towergate as a claims team leader and Hannah Hawkes joins as a claims executive, both leaving previous roles in Thomas Carroll.

Claire has a wealth of experience in large corporate clients and complex losses and will bring this to her new management role, where she will lead a team of ten.

Hannah, one of these ten, will aid Claire’s team with her in-depth industry knowledge and excellent client relations.

 

Discussing her new role, Claire said: “I’m very happy to have joined such a well-known business as Towergate, and the opportunities it provides have already lead to exceptional personal growth. Stepping into a management role means I am facing new challenges every day and I’m excited to see where it will take me. I look forward to continuing to develop alongside my great team and helping them along the way too.”

 

Hannah said: “I’m very excited to have joined Towergate with Claire and look forward to working with her in the claims team in Cardiff. While working within such an exciting field, Towergate has given me the confidence to expand my knowledge and work with new clients, and I can’t wait to see what else is to come.”

 

Justin Newton, Area Managing Director Wales at Towergate Insurance Brokers, said: “We are thrilled to welcome both Claire and Hannah to the team in Cardiff, further expanding our expertise and developing strong client relationships.”

 

Towergate Insurance Brokers is one of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers and risk management advisors. Boasting an experienced team of insurance specialists, Towergate Insurance Brokers has built a solid reputation for understanding many business sectors and industries, and the everyday risks they face in today’s increasingly complex world. They also look after the insurance needs of private individuals and families seeking tailored personal covers.