This week's Yorkshire appointments

Tamara Obihele, Hägen Wolf

Property litigation firm Hägen Wolf has appointed Tamara Obihele as a paralegal.

Tamara joins the firm from Walker Morris LLP as a paralegal, and has experience in issuing and managing possession claims and working closely with letting agents referrers and private landlords to provide on-demand support.

A Leeds University graduate, Tamara will assist Hägen Wolf lawyers with disclosure, legal research and trial preparation on larger cases.

Commenting on her appointment, Matt Pugh, the managing partner of new property litigation firm Hägen Wolf, said: “Tamara joins the firm at an exciting time as we grow our client base nationally.

“She is a hugely talented addition to the team, and we look forward to supporting her career.”

Jitka Lopez and Lizzy Green, Spike

Digital marketing agency Spike has appointed Jitka Lopez as marketing strategy manager and Lizzy Green as outreach and digital PR executive.

Jitka previously worked as marketing strategy manager at Zen Auto, as well as spending seven years at York-based agency Webcertain.

After graduating from Northumbria University in 2018, Lizzy most recently worked as a PR assistant for Newcastle-based agency Neighbourhood PR.

Director of Spike, Duncan Colman, commented: “We are delighted to have both Jitka and Lizzy join the team!

“Jitka brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, and will focus on developing new content strategy services that we can offer to both current and prospective clients, and Lizzy’s previous experience will help us to further grow our thriving PR and outreach offering.”

Karin Fritz and Georgie Williams, Dacre, Son and Hartley

Estate agency Dacre, Son and Hartley has appointed Karin Fritz as sales negotiator and Georgie Williams as sales manager.

Karin, who is originally from Austria, has multi-national estate agency experience with a focus on customer service.

Karin commented: “I’ve lived in the UK for 26 years but returned to Austria in 2017 to work at an estate agency business.

“Returning to Harrogate in 2018, I was keen to join a firm with an excellent reputation. My role will be mainly office based at first, as well as carrying out viewings and helping buyers to identify potential homes.”

Georgie originally joined Dacres from Bradford Grammar School nearly four years ago as a customer services sales representative at the head office in Ilkley.

Georgie then progressed onto the role of negotiator, and passed The National Federation of Property Professionals (NFoPP) qualifications in 2017.

Georgie said: “I started working for Dacres in Ilkley after a few months studying at The University of Manchester. I originally planned to go back after deferring for a year, but once I started work, I enjoyed it so much and could see the opportunities and training available, so I decided to pursue a career in property.

Dacre, Son & Hartley’s area director Paul Baxter, added: “Georgie is a real asset to the firm. Bright, efficient and highly capable she delivers on service and thoroughly deserves her promotion.

“Karin is an experienced pair of hands who always puts the customer first – and that’s something we pride ourselves on at Dacres.”

Phil Dunn, The Quays Hotel

Legacy Hotels & Resorts has appointed Phil Dunn as general manager of The Quays Hotel in Sheffield.

Phil previously held the post of bar manager at the Victoria Quays facility during its original launch as a Stakis Hotels venue over 20 years ago.

With previous experience working for Legacy Hotels & Resorts originally at the Chesterfield Hotel in Derbyshire, Phil has since spent time working across the UK at a number of the group’s hotels, including the Legacy Preston International Hotel in Lancashire and the Best Western Plus Angel Hotel in Wiltshire.

Phil commented: “It’s stunning and I’m honoured to have been appointed.

“I’m so excited for what the future holds – we can only deliver better, more personalised and adaptable service for our customers; we’re a progressive team and we want this facility to thrive.”

Andy Townsend, Legacy Hotels & Resorts chief executive officer, added: “We’re delighted to have made this significant appointment and to someone who has been such an important and loyal part of our groups development over the past ten years - we’re really excited for what the future holds for Phil and The Quays Hotel.

“Bringing on board individuals such as Phil, with his decades of experience, is a huge step forward for us in the embryonic stage of our launch of this business.”

Andrew Donaldson, LCF Law

Law firm LCF Law has appointed Andrew Donaldson as solicitor.

Originally from Canada, Andrew completed his first degree in history and Russian studies at the University of Ottawa and then went on to graduate from the University of Leicester with a bachelor of law LL.B Hons.

Qualified in 2019, Andrew has experience covering experience covers corporate dispute resolution and commercial litigation, insolvency, restructuring and other corporate legal work, alongside two years’ paralegal experience within a litigation team based in London and Dubai.

Head of dispute resolution at LCF Law, Charles Abraham, commented: “With several new contract wins towards the end of 2019, we were keen to bolster our team with bright new talent.

“Andrew joins lawyer Chris Dalby, who we welcomed to the insolvency team two years ago, and they both have the relevant experience and drive to succeed within our firm.”

David Cousins, Armstrong Watson LLP

Armstrong Watson LLP has appointed David Cousins as accounting director.

David joins the firm with a range of experience, having originally qualified at a Big 4 firm in London specialising in financial services audit.

More recently, David has worked with a wide range of non-financial services business, ranging from small start-ups to private equity backed business, family owned groups to PLCs, charities to NHS trusts - and everything in between.

With such broad ranging, cross service knowledge, David is able to offer advice and support to clients across the accountancy services. He enjoys getting to know businesses and understanding their strategic objectives and the challenges they face in order to support them on their journey.

Commenting on his appointment, David Cousins said: “I am excited to join Armstrong Watson’s growing and ambitious Skipton Team. Having researched the firm, I was particularly drawn to Armstrong Watson’s strong culture and values of passion, honest, humanity and trust - which they have proven to exemplify both internally and externally.

“There are some fantastic businesses across the region and I look forward to providing them with the quality of advice and support they deserve.”

Rohan Day, Armstrong Watson Skipton’s lead partner, commented: “We are delighted that David has agreed to join the Armstrong Watson team in Skipton.

“David’s wide ranging capabilities and extensive experience will ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our clients and to help them grow and prosper.

“David’s role will be particularly focused on family businesses and the provision of support to the internal finance functions of these businesses through strategic advice, management accounting support, systems and technology, and he will be a huge asset to the Yorkshire team.”

Alastair Gordon, West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce

West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has appointed Alastair Gordon ad Chair for the chamber’s transport group

A chartered civil engineer by profession, Alastair leads Arup’s transport planning team in the North West and Yorkshire.

Alastair brings with him 23 years of experience of delivering infrastructure schemes within urban centres and has worked on projects including Leeds Arena and brownfield regeneration site York Central.

Commenting on his appointment, Alastair said: “ West and North Yorkshire has a thriving and ambitious economy but its transport system needs improving if it is to realise its potential.

“I plan to look at how we can better connect our communities and develop a truly integrated transport offering to allow business, residents and visitors to travel easily and effectively.

“As our transport system adapts to our growing needs, we need to make sure that these changes are not detrimental to our environment. I will look to new technologies and explore how their adoption can help us create a clean, safe and sustainable network for our communities.”