Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Andrea Carruthers, Mike Cockburn, Ann Cooper, Ally Robson, Kay Wilson & Carole Wood, Dance City

Dance City has appointed six new board members following a call out for expressions of interest last October.

Andrea Carruthers, Mike Cockburn, Ann Cooper, Ally Robson, Kay Wilson and Carole Wood have all officially been accepted on to the Board.

Dance City formed in 1991 and has been based in a £7.6 million purpose built dance house in Newcastle city centre since 2005.

Andrea Carruthers is a Commissioning Efficiency Manager for 3M Health Care, a diverse, global innovation company. She has also held a number of senior sales positions within the food safety industry.

Mike Cockburn is a leadership coach with over 20 years’ experience in leadership and organisational development. He has experience working with a wide range of organisations including the public and private sectors including multinational companies such as Siemens, Nokia, Fujitsu and Jaguar Cars.

Ann Cooper is head of communications at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, leading communications and contributing to business planning and management for the North East’s most prestigious contemporary art gallery.

Ally Robson is currently a Strategy Manger with the global consultancy company Accenture. He specialises in organisational transformation and service improvement. Ally has over seven years’ experience working in the Health and Public Service sector, as well financial services.

Kay Wilson is an experienced Communications and PR consultant with over 20 years experience working freelance.

Carole Wood was appointed Director of Public Health for Gateshead in April 2012. She is a member of the Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Board and takes a leading role in delivering the Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Jeff Dean, chair of the board said: “We are thrilled to have recruited Andrea, Mike, Ann, Ally, Kay and Carole to add further strength and depth to the board.

Together they bring a wealth of skills and experience that will help build on Dance City’s great work to date, and make sure we continue to be an ambitious, resilient and dynamic organisation for the future.“

Chris Toon, Gateshead College

Gateshead College has appointed Chris Toon as deputy principal.

Chris Toon takes up the role after spending two years at Knowsley Community College in Liverpool.

He has more than 15 years’ experience of the education and skills sectors and was part of a new management team at Knowsley Community College that turned around the fortunes of a failing institution, ensuring it received an Ofsted ‘Good’ rating within 14 months.

Chris said: “I am thrilled to be joining this forward-thinking college at an exciting, challenging time in further education. Gateshead College recognises that the sector is changing and is adapting the way it delivers education to coincide with this change, making sure students are employment-ready with the qualifications and skills needed to support our economy.

“I was impressed with the principal’s bold vision for the future of education, and the college’s successful track record of giving students the skills, confidence and enthusiasm that they need to go on to secure successful careers or launch their own business.”

Catherine Lowther, Swinburne Maddison LLP

Catherine has been appointed as a trainee solicitor with Durham-based Swinburne Maddison LLP. Catherine, who studied at both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, passing both her Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course (PGDip) with distinctions, has joined Swinburne Maddison’s established and well respected family law team. She said: “This is an excellent opportunity for me so early in my career. By working with some of the best family solicitors in the area this will allow me to continue my training and further develop my understanding and knowledge of all areas of family law.”

Chris Hayman, Dicksons

Dicksons, the region’s traditional family pork butcher has appointed a former McDonald’s boss Chris Hayman, to head up its expanding retail division.

Chris joins the 60 year old family business as head of retail and will be driving forward the company’s ongoing plans to develop its growing regional shop network.

Dicksons has continued to invest in its shop portfolio and by the turn of the year will have grown its estate to 24 shops based mainly in Tyne and Wear.

Chris said: “This is a new and exciting challenge for me; after 16 years within a huge corporate organisation being part of a much smaller, yet hugely ambitious team, allows me to directly contribute to the future success of this long established business. “Despite the ongoing growth of our wholesale division, our shop network will remain a core part of the business and we will continue to look at expansion opportunities, both geographical and in our product offering and roll out new look shops.”

Katie Fisher, Ryder

Newcastle-based architect Ryder has appointed Katie Fisher to its team following a nationwide recruitment drive. Thirteen new architects have been taken on to support its teams across four UK offices - Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Newcastle – bringing a mix of skills in a range of sectors to support recent significant appointments including Newcastle Freeman Hospital Cardiothoracic expansion and Thames Valley Science Park. New architectural assistant Katie Fisher has just started at the Newcastle office. She said “It’s a very friendly, collaborative office environment.

“I’m really enjoying working here and learning about all aspects of the industry from the extra continuing professional development sessions to just overhearing experienced staff conversing.

“Being at Ryder gives me a great opportunity to get stuck into all parts of the design process with lots of people from different design backgrounds.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .