City Moves for 26 June 2018 – who’s switching jobs at Shop Direct, Eversheds Sutherland and Blippar?
Today's City Moves cover retail, legal eagles and tech. Take a look at these movers and shakers:
Shop Direct
Shop Direct, the UK’s second largest pureplay digital retailer, has appointed Emma Alexander as fashion director, heading up its branded and own brand clothing and footwear offerings. She will report to group product director and executive board member, Sam Perkins. Emma joins the company, which operates Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, on 9 July from Jack Wills, where she was chief product officer with responsibility for all categories globally, covering buying, design and sourcing. She led a 75-strong team that improved the product offering and speed to market, as well as grew the retailer’s customer base. Prior to this, Emma spent four years as brand director at USC, where she helped to turnaround the business, and four years at Marks & Spencer in senior fashion roles, including head of buying for men’s formalwear, footwear and accessories, and head of buying for the Per Una and Limited Collection brands in womenswear. Her experience also spans positions with Jaeger and River Island.
Eversheds Sutherland
Eversheds Sutherland has strengthened its financial services group with the appointment of new funds partner Ben Watford. Ben, who joins from MJ Hudson where he led the London hedge fund practice, is highly experienced in relation to the formation, liquidation and financing of investment funds. His clients include financial institutions, tier one fund managers, first-time managers, high-net-worth individuals, sovereign investors, crypto investors and entrepreneurs. Listed in the Legal 500 as a recommended lawyer for 2017, Ben’s practice has a particular emphasis on the structuring and establishment of onshore and offshore investment funds in various jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, the Channel Islands and the US. His expertise also includes structured finance, banking, securitisation and fixed income as well as refinancings and restructurings.
Blippar
Blippar, the leading augmented reality and computer vision company, has appointed Libby Penn as the company’s chief operating officer (COO). Libby will lead Blippar’s global operations, driving its path to profitability, while overseeing the move to a SaaS structure for Blippar’s integrated augmented reality creation, publishing and advertising platform. Libby is the former COO of Spektrix, the fastest-growing ticketing and CRM software company for the entertainment sector. She delivered a sustained 40 per cent year-on-year growth in the UK, growing market share to 45 per cent. She also launched the company’s US presence in New York, driving client acquisition and team development.
To appear in City Moves please email your career updates and pictures to citymoves@cityam.com.