Blick Rothenberg has appointed John Bull as its first head of private client for the UK. Previously he was head of US UK private client. Bull is a dual US/UK qualified tax advisor who joined Blick Rothenberg in August 2016. Two years later, he was promoted to partner. He has over 17 years’ experience as a personal tax advisor, specialising in advising private clients on their US/UK personal tax issues. He works with high net worth individuals, their families and trustees to help them navigate a host of issues, including US tax classification, US and UK transfer (gift, estate and inheritance) taxes, and US/UK tax implications of the receipt of benefits from trusts.

RSM UK has appointed Helen Brocklebank as regional managing partner in the Midlands, effective from 1 April 2024. In her new role, Brocklebank will continue to strengthen and grow the regional business, focusing on building on the strong momentum in the Midlands region, which has over 500 employees in the Birmingham, Nottingham and Leicester offices. In addition to her new role, she will continue to oversee offices in the East of England and head up the M&A team in the West Midlands. Brocklebank has been with RSM for over 17 years, joining the M&A team in 2007 as an associate and progressing through the ranks to become partner.

Mazars has appointed Dima Shamanov as deputy ethics partner in a newly created role, where he will be responsible for continuing to advance ethics and independence, principles which are of fundamental importance as the firm continues to grow both in the audit and non-audit space. Shamanov will have oversight of the ethical and moral rigour applied across Mazars when assisting clients, ensuring the firm remains committed to its core values of integrity and independence. He joins the firm from EY where he was an independence director, leading the team responsible for the independence aspect of audit client pursuits, non-audit services consultations and the firm’s acquisitions.

Grant Thornton has appointed Alex Miller as partner in the newly formed VAT technology and transformation team. He will be responsible for building and leading the team, which is focused on developing technology and automation offerings to support clients’ end-to-end VAT accounting and compliance. A VAT technical expert with 30 years’ experience, Miller joins from Lloyds Banking Group where he was VAT senior manager for 11 years, and was previously at HSBC. Matthew Hicken has been appointed as audit director in the Thames Valley and Southampton team. He will be responsible for working with private capital and US-focused businesses, helping them to develop and overcome the challenges of international growth, financing and operations. He first joined the firm nine years ago as an accountancy intern before qualifying in 2018.

Armstrong Watson has appointed Michael Morris as an audit and assurance partner in Newcastle. With a career spanning more than 25 years, he has a wealth of experience and joins the firm after 13 years with Deloitte, where he led the entrepreneurial business team for five years. Morris has worked with a range of businesses in the northeast and Cumbria, including family and owner-managed, and PE-backed businesses across most sectors.

Dow Schofield Watts has appointed Ryan Shields as a partner in its rapidly expanding Midlands corporate finance team. He will be focusing on building the firm’s corporate finance presence in Milton Keynes and Northampton, an area where he has a strong track record. He joins from Grant Thornton in Milton Keynes where he was an M&A director and gained his accountancy qualifications, before moving into the corporate finance team and rising through the ranks.

DLA Piper has appointed Andrew Sackey to its corporate crime and investigations (CCI) team in London. He joins from Pinsent Masons where he was head of the firm’s global investigations practice and, more recently, head of office for London. His past experience also includes working in senior legal and operational roles at HMRC and Serious Fraud Office (SFO). His practice is primarily focused on large scale, domestic and international bribery, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering investigations. He joins at a time of expected heightened activity in this area as a new director takes the helm at the SFO and significant new ‘failure to prevent’ legislation comes into force.

DNG Dove Naish LLP has promoted Nicola Fox (Nicki) to the position of associate director, audit. In her new role, she will continue to lead and mentor the audit team in Northampton, ensuring the delivery of comprehensive audit solutions for clients. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, having demonstrated outstanding performance and commitment since joining the firm seven years ago. Her promotion reflects DNG’s commitment to recognising and nurturing talent from within the organisation.

The restructuring and insolvency arm of PKF has appointed Philip King, the former chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) as an advisor on a part-time basis. He has joined to help the firm extend its insolvency capabilities, and is highly respected across the credit industry. King has worked in the sector for more than 40 years, including 26 years in front-line credit management. Most recently, he was non executive director at Optimum SME Finance and Saltare, and a director at Good Business Pays CIC.

Accounting network HLB has appointed Coco Liu as chief growth officer. In her new role, Liu will focus on strategic growth objectives globally, building relationships with stakeholders and the wider business community. She brings a wealth of experience and previously served as HLB’s chief regional officer for Asia Pacific and head of global business channels. She is also the founder of HLB’s Global China Service and was named on the Asia Real Estate Sector Power Women 2023 list. 

UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has appointed two board members, former EY partner Tony Clifford and head of external reporting at Travelex, Owen Glaysher, to further strengthen the governance and experience of the board to deliver for UK stakeholders. Both have both been appointed for three-year terms. Kathryn Cearns OBE will step down from the board when her term ends on 14 March. Nine existing board members have been reappointed for a second term, effective from 15 March, including Mike Ashley, Phil Aspin, Paul Lee, Liz Murrall, Giles Mullins, Sandra Thompson, Amir Amel-Zadeh, Michael Wells and Katherine Coates.

Zedra has promoted Nicola Parnham to the newly created role of client relationship director to head up the governance team. Based in Leeds, she will work closely with clients to ensure all their needs are being fulfilled and strategise on new initiatives. Parnham joined the business in 2018 and previously spent 29 years with AON in a range of senior relationship management and business development roles.

Pension specialist Cartwright has appointed Yona Chesner as senior investment consultant and head of investment (north). Based in Manchester, he will be responsible for heading up the firm’s new local presence in the north. Chesner joins from Isio where he was a director, and previously he spent 11 years at Deloitte, progressively advancing through roles from senior consultant to director, accumulating expertise in both investment management and financial advisory services.

Quantum Advisory has promoted Darren Wateridge FIA to principal consultant, based in the London office. He joined the firm in 2013 as a senior consultant and actuary, and has over 25 years’ experience in the pensions industry. He is currently scheme actuary to a number of pension scheme clients and advises trustees and companies on the wide range of issues affecting pension schemes including scheme funding, company accounting, scheme benefit change exercises and de-risking strategies.