BPP University director of marketing Rachel Holmes has joined 7 Bedford Row (7BR) as chief executive, replacing Fay Gillott who left last year.
Gillott joined Atkin Chambers as CEO last November after six years at 7BR. She joined one month after Atkin revamped its graduate recruitment process and began offering its pupils £72,500, the highest pupillage award at the bar.
7BR has operated without a chief executive until hiring Holmes this month.
Holmes will take over the strategic development and marketing of 7BR. She previously managed the global commercial strategy of BPP and was head of undergraduate programmes.
She said: “The set’s reputation for excellence is already well established and I am excited at the prospect of working closely with the set to develop business opportunities and enhance out profile and brand even further.”
Head of chambers Collingwood Thompson QC said Holmes’s “business background and commercial experience makes her the ideal person to take us forward”.
The London bar has seen a wave of chief executive moves in the last six months. Former Howard Kennedy boss Mark Dembovsky joined Doughty Street as CEO in December; 3 Paper Buildings hired former Harvey Ingram managing partner Simon Astill last September to replace Joanna Poulton; and Serle Court Chambers’ chief executive Nicola Sawford retired after 12 years at the set to be replaced by former England Golf chief executive John Petrie.