This week's London appointments

Howard Watt, Fladgate

Law firm Fladgate has appointed Howard Watt to its London team.

Venture capital lawyer Howard brings over 15 years’ experience to his new role, having provided corporate and commercial advice to funds, investors, entrepreneurs, startups and high growth companies.

Howard advises both funds and investee companies with deal experience that ranges from early/seed stage investments and spanning the full life cycle of Series A-D, through to M&A and IPO exits for venture-backed companies.

Howard also spent six years as in-house counsel to a major European growth venture fund and so has hands-on experience from both the fund and client side of transactions.

Howard commented: “I’m tremendously excited to be joining Fladgate during this period of recent remarkable growth.

“With many of my clients requesting advice in areas such as fund formation, tax and options, FCA regulation, and private client, I am delighted to join a firm with the breadth and depth of experience to service those clients, and to be working alongside an expert team who have the same ‘partner-led’ approach that I share.”

Grant Gordon, executive partner at Fladgate, added: “Howard Watt’s arrival is great news for the development of our highly differentiated legal services for clients in the venture capital and technology space.

“The firm is building out a breadth of carefully shaped services for both business and private clients that have fast moving, complex challenges and which require a mix of solutions delivered, importantly, by a highly personal service from their lawyers.”

Greg Cox, FRP

Specialist business advisory firm FRP has appointed Greg Cox as a director.

With more than 10 years’ experience, including a year in industry with Inchcape plc, Greg joins from Deloitte, where he worked within the mergers and acquisitions team.

Greg specialises in advising family-owned, privately-owned and private equity-backed businesses on a range of transactions, including acquisitions, disposals and management buyouts. He typically advises on deals valued between £10m and £100m.

Matthew Flower, corporate finance partner at FRP in London, commented: “Greg’s experience across a broad range of industries and his collaborative approach to advisory work is a great fit with our corporate finance team.

“His appointment reinforces our commitment to the market and follows a considerable period of growth for the firm.

“We continue to invest heavily in strengthening our teams, growing our client portfolio and advising on transactions, particularly as momentum in the deals market gathers, with business leaders planning ahead for future growth. It’s great to have him join the team as we continue to expand our reach in London and across the UK.”

Greg added: “FRP is an entrepreneurial-spirited, ambitious firm renowned in the market for its exceptional culture. The corporate finance team has been behind a number of significant deals across the UK over the last year and has attracted exceptional talent, so it’s an exciting opportunity for me to join at this time of growth.

“After a challenging year for many, deal activity is now increasing and there’s a wealth of opportunity for businesses across Greater London and the South.

“I look forward to working closely with Matthew and the team to support clients in reviewing their strategy, planning ahead and achieving their growth ambitions.”

*David Wynne, Red Badger

Red Badger has appointed co-founder David Wayne as CEO..

Trained as a software engineer, David has been in the chief operating officer role for the last five years, overseeing the operational side of the digital product delivery and business operations.

David commented: “Red Badger is proud to work with some of the world’s most loved brands. Our clients place digital at the core and our partnership with them has delivered some incredible success stories.

“To support our growth and maintain exceptional levels of service, we are currently making significant investment in our teams, attracting top talent and expanding offerings to ensure exceptional business value is delivered.

“This is a pivotal phase of our development and I’m looking forward to making a meaningful impact and steering us forward.”

Cain Ullah, board member and former CEO, added: “I’m proud of the progress Red Badger has made over the last 11 years.

“We have decided, for the next stage of growth for Red Badger, it is time for us to have one CEO that is solely accountable for the day-to-day running of the business and with it, be empowered to make much faster strategic decisions.

“Dave is an incredible leader, a great strategist and his values are part of why this business has been so successful. I look forward to supporting Dave in his new role and am excited for Red Badger’s future with Dave at the helm.”

Iain Jacob, Nano Interactive

Advertising technology platform Nano Interactive has appointed Iain Jacob as independent non-executive chair.

Advertising industry veteran and ex EMEA CEO for Publicis Media, Iain will ensure Nano Interactive leverages the head start and competitive advantage it has gained in developing its technology to become a global leader in personal, identity-free targeting.

Prior to Publicis Media, Iain was EMEA CEO of Starcom Mediavest Group. He is currently chair of online measurement body UKOM..

Iain is also a member of the board of advisors for digital advertising business LoopMe as well as chair to the board of directors at advertising technology business Inskin and video content creation and production company Wooshii.

Carl White, co-founder and CEO at Nano Interactive, commented: “We are delighted to have Iain joining us.

“He has a very impressive background in the advertising sector with significant experience helping to drive success and innovation with advertising technology businesses that are looking to grow.

“Iain’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Nano as we embark on an exciting period of global expansion and his guidance will be incredibly valuable in driving this.”

Iain added: “The digital advertising industry is currently undergoing a seismic shift as we seek alternatives to third-party cookie tracking. Nano Interactive is at the forefront of this change and its business model, which prides itself in being totally identity free, is uniquely positioned to lead the sector into a more privacy lead, user-centric future.

“I am looking forward to joining the team at this exciting period for Nano and helping to drive the business forward to take advantage of its future-fit advertising solution.”