About Stronger Together
The aim of the network is to create peer to role model relationships and encourage more people from black and other ethnic minority communities to be attracted to and retained in the professions in the Yorkshire region.
This is the first time that the Big 4 accounting firms and largest six law firms have collaborated locally on the challenges around racial diversity, inclusion and equality. We want to play a big part in bringing this network to life.
Join the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn!Network Members
Meet the Team
Please get in touch with a member of the network below to find out more.
Arif Ahmad
Partner and North Head of Private Business
PwC United Kingdom
Arif joined PwC Leeds in 1996. He was PwC’s Leeds Office Senior Partner from 2013 to 2016, and was then Head of PwC’s London Region Assurance practice. He now leads PwC’s private business practice across the North of England and Chairs the PwC UK-India Group.
Chris Clements
Forensic - Partner
Deloitte
Chris Clements is a partner in Deloitte’s forensic practice, and has a breadth of experience in international arbitration, expert witness and determination work.
John Alderton
Managing Partner Leeds
Squire Patton Boggs
John’s particular expertise covers restructuring, reorganisation and business support, lender security reviews and enhancement, as well as contentious and non-contentious insolvency and cross-border issues.
Jon Riley
Partner, Head of Office, Leeds
Pinsent Masons
Jon joined Pinsent Masons in 2005, He specialises in advising both the public and private sectors on projects of regional and national significance.
Pervinder Kaur
Partner, Head of Leeds Office, Head of Private Capital UK
Addleshaw Goddard
Pervinder has significant experience in providing trusts and tax planning advice to high-net-worth–individuals and also regularly advises on issues concerning succession planning.
Peter McCormack
Partner
Eversheds Sutherland
Peter heads our Leeds Company Commercial Practice Group and Commercial team in Leeds, which was awarded the 2013 Corporate & Commercial team of the year award at the annual Yorkshire Lawyer Awards.
Shabana Muneer
Director - Employment
Walker Morris
Shabana is an employment lawyer, with particular expertise in advising on all aspects of business immigration law and overseas recruitment. She has lectured on the LLB and LPC programmes at BPP Law School, and is a leading member of the firm’s Racial Diversity Committee.
Sohail Ali
Partner
DLA Piper
Sohail Ali is a litigation and arbitration lawyer who advises on high value, premium banking and corporate disputes. Sohail also leads the firm’s global Islamic Finance disputes practice.
Steve Blacker
Partner, Tax and Legal
KPMG in the UK
Steve is a tax partner who leads KPMG’s UK Innovation Reliefs & Incentives Group and the Corporate Tax team in Yorkshire. Steve is also the sponsoring partner of the African Caribbean Network in the North.
Tim Vance
Associate Partner
EY-Parthenon
Tim is an Associate Partner in the Transaction and Restructuring Strategy team, and specialises in bringing leadership and innovative solutions to clients in difficult situations. Working across a wide range of sectors, he has over 15 years of experience advising a broad range of stakeholders of businesses experiencing financial and operational challenges.
Our Events
An events and speaker programme is being developed. Please share your suggestions as to future event topics and speaker ideas.
Stronger Together Launch Event at Leeds Civic Hall
Friday 11th March 2022 | 2pm - 5pm
The network was launched today (Friday 11 March) at a high profile event at Leeds Civic Hall, hosted by Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council.
Panel members shared their personal stories around how they have overcome challenges in their career journey, while the goals and objectives of the network were also discussed.
Book TodayOur Mentor Programme
The Stronger Together network is launching a cross-firm mentor programme to share collective experiences of equality and diversity challenges, and more importantly, approaches and ideas to overcome those barriers.
There are also planned recruitment initiatives to engage with the local education network, particularly at school leaver level to showcase the diverse range of career opportunities within professional services.
Join the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn!
Contact Us
Media queries: Katy Turner 07966 527168 or email katy@ktcommunications.co.uk