This week's North West appointments

Paul Kirwin, TickX

Events discovery platform TickX has appointed its first chief marketing officer.

Paul Kirwin, formerly marketing director of fitness chain PureGym, will be responsible for all of Manchester-based TickX’s marketing initiatives.

His remit will include driving the company’s expansion into Europe following its recent £3m investment round.

Paul Kirwin said: “I’ve been aware of TickX for some time and the growth of the business since they launched is impressive.

“There is a massive opportunity for a billion-pound aggregator to break the entertainment ticketing industry and that’s where I believe we can take TickX. I’m delighted to join the team at this exciting time and can’t wait to start the challenge.”

TickX CEO Steve Pearce commented: “We couldn’t be happier that Paul has joined the TickX team. Marketing will play a key role in taking TickX to the next level as we target rapid international expansion in the coming months and we’re pleased to have hired one of the best marketing professionals in the country to help achieve our goals.

“At PureGym, Paul’s groundbreaking marketing, acquisition and brand strategies helped grow a young company to market leader in just a few years.”

He added: “We’re excited to work with Paul as he leads the TickX marketing team to help achieve our mission of becoming global go-to destination for entertainment tickets.”

Six appointments, Pannone Corporate

Pannone Corporate has announced the appointment of six lawyers.

Gemma Staples (pictured left), a real estate litigator, joined the dispute resolution team in the role of director.

Prior to joining Pannone, Gemma was a senior member of the Manchester real estate litigation team at Eversheds. She has 15 years’ experience in advising on complex and high-value property disputes, acting for corporates, developers and landlords.

Also appointed are Rhian Greaves (right), now a director within the firm’s regulatory team; Harriet Sutherland, senior associate for the corporate team; Suzanne Townley, a senior associate in the commercial team; solicitor Elizabeth Walsh in the dispute resolution team; and solicitor Helen Porter, newest member of the real estate team.

Pannone Corporate managing partner Paul Jonson said: “When we founded Pannone Corporate four years ago we knew we would want to expand our teams with the right kind of highly-skilled, experienced lawyers.

“We want lawyers who can build long standing relationships with a wide range of commercial clients and who can provide practical commercial advice and not simply legal opinions.”

He added: “We are delighted at the arrival of Gemma, Rhian, Harriet, Suzanne, Elizabeth and Helen and wish them well with their careers here.”

Daniel Roberts, Glenbrook

Glenbrook, the Manchester-based property development and investment business, has appointed a new senior project manager.

Daniel Roberts joined the company from Select Property Group, before which he worked at Rider Levett Bucknall.

At Glenbrook, he will work with projects director Stuart McCrone and be responsible for managing and delivering various developments across the country, including The Trilogy in Manchester and Erie Basin at MediaCityUK.

Daniel said: “This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and highly credible developer during a period of planned growth.

“Glenbrook has an excellent track record from the acquisition of sites through to project delivery and I’m looking forward to working on the diverse pipeline of schemes that are coming forward.”

Stuart McCrone commented: “With over 2,000 apartments now on site or in design and actively looking for more development opportunities around the country, it is imperative that we have a strong team with the ability to manage and deliver complex projects. Already at a senior level, Daniel is a great addition to the Glenbrook team.”

Samantha Sleigh, Legat Owen

Chester-based commercial surveyors Legat Owen has added Samantha Sleigh to its asset management team in the role of property manager.

Samantha previously worked for MAG Property, Manchester Airport’s property and development arm, where she was estates manager.

Her background also includes positions with CBRE Group and EA Shaw.

Mark Hopley, director in Legat Owen’s asset management team, said: “We are absolutely delighted to bring Samantha on board who has eleven years of experience in commercial property management and will be able to provide sound individual client advice.

“This is a key strategic appointment for us and an opportunity to accelerate our team’s growth whilst increasing our service proposition.”

He added: Our team now stands at a total of 12 across both offices which undoubtedly represents one of the largest management teams in the region.“

Samantha commented: “It’s an exciting time to be joining Legat Owen which has an excellent reputation amongst property professionals in the north west.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team to offer proactive property and management consultancy advice to its loyal client base, to drive the business forward.”

Ruj Dev and Lisa Robinson-Behnejad, Brabners

Law firm Brabners has announced two senior appointments.

Lisa Robinson-Behnejad is the Liverpool-headquartered company’s new director of marketing and business development, and Ruj Dev has taken on the role of commercial finance and project management head.

Lisa has over 20 years’ experience in developing and delivering marketing and communications strategies in several sectors, including legal and insurance.

Prior to joining Brabners, she worked for law firm DWF.

Ruj, a qualified chartered accountant, joined the firm from Hill Dickinson. She has over 15 years of experience working with private and public sectors organisations.

Lisa said: “We work in a highly competitive sector and the legal market, more than any other, is becoming increasingly saturated.

“This puts increased pressure on us to discover new ways of attracting and retaining clients.”

She added: “My focus will be on working closely with our lawyers and senior team to understand exactly what our clients need from us.”

Ruj said of her appointment: “The regional legal market is throwing up new challenges, but we’re well positioned to attract the best talent and I will be working closely with our teams to ensure they have everything they need to continue to drive performance and exceed client expectations.”

Leanne Tattam and Robert Jones, Birchall Blackburn Law

Birchall Blackburn Law has welcomed two new faces to its serious injury team.

Leanne Tattam and Robert Jones have joined the firm as associate solicitors from CFG Law.

Leanne and Robert will be based at Birchall Blackburn Law’s office in Manchester, where they will represent clients across the UK.

Quentin Underhill, partner at the company, said: “We work in an area of law where our priority is the recovery and rehabilitation of our clients.

“Having worked previously with Leanne and Robert, I know they are focussed on helping clients get the best possible outcomes and quality of life.”

He added: “Their experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop our service.”

Birchall Blackburn Law has seven offices across the North West, employing more than 300 staff.

Sherrelle Scott and Joseph Rogers, HRC Law

Commercial law firm HRC Law has promoted Sherrelle Scott, who joined the company in 2013 as a paralegal, to associate.

Sherrelle qualified in 2015 and specialises in corporate and commercial, working closely with partners Mark Traynor and Richard Life.

She said of her promotion: “Both myself and the business have come a long way over the past five years. Working within a fast-growth firm, I’ve been able to gain rich experience from day one which provided clear direction in terms of finding my specialism and a route for career progression.”

Elsewhere, HRC Law has offered a training contract to Joseph Rogers, who also worked within the corporate and commercial team as a paralegal. To date his work has focused on M&A, in particular the private equity market.

Managing partner Simon Whitehead said: “We strongly believe in a culture of support at HRC Law and are focused on the continued development of our team – the very people that make our business so successful and our greatest asset.

“At any stage of a career, it’s important to be able to see a clear development path and we endeavour to provide this across the board.”