Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Begin your working week with a look at the latest appointments from across the region.

Mike Young, George F. White

North East land, property and business consultancy George F. White has appointed Mike Young (FRICS FIQ) as Equity Partner.

With over 21 years’ experience as a Chartered Surveyor, Mike has developed a specialist range of expertise through the management and development of private and public owned minerals & waste property estates.

Mike was previously Head of Land & Mineral Resources at Hope Construction Materials where he led a successful development team who provided property, planning, engineering and geological advice throughout the UK. Prior to this, Mike had a decade of working for Tarmac Limited.

Talking about his new role as a partner in the land, property and business consultancy, Mike said: “My new position is a dual role as Equity Partner and Head of Commercial Property.

“From a leadership perspective as a Partner, a key focus will be developing the regional strategy. As Head of Northumberland and Borders, I will be working closely with all business teams, to understand their viewpoints and then ensure my leadership style compliments this.

“I strongly believe George F. White should be the first choice of property consultancy for both employees and clients alike. Our developing culture will deliver our business strategy and in my opinion, this is the best foundation for business growth.

Robyn Peat, Managing Partner at George F. White, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Mike as a Partner in the business. It’s a great coup to recruit a man of Mike’s niche talent, leadership qualities and industry expertise.

“His experience, especially in the land and mineral resources field, will strengthen our delivery in this growing service area and enable us to expand our client base in this sector nationally.”

Ashley Small, Madeleine Griffith, Cairn Group

Cairn Group-owned Holiday Inn Newcastle-Jesmond has welcomed two new faces who will be partnering up to promote and manage the hotel and its new offerings over the coming months, whilst forging strong links with local businesses.

Conference & events sales manager Ashley Small and sales manager Madeleine Griffith have joined the 85-strong team at the popular hotel, which is one of 26 sites operated by Newcastle-based Cairn Group, with both having worked together previously.

Ashley formerly held roles at Accommodations UK and, more recently, Lumley Castle. She will be largely responsible for leading on telephone sales, as well as helping to drive wedding bookings at the venue.

She will be working closely with new sales manager, Madeleine Griffith, whose background is in business development and communications. Madeleine previously worked with Ashley at Accommodations UK for three years.

Newcastle-born Ashley said: “This is a really great move for me – not only is the Holiday Inn a brand I admire and the Cairn Group a homegrown business; my most immediate team member and I have a ready-made, mutual respect for each other’s skills which I think stands us both in excellent stead for working together again.”

Madeleine, who is from Sandyford, said: “This new role consolidates a lot of what I’ve learned throughout my career to date whilst presenting fantastic new opportunities. Day-to-day I’ll be meeting with and getting to know current clients, as well as building up the hotel’s network of new contacts in the region and further afield.

“I’ll also be introducing a number of new initiatives to the hotel’s offering for our clients, such as theatre packages and Friday lunchtime openings in our restaurant, Fratello’s. I have lots planned and with Ashley and the wider team’s support I’m looking forward to making it all happen.

“I genuinely love this hotel, having stayed here previously as a guest, so to be working closely with Ashley again makes this the perfect position for me. I thrive on getting out and about and meeting people whilst she’s incredibly efficient at detail and meticulous customer service.”

Rachael Benford, NBS Yarm Library

Rachael Benford is taking the next step up the career ladder after being appointed by Newcastle Building Society to run its unique branch inside Yarm Library. The new community branch, which has been developed in partnership with Stockton Borough Council, is due to open in early September.

The Society has given Rachael the responsibility for leading her own team and helping to re-establish its presence in Yarm and its surrounding communities.

Rachael, who joined the Society in 2006, managed the Consett Branch before being accepted onto the Ocademy Programme, which is run by the Society’s fully owned subsidiary Newcastle Financial Services and their advice distributor Openwork, to undertake the rigorous programme to train as a qualified financial adviser.

Her role will not only be to lead the branch team and branch operations but as a qualified Financial Planning Manager she will also offer face to face financial planning advice inside the branch.

The development of the new Yarm branch forms part of a £10m investment programme that Newcastle Building Society is undertaking this year to improve the way it delivers its service to customers, with improvements being made to its branch network, telephone and digital offering, and operational infrastructure.

Rachael says: “I’m looking forward to welcoming both old and new customers into our new community branch, to getting to know them and understand how we can help them manage their personal finances in the best possible way. It’s great I have the opportunity to do this in such a unique environment with a great community focus.

“Yarm is a lovely community and I hope to build a welcoming atmosphere in the branch and connect with library visitors and customers.”

Graeme Proctor, Parker domnick hunter

International bioprocessing solutions provider Parker domnick hunter has reinforced its commitment to global growth with the appointment of a new Product Manager.

Graeme Proctor, who hails from Newcastle, UK, has joined Parker domnick hunter to further develop its presence in the global single-use systems market.

Parker domnick hunter, which has lead operations in Birtley, UK and Oxnard, California, USA, is part of the Parker Hannifin Corporation, the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems. Parker domnick hunter designs, supplies and delivers whole systems for both upstream and downstream biopharmaceutical manufacturing, serving clients all over the world.

Parker domnick hunter specializes in the development of custom automated processes, incorporating sensor and control technologies, filtration products and single-use consumables. These single-use solutions help to standardize operations, identify, monitor and control bioprocess variation and ensure product quality and consistency when upscaling from development to manufacturing scale.

The appointment follows Parker domnick hunter’s announcement last month that it is to start manufacturing specialist single-use manifolds from its site in Birtley – the first time it has done this in the UK.

Graeme holds a degree in Biomedical Science from the University of Sunderland and has vast experience in R&D, project management and process engineering, having spent more than two decades in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.

On graduation, he worked in antibody production for Helena Biosciences Ltd, which was followed by a research post at Newcastle University’s School of Microbiology, where he worked on a live Typhoid vaccine.

He then spent 13 years at Merck Millipore (UK) Ltd as a Senior Scientist in the R&D division and then as chromatography Project Manager, before taking up a dual Applications/Process Engineer and Project Manager role.

Graeme’s experience includes development of chromatography media, commercialization and launch of disposable products for use in scale-up and technical consultancy for manufacturing.

Commenting on his appointment, Graeme Proctor said: “I’ve been familiar with Parker domnick hunter’s work for a number of years and this role provided the opportunity to join a forward-thinking company at the forefront of bioprocessing technology. I’m passionate about being part of an industry that is developing solutions for medical treatment – and Parker domnick hunter’s single-use systems play a major part in helping biopharmaceutical manufacturers to bring their products to market.

“I’m looking forward to helping the division to drive growth in the single-use market and to bring my range of skills to bear in this new role.”

Philippa Roberts, BHP Law

Former journalist Philippa Roberts has given up life in a newsroom to advise employees and employers, having joined BHP Law.

A English literature graduate from Newcastle University, Philippa started her career as a reporter with the Teesdale Mercury, in Barnard Castle, followed by regional title The Northern Echo.

She converted to law in 2010 and has since worked for firms in Stockton and Newcastle, including one which specialised in Trades Union work.

After having her first baby last August, she has joined recent appointment Andrew Lightburn at BHP Law, based in Darlington and able to meet with clients across the firm’s regional network of offices.

“It’s so interesting because it’s an area of law that has the potential to affect everybody. Most people will have a job in their lifetime and may, at some point, need a solicitor,” said Philippa.

“It’s the human interest element of employment law that really appeals to me but I fear that some people with a genuine case may be put off from contacting a solicitor because of misconceptions about cost.

We’re very transparent and have introduced fixed fee packages so clients know exactly what their claim will cost from the outset, whether they are an individual or a business,“ she added.

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