The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 30: April/May 2017 | Page 8

APPOINTED
Swindon Place Board
appoints its first chair NYNKE IS FEELING
INSPIRED
The Swindon Place Board,
the private sector-led body
that is driving the Switch On
To Swindon campaign, has
appointed Jenny Groves,
Director of Branch and Property
Transformation at Nationwide,
as its new Chair.
The Place Board was
established at the formal launch
of the Switch On To Swindon
campaign in January, when more
than 400 business people and
community representatives met
to sign up to the start of a new
approach to highlight locally
and nationally that Swindon is a
great place to live, work, invest
in and visit.
Switch On To Swindon is
driven by local businesses and
community groups to support
and deliver the changes they Nynke Hunter has joined Wiltshire’s largest business
network Inspire, as head of their recently launched
Elevate Network.
want to see. The campaign is
based on similar initiatives from
across the country that have
already brought in significant
investment for their regions.
Jenny graduated from
Queen’s University, Belfast with
a degree in Computer Science,
Statistics and Operational
Research and joined Nationwide
as an IT graduate 30 years ago.
Her roles there have included
leading on IT transformation,
leading on customer experience
by driving up satisfaction and
reducing complaints, and
running the building society’s
national property portfolio ATM
network.
Jenny is due to leave
Nationwide in March 2017 and
is looking forward to taking
on the new role of chair of the
Swindon Place Board.
Jenny said that she is
relishing the challenge of her
new role.
“Since the Switch on to
Swindon campaign began to
take shape I’ve learned more
about Swindon’s fantastic
economic attributes and
achievements than in all the 28
years I’ve lived in Swindon.”
“Over the past 30 years
I’ve acquired a range of skills
at senior level and I feel very
excited to be able to contribute
to the fantastic developing story
of Switch On To Swindon.”
Elevate is a unique programme
designed to help Wiltshire’s most
ambitious companies grow. To qualify
for Inspire Elevate your business must
have a turnover of at least £100,000
and a passion for growth.
Having started as a small business
owner herself, Nynke understands
the challenges SMEs face. Nynke
joins Inspire from the Fredericks
Foundation, a responsible finance
provider.
Rob Perks chair of Inspire said:
“We are delighted to welcome Nynke
to the team. She has a wealth of
experience in helping and supporting
SMEs and an enviable network of
relationships across the county and
beyond. Nynke will play a key role
in accelerating the growth in our
network and linking our scale-up
businesses to the relevant and
valuable support which is available.
If you are a growing business, or
have clients who are growing, Nynke
would love to meet you and explain
the many resources available to
support you.”
Thrings eyes the future with appointment
of six newly-qualified solicitors
Thrings has welcomed the NQs to work in the Company
Commercial, Commercial Litigation, Planning and Family teams
across four of its five main UK offices after they successfully
completed their structured, two-year training contracts.
The six are: Megan Prideaux (Family, Bath); Tara Connor
(Family, Swindon); David Geller (Company Commercial,
Swindon); Simon Bosworth (Commercial Litigation, Bristol);
Hannah Mannion (Planning, Bristol); and Tania Pugh
(Commercial Litigation, London).
Comprising four six-month seats, the programme provided
each trainee with the opportunity to gain experience in a
minimum of three different practice areas, with a balance of
contentious and non-contentious work types.
In this case, however, the six NQs were able to qualify
ahead of schedule as a result of the experience they gained as
paralegals under a process known as ‘time to count’.
The six also received ongoing professional and personal
support and guidance as a result of Thrings’ ‘buddy’ system,
8
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
with the trainees assigned to a more senior team member each
time they move seat. Buddies help trainees settle into their new
positions, passing on their knowledge and experience about
the role and the team t