Chief executive Alistair Lang will be leaving his position at East Anglian law firm Birketts at the end of May, with Jonathan Agar joining the firm from a world-leading financial services provider based in London to assume the role as of June 1.

Alistair has been the firm’s chief executive officer since September 2001. He joined Birketts after a successful career at Bank of Scotland including a period as regional director in East Anglia and overseeing the bank opening new offices in Ipswich in 1993 and in Cambridge in 2000.

Alistair said: “I am grateful to have spent nearly 12 years with this great law firm, and deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to lead it along with senior partner Nigel Farthing for the last six years. I am very proud of what my Birketts colleagues have accomplished together during a decade of both successes and challenges.

“I believe that 2013 is the right time for me to step aside for a number of reasons. Birketts has grown to be a nationally recognised top 100 UK law firm. As a result, the firm is operationally very sound and positioned for continued success. I and the senior leadership team have laid out a vision for the firm that will guide Birketts for many years to come, and this gives me great confidence about Birketts’ future success.”

Birketts’ partners unanimously approved Jonathan’s appointment following a rigorous recruitment process.

Jonathan joins Birketts from a world leading financial services provider where he is Chief Operating Officer for the corporate and investment banking finance division. He has also held positions at Fidelity International and Schroders Investment Management and served in the British Army for six years with the Royal Green Jackets.

He will be responsible for building on the momentum achieved under Alistair’s leadership over the course of the last 11 and a half years and driving Birketts to the next level . Senior partner Nigel Farthing said: “I would like to thank Alistair for the energy and enthusiasm he has brought to Birketts.

“He has been a key driver in our successful development over the period of his tenure and under his leadership Birketts has grown to four offices across East Anglia and from a turnover of £6million in 2001 to in excess of £28m today.

“At the time of his appointment in September 2001, it was a bold move for a law firm to appoint a CEO from outside the profession. That decision has paid off, as evidenced by the considerable growth in terms of headcount, turnover and reach. The partners and staff at Birketts wish him well in the next phase of his career.”

He added, “We are incredibly excited to be welcoming Jonathan to the Birketts team and his track record in strategic organisation design and implementation will be key to navigating the firm through a dynamic and evolving industry landscape.”

: : ALLAN Wood has become chairman of Colchester-based residential and domiciliary care provider Healthcare Homes.

Allan is a well-respected and experienced business professional in both clinical and commercial operations. His arrival is part of Healthcare Homes’ plans to deliver more integrated healthcare services leveraging its heritage in high quality residential and home-based care services.

He is chairman of a number of organisations with experience of growing a wide variety of international and national companies, ranging from management consulting through to business process outsourcing. He was chairman of Harmoni, the UK’s largest provider of NHS unscheduled care to over 8,000,000 patients. Harmoni was acquired by Care UK in November 2012. His current chairmanships include; Liberata, a major public sector outsourcer and Creare, a leader in web design and search engine optimisation services.

“I am very proud of the businesses I have helped to date, and now look forward to using my healthcare and commercial experience to help the strong team at Healthcare Homes,” he said.

“The team and I share the ambition to deliver a new level of extra care to people across the Eastern region.”

Allan takes over from Richard Clough, joint founder of Healthcare Homes, who has moved to a non-executive director position.

: : IPSWICH-based international lighting supplier, MGC Lighting, has created a new role within its international business team to help further its expansion into targeted global markets.

Newly appointed sales executive, Jessica Munke, will assist with growing the company’s business in Germany and other parts of Europe, selling and supplying lighting products across a range of sectors including stage and studio, medical, LED and purification.

Prior to joining MGC, Jessica worked in insurance where she gained invaluable customer relations experience.

International sales director David Jackson said: “We employed Jessica because of her excellent language skills, exuberant personality and enthusiasm. She has also previously worked for Panasonic in Germany where she gained some valuable electronics and distribution skills. She has all the right skills for the role.”

Jessica said: “Working at MGC will certainly put me to the test. I will not only be trying to build a strong customer base in a very competitive market, but will also be working with international clients and learning about the lighting industry and products along the way.”

: : CHELMSFORD-based conveyancing firm, New Homes Law (NHL), has bolstered its team by recruiting a new conveyancing executive for the company’s new build department.

Nina Ives, who joined the team last month, has previously worked for solicitors and property firms for the past 15 years.

Her role at NHL will be to act on behalf of clients buying new build properties from developers.

“It was the people and the company values that attracted me to NHL,” said Nina. “Everyone is passionate about what they’re doing and are driven by providing the best possible customer service.”

: : HOLTON ST MARY-based data marketing agency, The Data Partnership, has appointed a new sales director, Mike Beech, as the business looks to expand after a successful 2012.

Mike has been working in the sales and advertising industry for over 20 years including roles at Vitesse Media and Associated Newspapers, and will be leading the sales effort at The Data Partnership, near East Bergholt, while the business develops its products and services across all platforms and sectors.

“I am delighted to join this expanding business at what is a very exciting time,” he said. “I look forward to helping the business move further forward, developing into new and existing markets.”

Managing director John Pooley said: “We are very pleased to welcome Mike to The Data Partnership as we continue to grow. Mike has a fantastic career history and will add extra energy to our expanding team.”

: : MILDENHALL-based English Architectural Glazing Ltd (EAG) has appointed Neil Calvert to the pre-construction team as business development manager.

Neil has been known to the senior management at EAG for more than 10 years and has worked in both the systems side of the business with Hueck and SAPA and as a sub-contractor with McMlullen.

He is responsible for developing new business from architects, contractors and end users.

Business development director Charlie Dyce said: “Neil joins us at a time when the construction market is brimming over with an abundance of large commercial developments which suits our portfolio perfectly. I have no doubt with Neil’s support we will continue filling our order book into the future.”

: : ASHLEY Philips has joined Ipswich-based business electricity supplier Haven Power as head of industrial and commercial (I&C) sales.

As part of the company’s focus on growing its I&C supply business, Ashley will build on the success Haven has already achieved and continue to drive the growth to meet its I&C ambitions. Haven already enjoys a reputation for high standards of customer service and the ability to respond quickly to customer feedback. It is this that gives the business a solid platform to become a leading supplier in the I&C market place.

Ashley joins from a competitor, where, for the past five years, he worked within the corporate business managing teams which included I&C key accounts, portfolio solutions and the new connections business. His experience will allow him to lead Haven’s ambitious plans to gain further market share within the I&C sector.

“It is a really exciting time to join Haven Power and I am looking forward to the challenge of building on the current success of Haven’s I&C Business,” he said.

Sales and marketing director, Richard Robey said: “Ashley’s appointment is key in enabling us to further infiltrate the I&C arena. As we’ve evolved as a company, we’ve become the supplier of choice for many large energy users, and with Ashley’s leadership I am confident we will increase our presence to large companies even further.”