PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
■ Law firm Ward Hadaway has added 14 new team members to its Newcastle office.
The expansion includes two partners, a managing associate, two associates, three solicitors, five paralegals and a conveyancer. Tim Dennis joins as a partner in commercial litigation and Kelly Pearson has been appointed as a partner in the social housing team.
Matthew Sigsworth joins as a managing associate in commercial litigation and Marie-Louise O’Hanrahan as an associate in the social housing team, alongside Patrick Saunders, an associate in the public sector department. The other new starters take up positions within its commercial litigation, real estate, construction, debt recovery, social housing and public sector departments.
Martin Hulls, managing partner, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the Newcastle office. This expansion is a testament to our firm’s enduring ambition.
“With these appointments, we add more breadth and depth of experience across our teams to ensure we’re well-equipped to meet the diverse and evolving needs of our clients, helping them succeed in today’s world.”
■ Armstrong Watson has appointed audit and assurance partner Michael Morris in Newcastle.
Mr Morris has 25 years of experience and joins after spending 13 years with Deloitte, where he led the entrepreneurial business team for five years, and 14 years as audit partner at UNW. He has worked with a range of businesses in the North East and Cumbria, including family and owner-managed businesses, PE-backed businesses, subsidiaries of overseas-owned groups, and entrepreneurial businesses across most sectors. He said: “I am really looking forward to bringing my experience and market knowledge to Armstrong Watson. The changes in the North East marketplace within the profession in the last few years mean there is a significant opportunity for Armstrong Watson to really stamp its presence in the city and build on the traction gained in the last 12 months.”
■ Newcastle-based law firm Brough Partners has appointed Ana Matos as head of court of protection to support the firm’s recent growth.
Brough Partners specialises in court of protection (COP), legal aid and inter partes costs law work. Ms Matos has over eight years of experience in the sector and her responsibilities will include supporting and maximising the COP costs claims of solicitor clients as well as assisting with business development and staff training. A consultant for the last four years, she previously held roles at Paragon Costs, A&M Bacon and bSquared Costs. She said: “It’s great to be joining the Brough Partners business at such an exciting time in their growth journey. They are a wonderful team, with many longstanding clients and I’m looking forward to supporting their COP service offering.”
■ Newcastle tech consultancy hedgehog lab has announced Clare Weightman as its new chief client officer.
Ms Weightman joined hedgehog lab last year following the acquisition of digital product firm, Netsells, as part of an investment deal from investors BGF. She has previously worked for the leading savings management platform and established fintech firm Newcastle Strategic Solutions.
She said: “I am thrilled to be starting a new chapter at hedgehog lab as Chief Client Officer. Our purpose is to empower our talented people to do the best work of their lives, and we really do have world-class talent.
“I’m excited to continue innovating with our UXR, UI/UX, engineering, cloud, AI and data science experts to produce category-defining work to our global clients.”
■ Silverstone Building Consultancy has promoted Paul Wharton to director at its Newcastle office.
Mr Wharton, who joined the chartered building surveying and project management firm two years ago as associate director, has 20 years’ experience in the built environment sector and previously worked at Hollis Global and BNP Paribas Real Estate. His promotion follows his successful delivery of some major construction projects including a £1.2m T-Levels facility at Sunderland College and the refurbishment and 30-bed extension
of The Stables hotel in Whitby on behalf of The Inn Collection Group.
Mr Wharton said: “I really appreciate this great opportunity. We have a talented team here at Silverstone and recent times have seen us branch out into new sectors including education and manufacturing.”
■ Certification body Simply Certification has appointed two new roles.
The company, which is based in South Tyneside and specialises in certification such as ISO, PAS and MCS standards, has appointed Rachel Blair as senior administrator and Katy Miller as customer service and compliance support.
Ms Blair joins with extensive experience in management gained in gas and electrical engineering and Ms Miller joins the business with experience around customer insight and compliance.