Member Article

This week's North East appointments

The latest appointment news from across the North East.

Darren Naylor, Sanderson Weatherall

Newcastle-based property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall has appointed industrial agent Darren Naylor, to join its North East agency team as associate partner.

Darren brings with him 8 years’ experience working in the North East commercial property market, and will focus on industrial acquisitions and disposals in Newcastle and Teesside.

Speaking about his new position, Darren said: “I’m excited to be working with this award winning agency team and look forward to supporting the department as it continues to grow, and strengthen its reputation as one of the region’s most active commercial agents.”

Robert Patterson, head of Agency at Sanderson Weatherall said: “I am delighted to announce Darren’s appointment to our agency team. Darren is a highly experienced surveyor and has a wealth of knowledge in the North East commercial property market.”

Sam Vokes, Synergi

North East business technology company Synergi has begun 2017 by further strengthening its team with the appointment of an experienced IT professional.

Sam Vokes joins as a Microsoft Cloud Consultant, bringing more than 4 years’ experience and expertise in Microsoft technologies to the role, and after having worked in senior positions for other companies across the North East.

He will add Office 365 and Azure migration skills to Gateshead-based Synergi’s team and working with his colleagues have responsibility for the delivery of services to customers migrating to new cloud-based Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint and Nintex technologies.

Sam will also use his skills in Microsoft Cloud Security solutions to ensure Synergi continue to deliver clients best practice solutions as Cloud adoption continues develop.

He said “Synergi IT are passionate about the products that I personally believe in and want to work with. I’ve tailored my career to work in the Microsoft Cloud and it’s great to work with a business who shares that vision and will develop me even further”.

Peter Joynson, managing director of Synergi, added: “It’ll be great to have Sam on-board at this time of continued growth and success for the firm.

“He will ensure our customers continue to have the best possible service experience and help maximise their investment and adoption of modern technology, something that he has been delivering internally within his previous role which saw him work with one of the largest European Office 365 migrations”

Austen Atkinson, Orange Bus

Newcastle-based digital agency Orange Bus has hired virtual reality expert Austen Atkinson as creative strategic director.

The firm says Austen brings to the role impressive credentials, having worked for leading brands and influential global organisations including Google, Virgin, the BBC, Sky, Channel 4, Channel 5, History Channel and The Sunday Times.

In his new role, Austen will lead the development of pioneering schemes at Orange Bus, helping the agency explore the potential of VR, artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies in the B2B, military, government, consumer and education sectors.

His appointment coincides with the launch of a new division, Orange Bus Futures, which will help organisations take advantage of these early-stage technologies, designs and processes that could provide lucrative revenue streams later down the line.

Austen said: “I’m thrilled to be joining such a forward-thinking, progressive agency. I’ll be working with Google, best-selling author Terry Deary, and consulting with businesses around the world to bring intellectual property to life using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality(AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other exciting technologies.

“It’s a great opportunity to lead the agency into a new dynamic era, with the launch of Orange Bus Futures set to diversify our offering and fuel future expansion.”

Julian Leighton, CEO of Orange Bus, said: “We’re delighted to have someone of the calibre of Austen on board.

“Our aim is to grow our reach internationally and the best way of doing that is to recruit highly talented people with the business acumen to spot new opportunities for us and our valued clients.”

Amy Park, Robson Laidler

North East accountancy firm Robson Laidler has relaunched its specialist healthcare team for medical professionals under new leadership.

The healthcare team will be led by specialist medical accountants Amy Park, 31, who has recently joined the Newcastle-based Robson Laidler’s board of directors, as well as Michael Smith 33, having both worked as account managers at the firm for the past few years.

Amy and Michael will be backed by an experienced team of tax, finance and payroll experts who have knowledge of the healthcare sector at all levels.

Amy said: “Professionals in the healthcare industry require specialist knowledge and as such following our success and growth in this sector I am very excited to head up our specialist healthcare team, which brings together our expertise from accounts, tax planning, financial planning and payroll.

“The team allows us to deliver a holistic service to our clients, so whether they need advice with tax planning, superannuation, retirement or making tax digital we have the resource to give the most up-to-date and professional support.”

The firm aims to provide specialist services to medical professionals, navigating them through complex NHS pension legislation, strategic issues, recruitment crises, managing change, digital tax accounting and retirement planning.

Robson Laidler managing director Graham Purvis will take up the position as head of tax within the healthcare team, bringing his 30 years of experience to the table.

He will be responsible for managing taxation requirements for a large portfolio of healthcare clients.

Graham said: “This is an exciting new chapter for us. By bringing together our pool of in-house expert knowledge into one specialist team we can provide a truly integrated service with specialists who have known and worked together for many years.”

David Barker MBE, Springboard Trust

North East training provider, Springboard Trust, has appointed a new Chief Executive to drive forward its development plans.

David Barker MBE, formerly Chief Operating Officer at disability charity Percy Hedley Foundation, has taken over from Denise Wilson who is retiring.

David has also been appointed Treasurer at further education professional body, North East Learning Providers, which represents over 60 local training providers.

David previously held senior management positions at Reed in Partnership, Disability North and The British Red Cross. He was awarded an MBE in 2000 for his services to the employment of disabled people.

Springboard Trust organises a wide range of training and development opportunities for people of all ages.

The organisation was set-up in 1975 to tackle high youth unemployment in Sunderland, with a handful of staff and a turnover of £200k.

To date, Springboard has helped over 35,000 people improve their lives and gain employment. It has a turnover of over £7m, 85 employees, and number of training centres in Sunderland, South Tyneside, Peterlee and Hartlepool.

David said: “I’m reviewing the current strategy and structure of the organisation, with a view to bringing about change that will give us a renewed focus and direction.

“Springboard has been a success story for over 40 years so we will keep doing what we’re doing but we’ll also be going back to our roots in terms of broadening the groups of people we work with and encouraging community development.

“Currently we mainly work with individuals but I believe that through our experience, expertise and excellent facilities, we can also help whole communities prosper.”

Aman Sehgal, Keystone Law

Insolvency lawyer Aman Sehgal has joined Keystone Law’s Restructuring and Insolvency team from Newcastle-based Muckle LLP.

Aman’s expertise include contingency planning, insolvency filing requirements, debt restructuring, financing and reschedulings, acquisitions and sales, credit bidding, formal insolvency proceedings, restructurings, refinancings, and debt trading.

Case highlights include acting on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, in disqualification and public-interest winding up matters.

Keystone’s founder and Managing Director, James Knight commented: “Aman is not only an excellent lawyer but a respected figure within the community which makes him an ideal candidate to help bolster our presence in the North East of England.

“We are delighted that he has chosen to join us and actively welcome further applications from lawyers in the area.”

Aman said: “For some time I have been impressed by Keystone Law’s ambitious and innovative ethos which I believe has a real synergy with my own values.

“Being able to continue doing what I love, in the area that I grew up, is so important to me and Keystone’s business model enables me to do just that.

“I look forward to sharing the many benefits of the firm’s approach to law and client service with my clients across Newcastle and beyond.”

Colin McMillan, Nortech Group

Nortech Group has appointed highly-experienced energy, chemical and power industry specialist, Colin McMillan as its new Group Development Director.

With more than 40 years’ experience in the oil, gas, petrochemical and power sectors, Colin was most recently Business Development Director at ENGIE-owned Fabricom, spending 12 years with the company.

Colin also gained significant experience with Whessoe Projects Ltd followed by six years as Director and General Manager at Mowlem Engineering Projects.

As Group Business Development Director at Nortech Group, Colin will be responsible for helping to broaden its market base and increase its presence in its key industry sectors.

In five years, Nortech Group has become one of the UK’s fastest growing and most-respected engineering service providers. It delivers Engineering Design, Management Consultancy, and Staffing Search and Selection services to clients in the Oil and Gas, Energy, Chemical & Petrochemical industries.

Headquartered at Wynyard in the Tees Valley and with an office in Aberdeen, the group also has a presence in the Middle East after it established a joint venture company, Al Dhabi Nortech Engineering Consultancy LLC in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2016.

Colin McMillan said: “Nortech Group has made considerable strides in its short history and I am very much looking forward to being part of its next stage of growth.

“I have known Bryan for a number of years and when the opportunity came for us to work together I was keen to take it and be part of an expanding and dynamic business.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointment news.