Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Enjoy a roundup of the latest North East job moves.

Tom Watson, Groundwork North East & Cumbria

A £3.7m project that aims to offers everyone the opportunity to explore, enhance and celebrate the culture, heritage and environment of the Tees Valley and its communities has appointed a new manager to oversee its implementation.

Groundwork North East & Cumbria has appointed Tom Watson as Partnership Manager for the River Tees Rediscovered Partnership, a Heritage Lottery Funded project, which aims to highlight the importance of the Tees as a national feature.

In his new role, Tom will be responsible for developing partnerships and relationships with communities, organisations and business to drive environmental change and economic growth in the Tees Valley area.

Tom said: “I want the project to be more than the sum of its parts; to make a lasting impact on the landscape and the communities of the River Tees area.

“The Tees Valley is a vibrant place with a wealth of history and its people are passionately proud of their area. We want to harness this to ensure that the region is seen as the fantastic place to visit, live and work, both locally and nationally.”

Claire Davies and Emma Robson, Cairn Group

Cairn Group-owned hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at Newcastle International Airport, has welcomed new faces to its team.

Joining as director of sales is Claire Davies from Alnwick, who has previous experience with the likes of Malmaison, Apartment Group and Alnwick Castle. The 31-year-old will oversee the hotel’s commercial strategy, as well as managing its regional and national accounts.

Emma Robson has also been appointed as meetings and events manager. The 24-year-old from Newcastle is responsible for organising and overseeing both corporate and private functions, building trusted relationships with clients. Emma is also the hotel’s dedicated wedding co-ordinator, working with couples to plan their special day.

Jonathan Sabarre, Group marketing manager at Cairn Group, said: “We’re really pleased to have Claire and Emma on board the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at Newcastle International Airport team. They’ve settled in brilliantly and are already proving strong assets to building the business.”

Ian Murphy, Profound Services

Peterlee-headquartered training and employment agency Profound Services has appointed Ian Murphy as IT Coordinator.

As part of the company’s larger strategic plan, which aims to offer a curriculum that meets the needs of learners and businesses in the local community, Profound Services will soon be providing a range of IT Apprenticeships.

Following the company’s decision to widen its offering, Ian Murphy has been appointed as IT Coordinator and will lead and develop the IT Apprenticeship department across Profound Services.

Ian said: “I’ve joined the company at an exciting time of expansion and development, and am looking forward to being part of the journey. My experience delivering technical ICT training will be highly valuable in the development of IT, Software, Web, Telecoms and Social Media Apprenticeships at Profound.”

Allison Routledge, FW Capital North East

FW Capital has appointed commercial relationship manager Allison Routledge to its North East team.

Allison has joined the Billingham office as an Investment Executive where she will be working with Nicky Atkinson to provide short term finance for North East businesses through the £10m Tees Valley Catalyst Fund.

FW Capital’s North East team also manage the North East Growth Plus Fund, which has already invested over £20m in more than 34 regional business and has recently been given an additional £3.75m to invest in North East companies in 2016.

“I’m excited to be joining the team at this time. My experience with HSBC and the Tyne Tees Commercial Centre has allowed me to become very familiar with the needs of businesses in the North East, and I am looking forward to helping ambitious companies secure more contracts with our support,” Allison explained.

James Nightingale and Robert Rushton, Ward Hadaway

Law firm Ward Hadaway has promoted two of its lawyers to the position of Partner.

James Nightingale and Robert Rushton have now joined the partnership at the firm, which operates from offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.

James is a Corporate lawyer with over 12 years of experience of acting for private and public companies on an extensive variety of matters including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, stock market flotations and fundraisings, investments, reorganisations and restructurings.

His work has included advising clients across a range of corporate services operating in a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including healthcare, energy and infrastructure.

Robert Rushton is a member of Ward Hadaway’s extensive Healthcare team, he advises on a broad spectrum of areas including head injury and neurosurgical claims, and obstetric claims.

Jamie Martin, managing partner at Ward Hadaway, said: “We are delighted to announce these promotions - James and Robert are excellent additions to the partnership here at Ward Hadaway.

“I am sure they will continue to be highly valued members of their respective teams in their new roles.”

Robert Phillips and Stacey Hall, Bond Dickinson

Bond Dickinson’s Newcastle-based Corporate team has announced the appointments of Robert Phillips and Stacey Hall.

Robert was Head of Corporate at Muckle LLP and has been named Dealmakers Corporate Lawyer of the Year three times. Stacey Hall has also been appointed as an Associate, also joining from Muckle LLP, where she worked with Quantum Pharma plc and regional business names such as O’Brien’s Waste Management and Seaward Electronic.

Ben Butler, Corporate Partner at Bond Dickinson, commented: “It has been a very strong year and having Robert and Stacey join the team further strengthens our proposition and underlines our commitment to being the go-to firm in the region for M&A and public and private fundraising. “Our Newcastle office continues to be a strong performer and we will continue to grow in the North East. We recruited more than 70 new people into the Newcastle office last year, taking our headcount to 501, the firm’s largest office location.”

Christopher Bond, The Kingslodge Inn

Christopher Bond has taken up the position of head chef at newly launched Durham pub, The Kingslodge Inn.

Leanne Jeffrey, General Manager at The Kingslodge Inn said, “We are really enjoying providing Durham with a cosy and welcoming traditional pub with rooms, in a location convenient to both local people and visitors alike.

“We have had a great response from local residents and other customers since we opened. And now that we have Christopher in place we are looking forward to adding superb home-cooked food to our offering.”

Howarth Litchfield

Architectural practice Howarth Litchfield, has welcomed Elsa Berry as its first female board member.

Elisa’s promotion, which forms part of the firm’s strategic plans to ensure its continued success and future growth, is coupled with two new appointments at the firm.

To further strengthen its Building Information Modelling (BIM) offering, the business has appointed Marc Warren as its BIM manager. Jeff Graham, meanwhile, has taken up the role of senior technologist.

David Pickersgill, director, said: “I am delighted that Elisa’s contribution has been recognised and we look forward to her appointment bringing an additional dimension to the board.

“I am confident that both Marc and Jeff will, in their own way, each make a positive contribution to our continued success.”

Mike Chadwick and Haydn Costin, Indigo Software

Indigo Software has revealed the hires of Mike Chadwick (pictured above) and Haydn Costin.

As a new supply chain consultant, Mike will help advise customers on how to improve their warehouse operations and manage the implementation of Indigo’s warehouse management software (WMS).

Mike joined Indigo in 2016 as Supply Chain Consultant with 37 years logistics experience. Prior to joining Indigo, he was a business consultant at IBS and specialised in implementing WMS software developed for paper manufacturing companies in Europe and America.

Mike joins a strong team of supply chain consultants at Indigo, all of whom have extensive real-world logistics experience. The team also includes Haydn Costin, who joined Indigo in 2015 from HighJump Software and has previously implemented WMS solutions for BT, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, Superquinn and Littlewoods Stores.

With over 21 years warehousing and IT experience, Haydn is responsible for project managing customer implementations of Indigo WMS into both green and brownfield sites and identifying ways to achieve further process improvements using warehouse automation.

Peter McLane, Managing Director at Indigo Software commented: “Both Mike and Haydn have excellent industry experience in sectors where Indigo already has an established customer base and their international project management backgrounds will further support the company as it continues to expand overseas.”

Laura Croisdale, Encore Packaging Solutions

North East packaging specialist Encore Packaging Solutions has employed of Laura Croisdale as its new Group Quality and Environmental Manager.

The firm and its sister company Encore Envelopes produce more than three billion items of packaging a year from its factories in Peterlee and Washington, including corrugated and solid board boxes, direct mail packaging and e-commerce solutions.

Following Laura’s appointment, the company plans to apply for the BRC Global Standard for Packaging, allowing it to expand its current offering and produce packaging for a variety of food items.

She said: “I’ve got a huge challenge on my hands as I’m aiming to have the BRC standard achieved in the next year, but I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the task ahead.

“We need to stay ahead of the game – we know the products we produce are excellent but we also need to have the systems and accreditations in place that our customers require to ensure we’re maintaining the high standards we have set ourselves.”

Ian Tubman, Malhotra Group

Newcastle-based Malhotra Group plc, which owns a plethora of popular Tyneside hotels, bars and restaurants, has recruited Ian Tubman to the position of project director.

Ian has worked in the construction industry for more than 25 years, serving his time as a joiner and building surveyor before going on to be senior project manager on large and complex capital projects and programmes for both North Tyneside Council and Durham University.

Reporting directly to the Group Board, Ian’s primary responsibility will be the delivery of all key property/site development projects within the Group on time and within budget.

In addition, he will assist with the coordination of all appointments with key contractors and subcontractors, identify and quantify any project related savings against costs and timeframes, and oversee various property maintenance programmes and budgets within the Group.

Following his appointment, Ian said: “Having worked extensively in the public and education sectors I am very much looking forward to bring my experience to bear in the hospitality, leisure and care industries.

“Malhotra Group plc has an excellent reputation for quality across all areas of its portfolio and I am delighted to be part of its team.”

Chris Tattersall, Berghaus

North East outdoor brand Berghaus has announced the appointment of Chris Tattersall as head of marketing.

Chris Tattersall is an experienced builder of international consumer brands, at whisky distiller William Grant & Sons and most recently at Amer Sports where he led the UK marketing team. He leads the Berghaus global marketing team, developing strategy and delivery across all channels.

Chris Tattersall comments: “I’m delighted to join the Berghaus team and be part of this iconic brand. I’m excited by the prospect of working within the Pentland Group and leading a team of talented marketers who will play a key part in fulfilling this brand’s future potential.”

Gary Wake, Jennings Kia

Gary Wake is the latest recruit to join the sales team at Jennings Kia’s, part of Jennings Motor group, Parsons Road dealership in Washington.

He brings with him more than four years’ experience, having worked in car sales for other dealers in the region, in addition to also gaining experience working for a car hire firm and as a bus driver.

Franchise manager, David Phillips, said; “More customers are being attracted to Kia’s competitively-priced, high quality product model range, which is also available with a range of customer savings, low rate finance and deposit contributions.

“We are delighted to welcome Gary on board, he has exceptional customer service and selling skills and already he has achieved the top sales award after securing the highest number of new and used sales in his first month of employment with the company.”

Andrew Jordon, Northern Education Trust (NET)

The Trustees of the Northern Education Trust (NET) are pleased to announce that they have made a permanent appointment to the post of Executive Principal of Thorp Academy in Ryton, to succeed Jonathan Morris, who will be retiring in December 2016.

Andrew Jordon, currently the Executive Principal of Dyke House Sports and Technology College, a NET academy in Hartlepool, has been appointed as the Executive Principal of both Thorp and Dyke House academies as from January 2017.

Andrew, who is a National Leader of Education and leads Dyke House as a Teaching School, will be working closely with Jonathan Morris over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition into his role.

In making this announcement the Chair of the Trust, Mr Les Walton CBE, said “Parents and students can be assured that the future of Thorp Academy is secure with the appointment of Andrew Jordon who, as a National Leader of Education, will bring a strong sense of mission to further raising standards at the academy.”

Andrew Jordon said “I feel privileged to have been appointed by Trustees to lead Thorp Academy. It will be my intention to work closely with Jonathan Morris, the current Principal, over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition into the role as from January 2017.

“I will spend time getting to know staff and students as well as those leaders in the community who have a vested interest in the success of Thorp Academy.”

Join us again next week for more appointment news.

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