This week’s Yorkshire appointments

Barnsley accountants Gibson Booth Limited have appointed Andrew Ainsworth as the new business development manager.

Andrew has been appointed to work alongside the company directors to develop both strategy and marketing, and offer business advice to new and existing clients.

Andrew said: “I am delighted to be joining such a progressive and forward thinking business, there are great opportunities ahead for Gibson Booth and their clients and I’m very positive about the future.”

Andrew previously worked at Enterprising Barnsley, the economic development arm of Barnsley Council, for 27 years. He has a degree in business studies and a Master’s degree in economic development.

Robert Watson, managing director of Gibson Booth, said: “Andrew is an excellent addition to our team and we are overjoyed to have secured his experience as part of our ambitions plans to enhance the service to our clients.”

Gibson Booth, which has its offices on Victoria Road in the town centre, has 32 staff and in the region of 1,000 clients. Their turnover has been growing year on year.

Gillian Askew, YPO

YPO, the Wakefield-based publicly owned buying organisation, has further strengthened its team with the appointment of a new head of procurement services, Gillian Askew.

Gillian brings with her 21 years of experience in procurement services across a number of sectors, having previously worked as head of procurement at Nottingham Trent University and supply chain director for critical and mobile assets at Babcock International Group PLC.

In her new role, Gillian will spearhead YPO’s procurement function, helping procurement teams and organisations across the UK achieve their commercial and service-led goals.

YPO specialises in providing legally compliant procurement services to the public sector and has been catering to local authorities and schools for over 40 years.

Gillian will also focus on enhancing the organisation’s profile as an expert in procurement across new sectors such as health, housing, and further education as well as industry.

Simon Hill, YPO’s managing director said: “Procurement is the backbone of everything we do at YPO.

“Gillian’s wealth of knowledge and experience, in addition to her passion for procurement, will play a critical role in shaping YPO’s future success.”

John Metcalf, The Private Office

Wealth management professional, John Metcalf, is joining the Leeds office of independent financial adviser, The Private Office.

John, who spent almost 20 years at the North’s biggest wealth management firm, Pearson Jones plc, Leeds, joins the 60 strong wealth management team at The Private Office as a partner.

He was previously wealth management director at Pearson Jones where he advised private clients on family wealth and trust funds and was part of a senior team which built Pearson Jones to 123 staff at offices in Leeds, Sheffield, York and Bishop Auckland with more than £1.8bn total funds under management.

He resigned in 2015 after the firm was acquired by Standard Life and re-branded 1825 in its first step of trying to create a national restricted financial advisory business so he could continue to give independent advice based on the best interests of clients.

Alistair Callander, The Private Office chief executive, said: “We are excited to welcome John with his considerable ability. Wealth managers of his quality don’t come onto the Yorkshire market very often.”

John Metcalf added: “It was important to me that I could continue to provide truly independent financial advice as I have done for many years, without bias.

“I know I’m joining a firm with a fantastic pedigree, a ‘client-first’ ethos and is committed to offering high-quality independent wealth management services.”

Nishaan Patel, Holly Southward and Nathan Richards, Hydra Creative

Hydra Creative, the Sheffield-based digital agency, has strengthened its team with two new recruits and an internal promotion.

The appointments come as Hydra prepares to enter a period of growth with the company set to invest more than £100k over the coming months.

Joining Hydra as digital marketing manager is Nishaan Patel who will support Hydra’s Pay Per Click and Google AdWords clients. Nishaan brings a wealth of knowledge with him following several successful years as an agency account manager at Google.

Hydra is also welcoming Holly Southward who takes over the position of marketing assistant and will support the rest of Hydra’s in-house marketing team.

This period of growth sees Hydra promote Nathan Richards to operations director. Nathan joined Hydra in 2010 and has risen through the ranks, becoming an expert in Hydra’s more complex projects.

Gemma Daniels, client services director said: “A key part of our growth plan was to develop and expand our team and so we’re thrilled to be welcoming both Nishaan and Holly to the team. Both have joined at an exciting time for Hydra as we look towards further growth.

“We’re particularly proud for Nathan too, he’s been with Hydra almost from our very first day and has become an indispensable member of the team.”

Claire Chadbourne, Doncaster Chamber

New finance manager, Claire Chadbourne, has joined Doncaster Chamber, bringing with her 10 years of experience and knowledge of working for SMEs in Yorkshire.

She will manage the financial aspects of the independent membership organisation that provides business support to over 700 member businesses as well as the Doncaster Skills Academy.

Claire said: “I’m looking forward to working with the team and members of the Chamber and, having come from a manufacturing background, learning new aspects of finance within a membership organisation.

“I’m also looking forward to using my experience and knowledge to introduce new best practices to the role.”

Tom Lamb, Knight Frank

Property consultancy Knight Frank has strengthened its industrial property team in Yorkshire with the promotion of Tom Lamb to partner.

Tom, who was previously an associate, joined Knight Frank in 2007 following five years working in Sheffield.

Rebecca Schofield, head of Knight Frank’s industrial team in Yorkshire, said: “Tom’s promotion is well-deserved.

“Since he arrived at Knight Frank nine years ago, the combination of his expertise and his commitment has proved invaluable. He is liked and respected by his peers and his clients and I am confident he will thrive on his new responsibility.”

“His promotion comes at an important time for Knight Frank. The industrial property market in Yorkshire remains strong, despite the post-Brexit fears.

“At the moment, we are advising on over 1 million sq ft of built distribution and industrial product in West Yorkshire alone as well as 150 acres of development land. We now offer a full, one-stop service to all our occupiers and clients.”

Knight Frank’s logistics and industrial clients in Yorkshire include Muse, Haworth Estates, Waystone, Wykeland, Marshall CDP and IDI Gazeley.

Gary Corlyon, Victory Leisure Homes

Victory Leisure Homes, the holiday home manufacturer, has appointed Gary Corlyon as its director of operations.

Gary brings more than 30 years’ experience to the role after starting on the shop floor and working his way through the ranks at some of Hull and East Yorkshire’s biggest caravan makers.

Having worked extensively in value stream management, Gary has already brought efficiencies to the factory enabling Victory Leisure Homes to meet the demands of a bulging order book.

Peter Nevitt, managing director, said: “Gary is an extremely experienced and knowledgeable guy who has spent the majority of his career in the caravan industry,” Peter said.

“He has learned the ropes from the bottom up yet is always innovating, always looking for ways of improving production and making the whole operation more efficient.

“I feel this is a fantastic appointment for Victory Leisure Homes and it is one that is already yielding results.”

Matthew Balmforth, Hatch Communications

Hatch Communications, the Leeds-based PR, Social, Sponsorship and Events agency, has appointed Matthew Balmforth as its head of social media.

Joining the agency on the back of its recent relocation to the city’s Leeds Dock area, Balmforth joins the agency from Umpf, where he spent three years working across a range of national and international clients, including multi award-winning campaigns for Park Inn by Radisson and Virgin Trains East Coast.

Matthew said: “I’m really excited by the opportunity at Hatch, the agency has a great reputation, so I’m confident I can bring my experience to the table and help achieve our strong growth ambitions.

“Social works hand-in-hand with PR, so we’re looking to develop our offering to give clients an even greater integrated approach which delivers above and beyond.”

Jason Madeley, founder of Hatch Communications, added: “We’re delighted to appoint Matthew and welcome him to the team. The agency has grown at some pace in the last 18 months following our rebrand, so Matthew joins us at the ideal time.

“We’re looking forward to utilising his experience and expertise to take our social media offering to the next level and add another benefit for clients working with Hatch.”

Emily West and Caroline Longfield, Calbee UK

Calbee UK, a European subsidiary of Calbee Inc, the £1.2bn Japanese savoury snack supplier, has appointed Caroline Longfield as supply chain assistant and Emily West as sales administrator on its Leeds-based management team.

Caroline and Emily will support the company to reach its target of £65m sales in the next five years.

Caroline has more than seven years’ experience working for a FMCG business in the confectionery market. Emily joins Calbee with nine years’ experience in procurement having previously worked for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in the ICT department.

Richard Robinson, managing director for Calbee UK, said: “We really do value every single member of the team and know that they are all essential in helping us to achieve our goals, Caroline and Emily are no exception.

“We look forward to working closely with them both and know that they will be instrumental in supporting the business as we aspire to become one of the UK’s leading savoury snack suppliers.”

In June 2015 Calbee UK officially opened its £6.5m factory in Deeside, North Wales. It’s first branded product, Yushoi, followed shortly after when it was launched to the market with the help of Olympic gymnast Louis Smith MBE.

The snacks, which are made using green peas and are an alternative to fried potato crisps, are available in Tesco, Morrisons, Selfridges, Whole Foods Market, The Co-operative Food and online from Amazon and Ocado.

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