This week's Yorkshire appointments

Sheards Wealth Management, the Huddersfield-based financial advisory firm, has appointed two new financial advisors.

The new recruits include Stephen Harrison, who has over 25 years’ experience in the financial sector since he began his career at Scottish Equitable.

Since then, he has worked for a number of global companies such as MetLife, Axa and Prudential before recently joining the Sheards Wealth Management team.

The second recruit is Nicholas Partington, who began his career working in financial services at a St James Place practice, before setting up an Auto-Enrolment solutions business in 2012.

Having joined Sheards Wealth Management, he is working towards his diploma to become a qualified independent financial advisor.

Mark Stewart, director of Sheards Wealth Management, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Stephen and Nicholas to the team. This is a very exciting time for Sheards Wealth Management, as we welcome not just one, but two new members of staff to our rapidly growing team.

“I have no doubts that both Nicholas and Stephen are going to be real assets to our team, and I look forward to seeing their outstanding customer service skills in action while they help our clients reach their financial goals.”

Sarah Illidge, Lupton Fawcett

Tax specialist Sarah Illidge has joined Sheffield-based law firm, Lupton Fawcett, as a senior solicitor.

Sarah previously trained and worked at international law firms in Leeds before making the decision to move back to Sheffield.

In her new role she will be advising corporate clients on a range of tax matters including acquisitions, disposals, reorganisations, and property transactions including VAT and stamp taxes advice.

Sarah said: “I admire the way Lupton Fawcett has grown its regional presence by creating three well-respected offices in Sheffield, Leeds and York.

“The Sheffield office has developed a great team with specialisms across all legal disciplines. Not only is this benefitting clients in South Yorkshire, its reputation is such that it is also attracting clients from across the UK.

“I am looking forward to working with the teams within each office to deliver first class tax advice to businesses within all sectors.”

Partner Julian Moran, who heads up the tax department, added: “Our growing reputation enables us to attract excellent lawyers such as Sarah.

“Our tax team is well respected for helping businesses to understand the tax implications of transactions and helping them to navigate through this highly intricate area of law, highlighting the key issues and advising them on how these issues can be resolved in a tax efficient way.

“Demand for our advice is growing and it’s great that we are able to strengthen our tax team further with the appointment of Sarah.”

Rachel Sharp, Ramsdens Solicitors

Ramsdens Solicitors has appointed Rachel Sharp, who joins Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence teams, as a solicitor.

Rachel, who joins Ramsdens from a Leeds-based firm, has a wealth of experience, specialising in complex, high value Clinical Negligence actions arising from medical malpractice together with Personal Injury accident claims including in the work place and those involving public liability.

Rachel will be working alongside Natalie Marrison, Partner, who leads the Abuse, Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury teams at Ramsdens and will provide service to the firm’s clients across all 14 of their offices throughout Yorkshire.

Natalie Marrison, partner, head of abuse and personal injury, commented: “It has been fantastic to welcome Rachel to the team. She has really bolstered our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence presence and has hit the ground running.

“She has brought a different dynamic to the service provided and we are excited about the opportunities that this will bring us.”

Rachel added: “I am really pleased to have joined such a forward-thinking dynamic firm and department. I am already involved with lots of new opportunities and am very much looking forward to the future.”

Mark Burns, LightStart

LightStart, the Leeds-based tech and design house, has appointed a board advisor.

LightStart, formed in 2016 by Simon Edwards and Dan Akers, builds digital products including mobile apps, web apps and the underlying platforms that drive them.

Mark Burns joins the company following a 29-year legal career in which he led two SME law firms. Mark turned his attention to advising the leaders of fast-growing firms as a consultant, non-executive director and Vistage Chair.

As well as adding LightStart to his portfolio, Mark currently works with 25 business owners and key members of their leadership teams. In addition, he holds a-number-of board advisory and non-executive directorships.

Mark commented: “I am delighted to be taking on a role with one of the most interesting businesses within the Leeds digital sector.

“It works at the heart of one of the most vibrant parts of the local and national economy and is responsible for enabling people with great ideas to fulfil their hopes and dreams. Being involved in LightStart’s bright future is a really exciting prospect for a very old dog!”

Simon Edwards, co-founder of LightStart, added: “Mark brings a wealth of experience and, importantly, passion to help us to execute our ambitious plans to grow on the success we have achieved in Leeds and roll out our events and support to companies across the UK.

“We are excited to welcome Mark on board and see how he can help LightStart work towards our goals.”

Chris Rabbitt and Emily Docherty, MacComms

PR agency MacComms has announced the appointment of two new team members.

MacComms, based in the Digital Hub on Whitehall Road, Leeds, has appointed sales director Chris Rabbit and digital PR executive Sophie Nightingale.

Emily Docherty, who joined MacComms in August 2017, has also been promoted to senior account executive, managing several client accounts with media and public relations.

Formed in April 2015, MacComms is founded and run by businesswoman Ellie MacDonald who has 10 years’ PR and marketing experience.

Chris Rabbitt, director of Carrot Ltd., joins MacComms as out-sourced sales director. Following 25 years’ experience, Chris will support Ellie to expand the company’s client base.

Chris joins founder and managing director of MacComms, Ellie MacDonald, alongside fellow outsourced finance director, Martin Mellor of Mellor Financial Management, and Sarah Darbyshire from HR Solutions.

Following the achievement of a first class honours master’s in marketing from Leeds Beckett University, Sophie joins the company on a permanent basis, having undertaken a five-week PR placement.

Sophie will be responsible for MacComms’ and its clients social media accounts, design and content creation.

Ellie MacDonald, founder and managing director, commented: “I’m excited to welcome Chris and Sophie to the team, as well as promoting Emily who has demonstrated real passion and dedication to support MacComms’ clients and company growth.

“We have spent the past three years establishing who we are, what we do best and who we want to work with and it is an exciting time for the company as we embark on ambitious plans to scale-up.

“Hiring entrepreneurial people such as Emily, Sophie and Chris is key to MacComms’ future success and I’m looking forward to welcoming more talented recruits as we continue our growth.”

Chris Rabbit, sales director, said: “It’s great to join such a confident, fast-growing business at such an exciting time.

“I’ve been really impressed with Ellie and the team at MacComms and I’m confident that they can add significant value to any business I introduce them to.”

Sophie Nightingale, digital PR executive, added: “After spending the past few weeks working at MacComms, the hard work and enthusiasm of the team has been so infectious that I’m pleased to have officially joined the company to take a lead on the company and clients’ digital communications.

“I am grateful to Ellie for allowing me to continue working on my own digital design business one day a week whilst being part of the journey at MacComms.”

Shaun Radford, Rare Creative Group

A Sheffield marketing agency has bolstered its team with the appointment of a head of client services.

The appointment sees Rare Creative Group welcome Shaun Radford to the team. He will head up and take direct responsibility for the agency’s existing client-facing team.

Shaun has over 20 years marketing experience and has won and directed major accounts across a range of industries.

Chris Bellingham, director at Rare Creative Group said: “It’s vital to have team leaders who can help drive the business forward.”

“We’ve recently expanded our portfolio with a number of new client wins. We needed a senior member of staff to lead the client services team and provide strategic input to major client accounts.”

Chris added: “We’re delighted to welcome Shaun to the team. He will be providing valuable leadership as we look to develop the both our traditional and digital marketing arms, with the aim of growing the business by a further 50% in the next three years.

“We’d like to thank Glu for their professional approach and quick, no-fuss service- ultimately saving us valuable time in the search for the right candidate.”

Rob Shaw, managing director at Glu Recruit, commented: “At Glu Recruit we pride ourselves on ensuring we find the right candidate for the role. With his vast knowledge of the industry and 20 years of experience, we knew that Shaun would be a great candidate for Rare to support them in their growth objectives.

“We are delighted to have been able to support both Shaun and Rare to find the right fit.”

Headquartered in Sheffield, Rare Creative Group has over 20 years of experience in B2B, B2C and not-for-profit markets and industry sectors.