People: Wheeldon hits high note with MP3.com.

Wheeldon joins from Vivendi-Universal, where for the past two years he has been responsible for business development and project management of internet initiatives in music, culminating recently in the launch of MP3.com in Europe. Wheeldon is a chartered accountant and trained with Arthur Andersen in London after graduating from Durham University with an honours degree in English language and literature in 1985.

In other people news:

London First has appointed a new executive director for post-16 education. Jane Glanville has been seconded from accountancy firm KPMG, a principal business sponsor and founding member of London First. Accepting her appointment Jane Glanville said: ‘I am really looking forward to this challenge. London has a remarkable range of educational institutions and is an important magnet for students both from the rest of the UK and abroad. Its labour force is the most highly-qualified in the country. Business and higher education have a lot to learn from each other and by working closely, can make an even greater contribution to London’s competitiveness.’

Mark Widnall has been appointed as financial controller at international banking and finance recruiter Parker Bridge. Widnall, an Ernst & Young trained chartered accountant, has had varied commercial experience as chief accountant of AJG (UK), a subsidiary of a large US insurance broker and, latterly, as financial controller of Dron and White, a firm of property consultants.

Steven Thornhill has been appointed finance director of Palletways the distributor of small consignments of palletised freight. In the early nineties Thornhill held the position of assistant director of corporate finance in KPMG’s London region. In 1995 he left to join a management buy-in with Bricesco, a supplier to the ceramics industry. He said: ‘I will be looking to help the company achieve its targets and maintain the phenomenal business growth which has been 40% month on month over the last year.’

Ernst & Young continued its expansion of its technology communications and entertainment practice with the appointment of Richard Addison to the role of partner in its assurance audit group. Addison brings more than 15 years’ experience advising high technology and communications and media companies around the world. Prior to joining Ernst & Young he was partner and head of technology, information, communication and entertainment for central and eastern Europe at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

David Barker has been appointed as partner in the M&A group of Ernst & Young, continuing the expansion of its corporate finance practice with the addition of focusing on the financial services sector. Barker joins the company from Deutsche Bank, where he was a managing director with the investment bank’s Financial Institutions Group. He brings over 20 years’ experience of advising geographically diverse companies in the financial services sector on a variety of M&A and corporate finance issues. Barker, 42, will be based in the firm’s London offices.

KPMG has appointed Guy Warrington to be head of its UK corporate finance practice with immediate effect. He succeeds John Griffith-Jones who becomes chief operating officer of the firm. Warrington joined KPMG in 1982 and has been a partner since 1992. He has 15 years’ experience in corporate finance. He was most recently partner in charge of the financial services team within KPMG corporate finance.

Ernst & Young and PKF have been named as joint winners of the 2002 Growth Company Awards AIM for the Accountant of the Year. Robson Rhodes, Saffery Champness and Smith & Williamson were also shortlisted for the award. The winners were announced last week at a ceremony held at the Grocers’ Hall in the City. Growth Company Investor magazine focuses exclusively on smaller and fast-growing companies, designed the awards to acknowledge individual companies and the positive contributions of organisations associated with companies in the AIM and OFEX sector.

Hacker Young has appointed a new partner to its tax department. Michael Caden has over 27 years’ experience in private client tax. Caden joins the firm from Mazars Neville Russell. He said: ‘Hacker Young is a dynamic firm with an innovative and creative approach to providing taxation solutions to businesses and private clients. The future here is very exciting and I’m certainly looking forward to being a part of it.’

• Lois Fettis edits the people page. Send news by fax on 020 7316 9250 or by e-mail at: [email protected].