Will Holmes

Organisation & Position:
BHP Corporate Finance, Assistant Director

Contact Details
Work: 0113 2743496
Mobile: 07718 563167
Email: will.holmes@bhp.co.uk

About

Will has been in the BHP Corporate Finance team since January 2015, having previously trained as a Certified Accountant at JWPCreers in York.

He has been heavily involved within the Leeds business networking community and joined the committee in 2015 in order to give something back and help develop the organisation.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
The P100 club means a lot to me as I came to Leeds knowing only a few people within the business community. It was therefore a gateway to establishing a network of good contacts within the corporate finance and related industries.

It is an informal way of meeting likeminded people in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, often with a drink or two.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully I will have established myself within the corporate finance community and be delivering some great results for our clients.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Becoming a fully qualified Certified Accountant after what seemed like a lifetime of revision and examinations.

Darren Cassidy

Organisation & Position:

KPMG LLP – Transaction Services Assistant Manager

Contact Details:
Darren.cassidy@kpmg.co.uk
M 07825 866742

About
Darren joined the Deal Advisory Transaction Services team at KPMG in Leeds in late 2018. Prior to this Darren gained three years’ experience and training within the Audit practice at KPMG, working with a range of clients within the Public Sector. Darren qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2018 and has a background within the accountancy networking pool, serving as Chair for the Leeds Chartered Accountants Student Society during 2018/2019.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
The P100 Club to me, is an opportunity to meet like minded people, from similar professions and situation, in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years’ time I hope to be working overseas in either New York or Sydney!

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my short career thus far would be achieving chartered accountant status!

Tamanna Keir

Organisation & Position:

Gateley Plc, Solicitor

Contact Details:

Tel: 0113 204 1172

Mobile: 07702 878 747 Email: tamanna.keir@gateleyplc.com LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tamannakeir

About

Tamanna is a solicitor in the Corporate department at Gateley Plc and assists clients with local and cross-border M&A (including clients based in the US, East Asia, India and Europe), private equity and capital markets. Outside of work, Tamanna is a keen musician and is particularly keen on attending festivals.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?

The Professional 100 Club is unique in that it facilitates relationships with a range of professionals in Leeds that are all at a similar level to me. There is a conscious effort to ensure that attendees get the maximum exposure to new contacts and relationships that may be able to help out in the future and it has definitely helped me to establish contacts within the corporate finance industry.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself as a senior associate, successfully leading and completing corporate transactions alongside a supportive team.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Obviously qualifying as a solicitor is very high on my list of highlights but I think this was topped off with my first transaction being the sale of a controlling stake in the Peppa Pig brand.

Martin Wilman

Organisation & Position:

Armstrong Watson LLP, Restructuring, Recovery & Insolvency Assistant Manager

Contact Details:

DDI: 0113 2211 349
Email: martin.wilman@armstrongwatson.co.uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinwilman/

About

Martin is an Assistant Manager in the Restructuring, Recovery & Insolvency department at Armstrong Watson LLP and deals with both individual and corporate insolvencies.

Martin joined Armstrong Watson LLP two years ago, having previously worked as a Bankruptcy Case Administrator at a larger firm. The move to Armstrong Watson LLP has allowed Martin to increase his exposure to corporate insolvency work and also expand his personal insolvency experience through a number of complex bankruptcy cases.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?

I have attended P100 events for a number of years and always found them to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The events are varied and have offered me an opportunity to meet with likeminded professionals and expand my network of contacts beyond the recovery and insolvency market.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My aim is to pass the Joint Insolvency Examination Board exams and qualify as an Insolvency Practitioner.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The highlight of my career to date was qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 2016.

I would also say that working on my first trading administration was both a challenging and extremely rewarding experience. I was responsible for the preparation of the Joint Administrators’ Proposals. This is a statutory document issued in all administrations. The volume and hostility of some creditors, coupled with the nature of the business meant that the Proposals were subject to a high level of scrutiny. The Proposals document was completed to a high standard and issued within a timely manner.

Richard Lindop

Organisation & Position:

Wealth Manager, Brooks MacDonald
Contact Details:

Email: richard.lindop@brooksmacdonald.com

About

Richard is a qualified Chartered Wealth Manager for Brooks Macdonald, having successfully achieved Chartered status in successfully passing all of his exams in 2016. He has been involved in the P100 Committee since 2014 and has actively been networking in Leeds since.

Outside of work Richard attends the gym 5/6 a week, with a primary focus on resistance training to achieve his personal objectives. He is a huge music fan and claims to have the most diverse taste in music of anyone he’s ever met.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?

Right from my first ever month in industry in 2014, the P100 has been an excellent way to become acquainted with like-minded people in the same, but also different, industries who are at a similar stage in their career to myself. So far, it has provided useful professional contacts as well as numerous contacts I can actually now call friends. For me, whether these contacts go on to have an impact on my career or not is secondary to having established strong relationships for life.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Having helped to grow the new Brooks Macdonald Leeds office significantly, with an aim to achieve the ‘£1bn assets’ mark by 5 years’ time. Personally, to own a pet, more specifically, a dog; though how it survives alone during work hours is yet to be determined.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Becoming Chartered whilst achieving a Merit in my first written paper, being only 1 of 2 nationally to do so.

Abi Falshaw

Organisation & Position:
Schofield Sweeney LLP, Solicitor

Contact Details
Tel: 01274 377644
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/abigail-falshaw-50168131

Email: abigailfalshaw@schofieldsweeney.co.uk

About

Abi trained at Schofield Sweeney LLP, qualifying as a solicitor into the Commercial Property team in September 2017.
Abi has been involved in various networking events in West Yorkshire and joined the P100 committee in 2018

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
P100 is about getting local professionals together to meet, compare stories and grow their networks. The variety of sectors and levels of qualification brings a range of experiences and knowledge to the events which I find really beneficial, aiding development and creating opportunities.

P100 provides its members with valuable time to get together in a relaxed environment and is a brilliant way to establish and maintain long-term professional relationships.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully progressing to the role of Associate with a view to a long-term goal of becoming a partner (with some travelling and seeing the world thrown in throughout!)

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Becoming a qualified solicitor (particularly qualifying into a brilliant team) after 7 years of hard work, both academically and in practice.

Ashley Kiernan-Firth

Organisation & Position:
Shulmans LLP

Contact Details
Tel (Direct): 0113 831 3833
Email: akiernan-firth@shulmans.co.uk

About

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Heather Stark

Organisation & Position:
Shoosmiths LLP

Contact Details
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heather-stark-22b09583
Email: heather.stark@shoosmiths.co.uk

About

Heather is a solicitor in the Commercial team at Shoosmiths, providing advice on a range of commercial contracts, IT and data protection matters. She has lived in Leeds city centre since 2014, and enjoys keeping up to speed with developments to the city. She is always keen to develop her professional network and help others to expand theirs too.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
P100 is a fantastic way to meet likeminded people and develop professional relationships from the beginning of our careers. From a personal perspective, P100 has played a key part in me expanding my professional network in Leeds.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
On my way to being a Senior Associate with a developing client base.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The day I secured my NQ position- the hard work paid off!

Haider Anwar

Organisation & Position:
HSBC UK, Associate

Contact Details
Mobile: 07384793219

Email: haider.anwar@hsbcib.com

About

Haider is an Associate in the Mid-Market Corporate Banking Team at HSBC. He currently supports local Yorkshire businesses that turnover £10-350m, with corporate banking and structured finance solutions.

Outside of work, Haider is a mentor, pilot and aspiring ‘chef’.

He enjoys flying small fixed wing planes, with several hours of flight time left till he completes his PPL.

He has a keen interest in developing his culinary skills, and usually wears swimming goggles to cut onions. He claims to have a proven track record of 0 casualties from his food making skills since university, but in hindsight is the only one who has rated his own cooking!

Lastly, he spends time mentoring BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Entrepreneurs in securing ESG grant funding for their social impact business ideas.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
The P100 Club has played a significant part into me settling into Leeds. I had moved from the US to Leeds without knowing anyone. The Club’s events and network had really supported me in developing a strong network here in Yorkshire.

Since then, I’ve managed to meet lots of likeminded individuals, and have had the opportunity to develop flourishing relationships both personally and professionally.

In return I am excited to act as a catalyst, in connecting and building sustainable relationships amongst young professionals in the region.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I look forward to establishing myself in the Yorkshire market long term. My ambitions are to help our local businesses reach their potential with smart structured finance solutions.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in more than 6 countries over the last ten years. Looking back, I’ve developed sincere appreciation towards culture and languages, which has deepened my values around diversity and inclusion.

Jack Sunter

Organisation & Position:
Mazars, Audit and Business Advisory Assistant Manager

Contact Details
Phone number: 0113 394 2000

Email: Jack.Sunter@Mazars.co.uk

About

Jack is an ACA chartered accountant with 7 years’ experience and completed his professional training and ACA qualification at KPMG. Jack moved over to Mazars in January 2018 to focus his portfolio more towards Owner-Managed and Entrepreneurial Business clients.

Jack is passionate about people and actively engage in a wide range of cross-professional groups, networks and committees.

In February 2019 he achieved 2nd place in the West Yorkshire Young Accountant of the Year Award 2019.

The best bit of his job is meeting new people every day and training, coaching and supporting the development of other people.

Getting to know you

What does the Professional 100 Club mean to you?
Over the past 3 years I have been heavily involved in the ICAEW Student Society LCASS where I have completed a variety of roles from Events rep to President.

P100 allows me to build on my previous events experience and further expand and diversify my professional network within the local region.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Progressing my career within accountancy practice and building my own base of clients.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Cliché but the highlight to date has to be becoming fully qualified. I completed a school leavers program, so began my training at 18 and spent 5 years studying for my degree and ACA qualification. It made what seemed like a long period of hard work feel very rewarding.