People: : New faces arrive at Biggart Baillie and Baillie Gifford

IT'S a tale of two "Baillies" this week with law firm Biggart Baillie appointing a new head of dispute management and Edinburgh-based investment management group Baillie Gifford hiring a new regional sales manager.

Brent Haywood, who has been a partner with Biggart Baillie for eight years, says: "Our clients seek sophisticated solutions from lawyers who don't just 'go to court'. This is what I will continue to champion."

His promotion follows the hiring of Caroline Ferguson, who left rival law firm Ledingham Chalmers in Aberdeen to become a dispute resolution partner with Biggart Baillie.

From one Baillie to another, with Laura Swiers moving to Baillie Gifford as regional sales manager covering the north of England and the Midlands.

Swiers, who assumes the post following the retirement of Dave Brook yesterday, already knows the patch, after joining from Close Investment, where she a sales manager for the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Roti appointed MD of Senergy in Norway

SENERGY, the Aberdeen-based energy services company, kicks off a series of high-profile appointments by naming ystein Roti as managing director of its Norwegian arm.

Roti - who founded Norwegian firms 4Sea Energy and Orocom - is a former vice-president of Dong Energy, and, in his new role, will work with clients including Centrica, GDF Suez, Statoil and Talisman.

Senergy chief executive James McCallum said: "The significant rate of growth in Norway is largely attributed to our niche and specialist oil and gas services. It is also in line with Senergy's ambitious target for future global growth, as we focus on increasing our turnover from 80m to 300m over the next five years."

Also on the move is Doug Baikie, who HSBC has appointed as head of corporate banking for Scotland.

Baikie - who transfers from his current role as global relationship manager - will replace Irene Grant, who is moving within the bank to the position of senior vice-president corporate banking in California.

Grant, who established the Scottish corporate banking team in 2004, will leave in September to manage corporate banking teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In other changes to the corporate banking division, Tim Lowry joins as senior manager, trade and supply chain, based within HSBC's Glasgow commercial centre.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) is also making an internal promotion, with Andrew November stepping up to become director of equities.

November was Swip's joint chief investment officer for six years before overseeing the creation of the firm's investment solutions team.

Perhaps some of these senior appointments will be on the radar of Paul Pinson, who is setting up a third Scottish branch of Vistage, the international chief executives' membership organisation.

Pinson - who was previously chief executive of international theatre company Boilerhouse and who runs Brightspace, a consultancy firm - says: "I would liken being a Vistage member to having a team of 12 non-executive directors in the room - helping you to eliminate any blind spots."

GOOD DAY

Bob Boyle

THE president of the Airdrie Savings Bank is celebrating after securing about 10 million of investment in the business to expand the bank's services to small businesses and individual savers. Kwik-Fit founder Sir Tom Farmer, Noble Grossart merchant bank chairman Sir Angus Grossart, and Stagecoach founders Brian Souter and Ann Gloag are among the investors.

BAD DAY

Stephen Hester

IT HAS been a week that Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive would probably rather forget after environmental protesters besieged the bank's global headquarters at Gogarburn, on the edge of Edinburgh, and set about covering its cash machines in treacle as part of efforts to stop RBS funding companies behind tar sands oil exploration projects.