Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

A roundup of appointments from across the North East this week.

Rob Hughes, McGovern & Co

Felling-based McGovern & Co has taken on Rob Hughes as its new managing director. He joins from Sage plc, where he held several senior strategic and business development roles and played a central role in growing the presence of its Sage One cloud accounts and payroll product.

Mr Hughes, who has also worked at accountancy giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers in both Newcastle and London, is now targeting expansion for McGovern & Co and is looking to make key new additions to the firm’s sales team, as well as broadening its geographical coverage. He has also recently overseen the installation of a new state-of-the-art internal IT and telephony system to help pave the way for growth.

George Heydon, owner of McGovern & Co, said: “Rob is a fantastic appointment and he just ‘gets’ the business. He represents our first major investment in McGovern and is a sign of our ambition here. Rob brings a fresh innovative approach and thinking to this sector and is fully committed to, and passionate about, the growth of McGovern and to developing sustainable partnerships with our customers. I am excited about the future and the impact Rob will have on that.”

Matthew Foreman, County Durham Housing Group

County Durham Housing Group has appointed Matthew Foreman as Head of Strategy and Performance, and will work with local landlords Dale & Valley Homes, Durham City Homes and East Durham Homes to shape and plan organisational services.

Following the transfer of ownership of around 18,500 properties to the group from Durham County Council, tenants have made clear the types of changes they would like to see.

Matthew’s role is not only about developing these areas, by working with customers, employees and other stakeholders, but also ensuring the group’s performance is monitored and communicated effectively.

He comes to Durham from North Star, a Stockton-based housing association where he acted as Director of Housing Services, and brings a raft of experience from other local authorities including Gateshead Council, North Tyneside Homes and South Tyneside Homes.

He said: “I see this role as a great opportunity, joining an organisation of this scale at its relative infancy. Not only am I looking forward to developing innovative initiatives that customers have told us they want to see, but also putting frameworks in place to ensure outstanding performance.”

Emma Turnbull, Bilfinger GVA

Bilfinger GVA the country’s largest multidisciplinary property consultancy outside of the capital has strengthened its professional team in Newcastle by appointing Emma Turnbull as an Associate within the Retail, Hotels and Leisure business unit.

Emma is a Chartered Surveyor and Registered Business Valuer with 20 years valuation experience in the licensed and leisure industry including 10 years valuation experience in the broader specialist trade sectors such as retail, automotive, medical and dental practises. She has previously worked for Vaux Group, Chesterton PLC, Pinders and Robertson Simpson.

Roger Speirs, Director and Head of Valuation Services in the Newcastle office commented: “ Whilst Emma will work within the Retail, Hotels and Leisure business unit she will bring a wealth of experience to our valuation team to service the increased activity in the retail, leisure and medical sectors enabling us to service national clients throughout the North East“.

Rachel Vaclik and Tom Lamb, The Roundhouse

Rachel Vaclik, from Gosforth and Tom Lamb, also from Gosforth, have joined The Roundhouse, Fenham Hall Studios, Newcastle, in the role of account manager.

Managing Director, Ian Humpish, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rachel and Tom to the team. I am confident they will be a really good fit in terms of personality, skill and creativity.”

Lady Rhona Bradley, Home Group

Newcastle’s Home Group has announced the appointment of a new Board member.

Lady Rhona Bradley has joined the Board bringing considerable experience and expertise in health, criminal justice and substance misuse services, performance and change management, partnership working and strategic planning to the position.

Bob Davies, Home Group chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rhona to the Board. With her extensive experience and outstanding work in public services, she will play a key part in ensuring the governance of Home Group continues to be of the highest calibre.”

Andrew Goldwater, Onyx Group

Onyx Group has appointed Andrew Goldwater, former Managing Director of the Daisy Group to the position of Chief Financial Officer.

Reflecting on his appointment, Andrew said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Onyx Group. I am looking forward to applying my financial and commercial experience to help facilitate the ambitious growth plans the company has in place. We are in an extremely strong position financially and I am thrilled at the prospect of taking the business to the next level.”

Darron Barker, Dunlop Heywood Chartered Surveyors

Dunlop Heywood Chartered Surveyors has strengthened its Newcastle presence with a new Director/Head of Office.

Darron Barker, formerly of Lambert Smith Hampton, comes in as Director and Head of the Newcastle office, based on Collingwood Street, NE1.

Darron said: “Dunlop Heywood offers me a great opportunity to shape the growth and development of a key regional office.

“Whilst DH has built its reputation on Rating Appeal work - and there is certainly more of that around at the moment - disciplines such as Building Consultancy, Agency, Valuation figure are high on the firm’s agenda for growth and so I look forward to playing my part.”