Irene Hamilton joins Manchester Central as Director of Finance and Corporate Services. In her new role, she will lead Manchester Central’s finance and corporate services functions, which include HR and compliance.

Joining the business from ACC Liverpool, where she spent almost ten years, Irene brings with her extensive experience across the full range of event industry disciplines.

Beginning her early career in event and venue management roles, a move to Jersey saw Irene take on the position of Head of Conference Sales at the prestigious Hotel de France. From there, she became Deputy Theatre Director at the Jersey Opera House, where her commercial responsibilities inspired her to begin training for her accountancy qualifications.

Now a Fellow of the ACCA, the world of events remains Irene’s industry of choice.

Irene said: “Over the last few years there’s been a real shift in event organisers starting to see the North West as a viable alternative to London.

It’s clear that Manchester is a hugely ambitious city and having a thriving convention centre, uniquely at its heart, is a crucial part of realising those ambitions. I’m thrilled to be part of Team Manchester Central and look forward to shaping plans that will achieve growth for the venue and wider city.”

Shaun Hinds, CEO of Manchester Central, said: “Irene joins us at an incredibly exciting time when we’re looking at ways to take the venue to the next level. Her background in not just finance, but the wider events industry, meant that she was the ideal candidate for this position and the whole team at Manchester Central is looking forward to working with her.”

The North-West’s fastest growing family law firm has added to its specialist children law teams with four new recruits.

Joining the award-winning McAlister Family Law, which has offices in Manchester city centre and throughout Cheshire, and is ranked in the latest edition of the Legal 500, are Jessica Horsman, Laura Phillips, Nina Rawlings and Natalie Kralski.

Jessica Horsman, solicitor, who joins the children law team from Bromleys Solicitors, specialises in children law, including child protection matters, and is particularly experienced in representing the interests of parents and grandparents in proceedings.  She is an accredited Children Panel member and an accredited police station representative and regularly carries out her own advocacy in court.  “My new role at McAlister Family Law is both exciting and challenging, and I am thrilled to be working with lawyers who are some of the most experienced and respected in their fields of expertise,” she said.

Laura Phillips, assistant solicitor, joins the firm from Stephensons Solicitors; she will be covering matters such as care proceedings, adoption, and residence and contact disputes. Nina Rawlings, paralegal, joins the children law team headed by Donna Roberts, a team which specialises in adoption, carrying out work on behalf of the children’s guardian, parents and local authority.  Natalie Kralski, also paralegal, joins the specialist guardian team headed by panel solicitor and partner Nick Hodson; the team represents and fights for the rights of some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

Amanda McAlister, managing director, said: “As a family law firm, we are passionately committed to the welfare of children and delivering the highest levels of service to those who need us, and we are careful to recruit only those whose beliefs echo this commitment. We are therefore delighted to welcome these four new recruits to the business.

“McAlister Family Law is not yet two years old, but we have experienced an overwhelming demand from those looking for a strength and depth of experience unrivalled outside of London, as a result of which, our business continues to grow exponentially.”

Workspace Design & Build (D&B) has promoted Jerome Broderick and Mike Puttick to the position of Associate Director, taking its directorship to five.

Jerome and Mike have both become an integral part of the Workspace family and this promotion follows a significant period of growth for the Manchester-headquartered company.

Mike Puttick joined Workspace in November 2017 as a Contracts Manager. Stepping into this new role, Mike will focus on managing and overseeing all current projects from an operations standpoint – including all project staff from Senior Contracts Managers to Sites Operatives across the portfolio.

Mike said “I am delighted to be part of this amazing company and to be able to contribute to its growth and success.

“This is an exciting challenge for me. We are working on some really prominent projects which will be interesting to manage and see grow over the coming months.”

Jerome Broderick joined the Workspace team in November 2018 as a Commercial Manager leading the Quantity Surveying team and supporting the board’s commercial strategy.

Jerome will continue to manage the QS team while overseeing and implementing new processes. With this promotion, Jerome will take an active role in both new business and staff development.

Jerome Broderick said: “I am thrilled to be joining the board of directors six months after having joined the company.”

Both Jerome and Mike are currently managing the UA92 project in Trafford Park, converting the former Kellogg’s HQ into a game-changing centre for higher education for students seeking careers in business, sport, media and psychology.

Managing Director of Workspace D&B Russell Davis said: “We are delighted to promote both Jerome and Mike. They have proved integral to our continued growth and are leading some of our major projects.

“This has already proven a big year for the company as we hit record head count and opened a Midlands operation. We are excited for what is to come.”

KPMG has appointed Christine Hewson as its new North Region Chair.

Christine takes on the role from Chris Hearld who was recently named Head of Regions nationally after joining the firm’s executive leadership team.

Based in KPMG’s Leeds office, Christine is an elected member of the firm’s UK Board and has more than 20 years’ experience working across its operations in the North of England, having led its northern Tax & Pensions and Retail practices. She was appointed to KPMG’s partnership in 2006 having joined as a graduate in 1989.

In addition to her role on the UK Board, she sponsors the firm’s partnership with Bedford High School in Leigh. She was also invited to the Northern Power Women’s Power List in 2017 and mentors women in business and not for profit sectors across the region.

Christine Hewson, KPMG Partner and North Region Chair, said: “The North’s business community continues to prove to be one of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial, both at home and internationally. Our traditional sectors remain vital to the region’s future prosperity as they evolve alongside the success of emerging and fast-growth digital industries.

“I’m delighted to be leading such a strong team of people across our offices and looking forward to working closely with Nicola Quayle, Euan West and David Elliott, as office senior partners, to support our ambitious client base in making their visions a reality. There is a real need to bring the government’s industrial strategy to life and it’s clear that, with the right support, business leaders across the region have both the knowledge and the resolve to do so.”

Chris Hearld, Head of Regions at KPMG, added: “Christine has played a key role in developing our northern strategy in recent years and I am in no doubt she will continue to prove an outstanding champion and leader for the region. Our northern business grew by seven per cent last year and we have developed an exceptional partnership across the firm that will only grow stronger as we look to support business’ aspirations both now and in future.”