Effective 1 January 2024, Kate Kapp will become the new Head of the Doyle Clayton’s Thames Valley office, with Tina Wisener leaving the role to replace Peter Doyle as Chief Executive Officer of the firm.
Kate joined Doyle Clayton in 2014 and is a highly regarded employment lawyer and litigator who represents and advises both employers and employees on a full range of contentious and non-contentious employment related issues. In recent years, she has worked closely with Tina, including on several high-profile workplace investigations and on a recent case where, with BMA funding, they supported Dr Rosalind Ranson, the former Medical Director on the Isle of Man, in securing compensation of almost £3.2 million following her successful claim for whistleblowing.
Ahead of her appointment, Kate commented “I am privileged to take over as Head of Reading from Tina as she commences her role as the new CEO of Doyle Clayton. I’m incredibly proud and fortunate to be able to lead such a dedicated, collegiate and hardworking team, and look forward to continuing Tina’s hard work and success.”
Tina joined the firm in 2005 and is regarded as one of the UK’s leading employment lawyers. She has served as Board Director for four years, after being appointed in 2019, and became the head of the firm’s Thames Valley office in 2010. Under her leadership, the office has achieved great success and is highly recognised within the industry, with both Chambers and Partners, and The Legal 500 awarding it top rankings in their Thames Valley Employment Law categories, Band 1 and Tier 1 respectively.
Ahead of her change in role, Tina commented “I am delighted and extremely proud to be succeeding Peter Doyle as CEO of Doyle Clayton. This is a fantastic organisation with incredible people, and I am honoured to continue my journey with the firm in this leadership role. I have enjoyed leading the Thames Valley office for the last 13 years, where we have achieved great success and continue to grow, becoming one of the region’s leading firms.”
Speaking of Kate’s appointment, she added “Kate has been a tremendous asset to the firm since joining us almost ten years ago. Her hard work, team focused ethos and dedication, makes her the natural successor to lead the team and I look forward to working with her as she looks to continue our growth within the region.”
The change comes during a period of continuous success for the firm, which has seen an average annual increase of 17% in revenue over the last three years, with employee numbers growing by 49% since 2018. It has ambitious targets for the future and will be making significant investment to ensure that the organisation has the right infrastructure in place to support its ever-increasing client base, including the hire of Abby Winkworth, who will join the firm as its Chief Operating Officer at the end of January.
Kate commented “Both the firm and the Thames Valley office have achieved fantastic results over recent years and I look forward to supporting our continued progress as we invest in the future of the organisation within the region. Our Thames Valley team has a fantastic reputation and we continue to attract the region’s best talent, with a number of new colleagues joining us over the last 12 months. The Thames Valley will continue to be a key market for the firm and I am excited to lead the team as we continue our journey.”
Tina replaces Peter Doyle, who is stepping down from his role as CEO, to become the firm’s Chairman, whilst also continuing to serve as a Board Director. He co-founded Doyle Clayton in 1997 with Darren Clayton, who retired in February 2023, with Peter leading the business for the last 26 years. During this time, he significantly expanded the number of services offered by the firm, including opening the Thames Valley office in 2004, and was the driving force behind the company becoming employee owned, when it sold a majority share to an employee ownership trust in 2019.
About Doyle Clayton
Doyle Clayton offers legal and advisory support to clients on issues arising in the workplace, and provides realistic and effective solutions on employment, business and personal immigration, and corporate and commercial law issues.
Our team provides strategic advice and solutions to HR, in-house lawyers and management teams, as well as employees and senior executives, in relation to all workplace legal issues.
We have experience in dealing with most sectors and industries in the UK and our clients include start-ups, SMEs, family-owned businesses, multinational corporates, and private individuals. As a result, we can use our substantial experience and industry expertise to advise businesses and employees on a range of employment law issues.
We work closely with our clients to anticipate and respond to legal issues, providing solutions in relation to the toughest and most sensitive of workplace problems.
