The latest Bondholder appointments and promotions

Nelsons, Flint Bishop, YMCA Derbyshire, Rolls-Royce, Nielsen McAllister, Planning & Design Practice and Ascentant Accountancy are among the latest Marketing Derby Bondholders to announce new appointments.

At Nelsons, a highly experienced team of four corporate lawyers are joining the law firm, relocating from Knights.

Gavin White and Rachel Bennett, both partners, have joined Nelsons alongside senior associate Hannah Jones with legal director Peter Abel set to join on 30 September.

The corporate quartet is the third team to join Nelsons in 2024.

At the start of the year, specialist personal injury partners Emma Zukowska and Julie Hardy made the move from Barratts, and this spring Nelsons also welcomed the expert insolvency trio of Adrian Slater, Hayley Brown and Abbie Fotheringham, also from Knights.

Stewart Vandermark, chief executive at Nelsons, said: “It is great to be welcoming such a talented group of solicitors, to help strengthen our existing corporate team.

“Our unique culture and clear vision, as well as the new opportunities opened by being part of Lawfront, have played an important part in the increased interest from professionals at the top of their field, which we have benefited from this year.

“This additional strength in depth across a number of specialisms has enhanced our offering and ensures we are continuing to offer our clients the best possible service.”

Law firm Flint Bishop has appointed Paul Tennant as its new chief information officer as it looks to make further significant investment in innovation and technology to enhance the delivery of its services, support clients’ objectives and disrupt the market in its quest to become a leading scaled provider of legal services in the UK.

He brings over two decades of experience in driving significant growth through innovation, transformation, and the design and delivery of strategically aligned information technology solutions.

In his new role, Paul will be responsible for developing and executing Flint Bishop’s innovation and technology strategy, ensuring the successful delivery of transformational projects across all areas of the business.

Qamer Ghafoor, chief executive of Flint Bishop, said: “I am delighted to welcome Paul to the firm.

“His extensive experience—particularly in designing and executing technology roadmaps, innovation, managing large-scale IT projects, and leading teams through significant growth and change, together with onboarding several legal businesses through acquisitions—makes him an exceptional addition to our leadership team.”

At YMCA Derbyshire, Karen Puszczynska has been appointed as its head of early years and childcare.

She will lead its nurseries and school services, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of early childhood education across the charity.

With more than 30 years of experience in the early years sector, Karen brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role.

Her leadership will be instrumental in expanding and enhancing the services offered by YMCA Derbyshire, ensuring that children across its nurseries and partner schools receive the best possible start in life.

Gillian Sewell, chief executive of YMCA Derbyshire, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Karen to our team.

“Her dedication to early childhood education and her innovative approach will be invaluable as we continue to grow and serve our community. We look forward to the positive impact she will undoubtedly make.”

Rolls-Royce SMR has announced that Ruth Todd CBE will join its executive team as operations and supply chain director, with an immediate focus on the industrialisation and scale up of the firm’s small modular reactor (SMR).

Ruth was chief commercial officer for the UK Government HS2 programme and, before that, the Covid-19 UK Vaccine Task Force, where she led the programme to deliver coronavirus vaccines for the UK.

Chris Cholerton, chief executive of Rolls-Royce SMR, said: “I am delighted to welcome Ruth to the team at this important time.

“Much of our work in recent years has been on product development and securing contract certainty – as we make meaningful progress on both, our emphasis moves to the industrialisation and significant scale-up ahead of us.

“Ruth’s experience and expertise in complex infrastructure programmes will further strengthen our leadership team as we focus on de-risking the challenges ahead and implementing our industrialisation plan.”

PR and communications experts Nielsen McAllister has appointed two new University of Derby graduates, Mitchell Lakin and Tom Starkey, as account executives to better support its growing client base while strengthening its bonds with the university.

Managing director Simon Wildash said: “We are pleased to welcome both Mitchell and Tom to the Nielsen McAllister team.

“As the agency continues to grow, their expertise in writing and publishing will strengthen the quality of content we provide to our clients, supporting the ongoing expansion of our portfolio.”

Planning & Design Practice has welcomed two new recruits to its team – architectural assistant Beth White and planner Mollie Arif.

Beth has joined after completing her Master’s degree at Nottingham Trent University, where she developed an interest in conservation and sustainable design, which she is keen to apply to her work at the firm.

Mollie, who works closely with firm’s heritage team, recently completed an Msc in Urban Planning at Sheffield Hallam University and is now working towards her RTPI chartership on the Degree Apprenticeship pathway.

Richard Pigott, director at Planning & Design, said: “We are excited to welcome Beth and Mollie to the team.

“Both are very enthusiastic and have skill sets that complement the work we do in our planning, architectural and heritage teams.“

Finally, Ascentant Accountancy has welcomed Adrian Peck as business development coordinator.

Adrian brings a wealth of experience, having worked with another local accountancy practice.

He will be responsible for building business relationships, community engagement and raising the profile of Ascentant Accountancy through events, workshops and educational partnerships.

Director Kevin Drew said: “We are really excited to have Adrian on board with his enthusiasm and experience.

“He shares the values of Ascentant Accountancy and has plenty of engaging ideas to help the business achieve its goals and beyond.”