Member Article

This week’s North East appointments part 1

We bring you a roundup of appointments from across the region this week.

Stephen Doyle, Hayley Robertson, Louise McVittie, Suzanne Swatten, Harlands

A North East accountancy firm has announced a string of appointments at its offices in Consett, County Durham.

Harlands Accountants has welcomed four new members to its growing team of accountants, tax-advisors and business-development specialists.

Trainee accountant Stephen Doyle has joined the team following three years’ experience as an apprentice and with specific expertise in exciting new cloud accounting solutions. The tax team has welcomed Hayley Robertson in to the role of trainee tax advisor, who will assist the team in supporting clients in ensuring they meet all deadlines and pay the legal minimum of tax bills.

Louise McVittie has been appointed Head of Training and Systems, a role in which Louise is responsible for ensuring the Harlands team has the skills, systems and procedures in place to deliver outstanding service for its clients.

Harlands’ newest Accounts Assistant, Suzanne Swatten, has over 20 years’ experience in the North East accountancy industry and will support the team to deliver personalised accountancy and bookkeeping services.

Commenting on the new appointments, Phil Murray, Commercial Director at Harlands Accountants, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new team members who will no doubt strengthen our offering. All of the new appointments bring their own unique set of skills, and thanks to their expertise and experience in their roles, we’re looking forward to being able to continue offering an exceptional service and added value for our clients.”

Gary Fish, Haden-Freeman Ltd

Business Development Manager Gary Fish has joined Redcar-based engineering consultancy Haden-Freeman Ltd.

With 20 years’ experience in the engineering and manufacturing sector, Gary will specifically focus on growing the north east business, developing existing client relationships and new business opportunities, as well as marketing and event planning and management. He will work alongside Haden Freeman’s recently appointed Sales and Marketing Director, Duncan Cammack.

Gary said: “What excites me most about my new role is the opportunity to work with a truly innovative multi-disciplinary engineering company, but also, that I am able to do so in my home region of which I am passionate about. After all, Teesside and the North East as a whole has an excellent engineering heritage which reaches out all around the globe.”

Steven Hillary, Newcastle Building Society

Steven Hillary has stepped up onto the bridge to take charge of Newcastle Building Society’s Durham City branch.

The Society has given Steven the responsibility for leading his own five-strong team and developing its operations across the Elvet Bridge branch’s geographical territory.

Steven said: “The branch is set in a fantastic, historic location and we get a real cross-section of local people coming in who I’m enjoying getting to know.

“I’ve always enjoyed being part of a team, and have settled in very quickly to leading what is an excellent group of staff that I hope to be able to help develop their own careers over time.”

Emily Thompson, RMT

Emily Thompson is now taking appointments as an insolvency practitioner at the Gosforth-based firm’s recovery and insolvency team, where she is responsible for working with struggling businesses to find the best possible outcomes for their owners, employees and creditors.

Emily Thompson says: “When I joined RMT for my work placement, I didn’t have a detailed knowledge of the recovery and insolvency sector, but I quickly found that I enjoyed the work and seemed to have an aptitude for it. When the chance came to join the team permanently, it seemed the right thing to do - and 11 years on, it clearly was!

“Our team is very close-knit and supportive, and the commercial and financial expertise that we can tap into across the whole practice adds a wealth of knowledge and experience to the services we provide.

“We’ve had a busy start to the year, and it’s exciting to be taking on the additional responsibilities that come with my new role.”

Lewis Chambers, Bradley Hall

North East residential and commercial property specialist Bradley Hall has strengthened its new financial services arm by expanding the team of experienced advisors.

Lewis Chambers joins Bradley Hall Chartered Surveyors and Estate Agents as general manager of the company’s Gosforth operation and BH Financial Service as mortgage broker across all North East branches.

The former banker joins Bradley Hall with over ten years of experience in the mortgage industry, including ten years with high street bank Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender.

Lewis, who is set to specialise in mortgages for BH Financial Services, said: “Moving home or buying your first property can be a daunting task for many, and the demand for financial advisors has grown considerably thanks to a rise in the range of mortgage options. I am here to make the process straight forward and provide impartial and expert advice on which path to choose in order to make the best investment.

“I am looking forward to being part of BH Financial Services from the start, and I look forward to seeing the business grow and develop. I am delighted to be joining a team of property experts who share the same passion for the North East property market as I do.”

Mark Johnson, Silvery Tweed Cereals

Berwick upon Tweed based cereal processor Silvery Tweed Cereals has appointed a new technical manager who will be tasked with maintaining the company’s excellent reputation for product quality and safety, as well as assuring supply chain traceability.

Mark Johnson takes up the role following a promotion from the auditing and training position he took up when he joined Silvery Tweed Cereals 12 months ago. His responsibility includes the company’s quality management systems and audit compliance, as well as advising on product specifications and consumer labelling to ensure its major retail and food manufacturing customers can demonstrate total transparency in their product ingredients.

Bringing more than 19 years’ food processing industry experience to the role, Mark’s career has included 17 years in various roles with one of the world’s largest flavouring manufacturers. He now heads the technical team at Silvery Tweed Cereals which includes a process control manager, six quality controllers and the hygiene team.

Mark says: “Silvery Tweed Cereals has set itself the industry’s highest hygiene, safety and compliance standards so I’m really pleased to be given the opportunity to improve on this already strong track record. Consumer confidence and major brands depend on us being at the top of our game with regard to product information and safety compliance which is why we never rest on our laurels and are continuously reviewing what we do.”

Wayne Taylor, Erin Boyle, Joanne Lee, James Dixon, Blue Kangaroo

A North East-based creative agency is seeing the New Year in with a raft of new appointments and promotions at its office in the Northern Design Centre, Gateshead. Blue Kangaroo has welcomed three new starters to the team and promoted an existing member of staff as a result of exceptional growth during 2015.

Wayne Taylor has joined the agency as a designer with a strong background in 3D rendering and sculpturing. James Dixon has also joined the team as a designer and brings with him a wealth of experience in the licencing products sector.

Following a period of freelancing, Joanne Lee has been appointed to the role of junior designer with the award-winning team. In addition, Erin Boyle has been promoted to the role of project assistant and awarded a full time permanent contract, having joined the agency last March on an apprenticeship scheme.

Jason Knights, managing director of Blue Kangaroo, said: “Last year was certainly a bumper year for us, seeing the business grow from strength-to-strength with some big-name client wins in the entertainment and licencing sector.

“As such, we began to export our services to customers in the United States and won an award for our work. Since then, we have seen the work we do State-side grow by over 50% of our total revenue, and so our new appointments and internal promotion are a welcome addition to the team to help meet the growing demand for our services in the global marketplace.”

Due to a high volume of appointments this week, look out for the second part of our roundup in tomorrow’s North East newsletter featuring appointments from Godfrey Syrett, Scott Logic, Muckle LLP and more.