This week's North East appointments

Anna Stephenson, Craig Malarkey, Swinburne Maddison LLP

Swinburne Maddison LLP has added to its corporate and commercial team with the senior appointment of Craig Malarkey.

In a second appointment at partner level, Swinburne Maddison has announced that Anna Stephenson, currently head of the firm’s private client team, has also been made a partner.

Both positions are effective from December 1 and form part of the firm’s ambitious expansion plans, which were announced following a reorganisation at the start of its financial year on May 1.

Partner Martyn Tennant said: “Craig has risen through the ranks at his last law firm to become head of the corporate and commercial team, specialising in corporate finance and transactional matters.

“We are extremely pleased that he has decided to join our team at this exciting stage in our development, which has seen our busiest year to date. He is a fantastic addition to our service offering.

“The timing of Craig’s arrival could not be better, given the volume, quality and complexity of our caseload which has created the need for more senior members of staff to lead on our many transactional engagements.”

Managing Partner, Jonathan Moreland said: “Anna has distinguished herself over eight sterling years with our firm, the highlight of which was her key role in helping the team to win the Northern Law Awards ‘Private Client Team of the Year’ in 2018.

“She was promoted in May that year to the position of managing associate and became head of private client soon after.

“Anna is an outstanding practitioner in her field of Wills, Trusts and Probate and has been extremely successful in leading the team, so it was an easy decision to appoint her to the partnership, a level at which I am confident she will further utilise her talents to help shape our future success.

Lindsay Gill, Benjamin Park, Onyx Health

Healthcare marketing communication specialists Onyx Health have made two new senior appointments, following a year of income growth and international client expansion.

The Newcastle based agency has appointed Lindsay Gill as their Head of Content and Benjamin Park as Chief Storyteller to expand and enhance their client service offering.

Prior to joining Onyx Health, Lindsay worked as Science Communication Manager for the Centre for Process Innovation and Marketing Manager for aerospace technology company CAV Systems.

Benjamin previously worked for Newcastle-based digital marketing agency Curtis Gabriel as Senior Account Strategist, where he oversaw their North American operations, having previously worked as the Head of Section for the US transportation division.

The latest top appointments come off the back of a successful year for the agency. They have more than doubled their fee incomes, increased their headcount from 13 at the start of lockdown to 26, and won international client accounts.

Commenting on the new appointments, Executive Director Trevor Pill said, “It’s been an incredible year for the agency. We have doubled in size, despite the challenging operating conditions caused by the pandemic. Our ethos has always been that we would thrive and not just survive, and we’ve done just that.

“Lindsay and Benjamin bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team that will turbocharge the digital and strategic content services we can offer to our clients.

“Digital storytelling has become an increasingly important part of client work at Onyx Health; we aspire to create eye-catching content that stands out in a crowded online space. Our new additions to the team will strengthen our expertise in these areas.”

Pete Townsend, Jonathan Chapman, @retail

North East property consultancy @retail has announced two senior promotions as it continues to develop and grow its business.

Pete Townsend and Jonathan Chapman have been promoted to the position of associate director. Both will continue to provide specialist advice and services to landlords and occupiers alike, across the region and beyond.

Clients include local and national landlords, investment funds, developers and local authorities in addition to operators such as Greggs, Sainsbury’s, Heron Foods, Fat Hippo, The Works and Franks the Flooring Store.

The promotions come as @retail has continued to maintain a strong performance during the pandemic in a sector which has seen considerable transition but also prompted increasing demand from landlords and tenants for insightful property expertise and guidance.

Director Ian Thurlbeck said: “Our investment in talented people is fundamental to the success of our business of providing top quality advice to the retail and leisure property sectors in the North East.

“Pete and Jonathan have both established excellent reputations for hard work, delivering results and providing an excellent service to clients and these promotions bear recognition to that, as we look ahead to the recruitment of additional property professionals to support our expanding client base.

Jonathan Chapman added: “The market is adapting to the changes in shopping patterns, working practices and property values brought about by the pandemic. We’re in a very dynamic marketplace where opportunities exist for ambitious and creative operators to secure premises in locations which may have previously been considered out of reach.

“It’s a very exciting time for @retail and the wider property sector and both Pete and I look forward to working closely with the directors to continue to develop the business and to support our clients in helping them achieve their goals.”

Joanne Corbidge, Shaun Reynolds, James Walmsley, Elise Foster, Susan Luke, Kelly Smith, Kevin Smith, Kris Allington, Barry Douglass, Tara Solanki, Aon plc

The global professional services firm, Aon plc, has strengthened its Newcastle and Stockton teams with five key leadership appointments and promotions.

Joanne Corbidge, who has thirty years experience, joins the Newcastle offices’ leadership team as client management director and is responsible for managing the corporate team. Prior to joining Aon, Corbidge was a client executive at Lockton Companies LLP.

In the Newcastle office, Shaun Reynolds has been promoted to client management director, James Walmsley to client service director, and Elise Foster to operations manager. Susan Luke, who is based in Stockton and has over 20 years experience, also joins the leadership team after being promoted to client management director.

In addition to strengthening its leadership team, Aon, due to continued market growth, has made a number of further appointments and promotions across its Newcastle and Stockton offices.

To support Luke and the Stockton office’s next phase of development, Kelly Smith and Kevin Smith have respectively been promoted to client service specialist and client manager, whilst Kris Allington moves from client manager to client director in Newcastle.

Barry Douglass who joins from Protect Ltd and has 34 years industry experience, and Tara Solanki who joins from Gallagher with 14 years experience, have both been appointed as client managers.

Solanki joins the corporate team and Douglass the advisory team. Based in the Newcastle office, Solanki and Douglass will be responsible for a book of clients, identifying and analysing risks and providing the best insurance and risk management solutions.

Nathan Douglas, Knight Frank Newcastle

Knight Frank’s Newcastle office has welcomed a new commercial property professional to its 76-strong team.

Nathan Douglas will be working alongside Patrick Matheson in the office agency team.

He started his commercial property career at Home Group as an asset manager and was then recruited by Avison Young, in Bristol, as a surveyor.

His role at Knight Frank will be marketing, selling and leasing offices to occupiers on behalf of landlords and helping businesses find their perfect office.

Nathan said: “I saw a post on Linkedin advertising the job and I really wanted to be back in the North East where I still have a lot of friends, so I went for it. I’m so glad I did. I like to be out and about, meeting people and building relationships and that is a big part of this role.”

Partner, Patrick Matheson, said: “Now is a great time to be joining the team. Enquiries for offices are steadily increasing after the pandemic and there are lots of great opportunities for us in the pipeline.”