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This week’s North East appointments

Your weekly roundup of the latest job moves in the North East.

Suzanne McArdle, UNW

North East accountancy and advisory firm UNW has added to its pool of tax practitioners with the appointment of Suzanne McArdle as Senior Tax Manager.

Formerly head of tax at Gentoo, one of the region’s largest housing associations, Suzanne brings with her a wealth of experience of operating in both industry and accountancy practice, having also previously spent 11 years with KPMG as Tax Senior Manager.

Suzanne will use her expertise to help corporate clients manage their tax reporting and compliance as efficiently and painlessly as possible, whilst also providing advice to clients on a range of tax matters.

Suzanne said: “In my previous role at Gentoo, I was aware of UNW’s strong reputation in the marketplace and was particularly impressed by the variation and depth of their tax offering. I look forward to working with the team to further enhance this reputation.

“My four years of experience as a client of this type of service will prove invaluable to me in my new role, and had I remained in industry, UNW would undoubtedly have been the firm I would have wanted to work with.

“Learning more about the firm and the people involved reaffirmed my decision to join them and return to accountancy practice.”

Steve Lant, a tax partner at UNW, said: “Suzanne is a superb addition to the firm and I was delighted when she agreed to join us.”

Ian Basford, Nortech Group

Nortech Group has announced the appointment of engineering industry specialist Ian Basford to its board.

Mr Basford has been with Nortech since 2014 leading its Management & Consultancy division, a role he will continue to fulfil alongside his position on the group board.

Having helped to found the division, Mr Basford has successfully established its services across sectors ranging from oil & gas, maritime, petrochemical and pharmaceuticals to mining and infrastructure.

The Division offers a range of solutions to support the successful delivery of complex engineering and construction projects by providing Project, Commercial and Contractual consultancy services.

Mr Basford is a former Managing Director of Stapleton International (Project Services) and Group Director of Stapleton Holdings Ltd. His role involved developing the global project resource business as well as supporting the development of the Claims and Dispute resolution business.

He has also been business development director at Balfour Beatty Management Ltd where he was responsible for developing the business in the North of England. In addition, he spent 32 years with Faithful and Gould where he progressed to Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the global business.

Ian Basford said: “I am very proud to join the board at Nortech, which has established itself as a niche provider of specialist services with an established and fast-growing reputation.

“As a member of the board I am keen to help the group build upon the success we have achieved to date and grow our presence in key sectors and geographic markets.”

Mike Roberts, Barratt Developments

Barratt Developments has announced the appointment of Mike Roberts as its new Regional Managing Director for the Northern Region after a record year for the housebuilder.

Mike will be responsible for managing the Yorkshire East, Yorkshire West and North East divisions, heading up an 800-strong workforce.

Having worked in the construction and housebuilding industry for 32 years and with Barratt Developments, which includes both the Barratt and David Wilson Homes brands, since 2008, Mike will be based in York at the Barratt Yorkshire East office.

During his time with the business, most recently as Managing Director of the North East division, Mike has been responsible for managing 300 employees and a growing roster of developments.

Mike said: “I am incredibly proud to have taken up the Regional Managing Director for the Northern Region position at Barratt Developments, in what is a very exciting time for the company.

“Our recent growth is definitely testament to the sheer hard work that is undertaken at all levels of the company, whilst demand for high quality, competitively priced housing remains strong across all three divisions in Yorkshire and the North East.

“I am confident we will continue to grow as we work hard to provide quality housing across the North.”

Andrew Rollo, George F. White

Land, property and business consultancy George F. White has appointed Andrew Rollo as Head of Energy.

As a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Andrew brings with him a wealth of experience across the energy, engineering and construction sectors.

Key areas of his expertise include energy portfolio management, design and construction of ready mixed concrete plants, fixed and mobile mineral processing plants, environmental permitting and overall process maintenance and improvement.

Previous to his new role at George F. White, Andrew worked at a number of blue chip companies including Nissan Motor Manufacturing, Tarmac and Hope Cement Limited.

Andrew spent four years at Hope Cement where, as Engineering Manager, he was responsible for the optimisation of plant and machinery, managing the company’s energy portfolio to reduce cost and carbon footprint, the development of new green and brownfield sites throughout the UK and provision of engineering solutions to ensure safe and efficient operation of equipment.

He said: “My new role gives me a huge opportunity to develop the offering of our energy team both through expansion into different sectors, but also by applying our skills and experience to wider projects outside of renewable energy technology to deliver exceptional value to a broader range of clients. I cannot wait to get started.”

Emma Jackson, Watson Burton

Newcastle-headquartered commercial law firm Watson Burton has appointed Emma Jackson as a new solicitor.

Emma has joined Watson Burton’s corporate department and will be supporting the team in the provision of a wide range of legal services to clients in the technology sector, as well as other sectors.

She will focus particularly on contractual matters and intellectual property - a field in which she has experience in negotiating agreements relating to the exploitation and protection of intellectual property, trade mark and design right applications, intellectual property audits, and IT infrastructure and outsourcing arrangements.

Emma, a graduate of Northumbria University, has considerable expertise in providing legal services to start-up and early stage businesses, as well as larger organisations, and has worked with start ups participating in accelerator programmes such as Ignite and Mass Challenge UK.

Before joining Watson Burton, Emma worked as a solicitor at technology firm Particular Legal, where she practised intellectual property and commercial law and acted as a legal advisor to Northumbria University’s graduate enterprise programme.

She said: “Watson Burton has a formidable reputation for its commercial expertise and its corporate team has an exceptional track record: joining the firm therefore represents a fantastic opportunity for me.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointment news.