Browne Jacobson announces former Aston Martin Vice President as Non-Executive Director of its Manufacturing & Industrials sector

Law firm Browne Jacobson has appointed former Vice President and Chief Planning Officer (CPO) of Aston Martin Lagonda, Nikki Rimmington as its first Non-Executive Director (NED) of its Manufacturing & Industrials sector strategy board.

This is one of several sector-driven appointments for the firm’s corporate sector in recent months which includes leading General Counsel (GC), Anneliese Reinhold as the firm’s first Non-Executive Chair of its corporate sectoral strategy board.

Working closely with partner Declan Cushley who leads the firm’s corporate sector market group, and partner and head of Browne Jacobson’s Corporate Manufacturing & Industrials sector, Paul Kirkpatrick, Nikki brings significant expertise in strategic planning and implementation, corporate finance, project delivery, operational performance management and business transformation which will support the firm and its lawyers in driving the Manufacturing & Industrials sector strategy, which is part of the firm’s wider corporate sector strategy.

Nikki has over 20 years’ experience predominantly in the automotive and industrials sector but has worked across various other business service lines during her career. Nikki is currently the Strategy Development Director for InoBat Auto - a European company specialising in the pioneering research, development, manufacture and recycling of innovative electric batteries. Before that, Nikki spent 13 years working in multiple roles at Aston Martin which included being Vice President and CPO where she was responsible for product lifestyle planning, the implementation of major revisions to the product plan, leading on business performance analysis and being involved in a significant restructure of Aston Martin’s planning function. Before that, Nikki worked as an associate at A.T. Kearney Management Consultants and spent five years at Jaguar Land Rover as a vehicle safety integration engineer.

This appointment endorses the firm’s commitment to making the legal profession more diverse and inclusive. It also follows on from its official partnership with O Shaped in May 2022, which is an innovative movement with a mission to drive positive change within the legal sector.

Speaking on the appointment, Declan Cushley, said: “We are delighted to have appointed Nikki as the NED for our growing Manufacturing & Industrials sector. She has had a very successful career in the automotive industry, working with some of the UK’s finest motor brands and has a deep understanding of market changes and trends including the challenges that the assembly line and supply chain is coming up against, the technological landscape and the key legislative changes that are changing the face of both the UK and global automotive sectors, as well as the wider industrial sector.”

“Nikki’s appointment underpins our commitment to bolstering our Manufacturing & Industrials offering and to being an O Shaped law firm that is striving for effective change, not only in the legal landscape but across the sectors and industries we are supporting .” 

Paul Kirkpatrick added: “Nikki is an absolute expert in her field and was an essential part of Aston Martin’s ambitious and successful growth strategy over a 13-year period so we are pleased to welcome her to our board, where she will support us to work even more creatively with our broad manufacturing client base and gain a deeper understanding of how this fast moving sector is going to transform in the future and what impact this will have on our clients and on the consumer.”

Nikki commented: “Browne Jacobson has a strong reputation for continuously providing its clients with creative solutions to complex problems. They have extensive experience of working with some of the world’s leading brands and suppliers, helping them make the right decisions for their business and connecting them to the right commercial opportunities. They are also deeply invested in having a positive impact on a host of societal issues that affect their clients such as sustainability, so I am pleased to be supporting this dynamic and forward looking firm and practice in continuing to deliver great results to its clients.”

Browne Jacobson’s national Manufacturing & Industrials practice has a diverse range of specialist industry knowledge from our experience of advising and representing a rich portfolio of world-leading brands and household names from across the automotive and the food and drink sector. The team works with manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, national retailers, restaurant chains and principal businesses within the supply chain. The team specialise in business-critical projects, multi-jurisdictional data protection and privacy issues, commercial issues, regulatory and compliance matters, mergers and acquisitions, trading arrangements, brand protection, competition issues, property management and a variety of employment matters.