London, 18 September 2023: Leading legal PR agency Byfield Consultancy is enhancing its capabilities with the addition of three new special advisers. They join Simon Slater who has worked with Byfield for over four years, including as our non-exec Chairman.
The special advisers are drawn from a range of backgrounds across the legal ecosystem, including HR, transformation, management and strategy, and are all highly respected leaders in their fields. They will provide advice to Byfield on market developments and client issues, further sharpening our ability to deliver tailored advice to clients and understand the biggest issues impacting the business of law and the wider business community.
They are:
Funke Abimbola MBE
Funke is a multi-award winning C-suite Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader, Healthcare executive, BBC media commentator, Non-Executive Director, Corporate Lawyer, Public Speaker and Podcast host. She is a London-based partner at Korn Ferry, providing diversity, equity and inclusion consulting services to clients across EMEA. Funke has also been general counsel and head of financial compliance at global pharmaceutical company Roche.
Chris Lynch
Chris Lynch has spent 30 years in senior people roles across the professional services sector. Her past roles include Global HR Director at Linklaters and HR Director roles at Herbert Smith Freehills and Baker McKenzie, where in all three cases she sat on the main executive boards. She has also held roles at EY and Allen & Overy. She is particularly skilled in placing people at the centre of strategy and helping high-performing individuals develop their leadership skills. She currently holds various Non-Executive roles and acts as a coach to individual partners.
Charles Metherell
Charles is a solicitor who runs a management consultancy business specialising in the provision of risk, operational, restructuring and strategic services for businesses including the legal sector. He is a member of the Institute for Turnaround and takes on interim roles to transform, manage change and improve all aspects of business and legal sector performance.
Simon Slater
Simon is regarded as a leading light in law firm leadership, having worked for four Top 100 UK law firms over a period of 25 years – most recently as Chief Executive Officer at Pemberton Greenish (now Cripps LLP). He has a strong track record of success in guiding law firms and other professional service businesses to develop compelling strategies for the future. He is also a former Non-Executive Chair of Byfield.
Gus Sellitto, Founder Director of Byfield, commented:
“Our special advisers bring a wealth of relevant experience across people and culture, strategy, management and leadership, which will be of great benefit to Byfield and our clients. The enhanced skillsets and experience we are able to draw on are all key components in building, enhancing and protecting business reputations. We are really looking forward to working with Funke, Charles, Chris and Simon as we continue to develop our business and services to clients at Byfield.”
The special advisers complement Byfield’s statutory board, composed of Non-Executive Chairman Alastair Gornall, Basil Nicolaou and Byfield directors, Gus Sellitto, Ben Girdlestone, Michael Evans and Amanda Cooper.