Partner Article

This weeks new appointments

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Ram Gidoomal CBE has been appointed Chair Designate of Traidcraft, the fair trade company and development charity.

He was formerly the UK Chief Executive of the Inlaks Group, an international food commodity company.

Ram has supported many public and charitable organizations over the years and co-founded the Christmas Cracker project, which saw UK teenagers raising money for the developing world in the 1980s and 90s, after his experiences of poverty in India.

He said: “Traidcraft has played a pioneering role in the fair trade movement and I am honored to have been asked to serve as its chair. “

Traidcraft Chief Executive Paul Chandler said: “Ram will bring many fresh insights and perspectives to bear on our mission, drawn from his wide experience in business, charity, church and government circles.”

He will assume his role as Traidcraft Chair after AGM approval in September.

Newcastle based architects Idp has announced the promotion of Scott Ritchie to associate level within its urban design and master planning team.

The 32 year old from Gateshead joined Idp 8 years ago after completing a degree in Graphics and Illustration at Sunderland University. He later studied for an Urban Design degree at Newcastle University part-time while at the company, and qualified in 2006.

Scott said: “I am delighted to reach associate level. It is rewarding to be acknowledged in this way by the partners, and I feel it reflects on my achievements to date.”

Scott’s most notable project has been the planning of a mixed use scheme in Newton Kyme,Tadcaster, which gained planning permission at the beginning of this year. He is currently working on behalf of New Tyne West Development Company, on the £265m regeneration of Scotswood, Newcastle.

North East business consultancy The Professionals Partnership has appointed Cristal Luo, an expert in Chinese economics as the new manager of its China Connect service.

A graduate of Shangai University of Finance and Economics, Cristal Luo

previously worked with multi-national organizations including Deutsche Bank and Zurich Insurance. Her expertise lies in economics and the Chinese market.

Justin Perkins, managing director of The Professionals Partnership said:

“Cristal brings a wealth of in-depth local knowledge and language skills in addition to well-rounded commercial acumen and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”

The China Connect service helps companies in the North East to forge links with the Chinese market. Support includes product sourcing, market research, and translation, with the service also providing trade trips to China.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .