KEOGHS, the Bolton law firm, has appointed John Smith as chief information officer.

John, aged 44, has previously worked with Alliance & Leicester and Georgia-Pacific, where he implemented new computer system serving thousands of users at 30 sites across Europe.

He spent a large part of his career as a management consultant at Deloitte, where he worked on project management and implementation of many large and complex IT systems. He has spent the last 12 years in senior line IT management positions, most recently as Chief Information Officer in a software business.

Paul Smith, Chief Eexecutive Officer said: "Information technology and knowledge management are strategically one of our most important business drivers. The knowledge and experience that John brings to Keoghs will be of enormous benefit in supporting our continued growth and development."