Member Article

This week's North East appointments

A roundup of the latest job moves and promotions from across the North East this week.

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Anthony McMenzie and Graham Hoare, Forfusion

Wallsend-based business and IT consultancy Forfusion Ltd has appointed two new directors.

Anthony McMenzie joins the business as Client Services Director whilst Graham Hoare joins as Managed Services Director. The dup will help manage and bolster the commercial growth of Forfusion’s services business, particularly across its security and cloud portfolio.

Anthony brings over 30 years’ experience in the technology sector, having worked for the likes of Northumbrian Water, Bank of America and Lloyd’s of London, as well as having held senior roles at Dimension Data and Vodafone during a six year stint in Australia.

Closer to home, Anthony has been a Board Member for Dynamo (the organisation set up to grow the North East IT economy) since 2014, with a particular interest in security and working together to big-up the region’s capabilities.

“I’m really excited to be joining such a rapidly-growing, forward-thinking organisation. Over the last ten years, Forfusion has been invited in to help de-risk some of the most complex and challenging digital transformation projects in the world,” said Anthony. “I’m looking forward to adding even more value to the services Forfusion offers its clients.”

Graham’s background is in telecommunications, having served over 24 years in the Royal Air Force as a telecoms technician. After leaving the forces 10 years ago, Graham has held senior roles at collaboration consultancies, leading a number of high profile projects and services for customers such as Mars, 3M, the Ministry of Defence and British Airways.

“Forfusion’s reputation for outstanding consultative project and service delivery to its customers was a perfect match for me,” said Graham. “This consultative approach is what makes Forfusion stand out from many other companies I have had association with, I very much look forward to being part of the continuing and accelerating growth of the business.”

John Craggs, North East Chamber

John Craggs the CEO of Sunderland based Housing Association Gentoo Group, has been appointed chairman of the North East England Chamber of Commerce Sunderland area.

John has more than 35 years’ experience of working in the housing sector and is one of the industry’s most respected figures.

The Chamber Sunderland area meeting is regularly attended by leading figures in the business community who share views on the Wearside economy, their own business trading conditions and future challenges. They also get an update on Chamber campaigns on key regional issues such as transport investment.

John Craggs said: “It is a great honour to chair the Chamber Sunderland area. This is a tremendously exciting time for our city with at least £1.3bn of public and private investment to be made in Sunderland over the next nine years, supporting economic growth and delivering in excess of 20,000 new jobs.

“Alongside this, there are big opportunities on the horizon like the Tall Ships and the next round of the Capital of Culture bid. The Chamber is a keen supporter of this cultural development work and Wearside’s ambitious plans for the future.

“Our local businesses can benefit from working more closely together on projects such as these. As Chairman, I will be encouraging more of our members to get involved to showcase what a great place Wearside is to live, work and spend their leisure time.”

Aoife Owens, Jackson Hogg

Jackson Hogg Recruitment has appointed Aoife Owens to the role of Senior Consultant.

Aoife, who relocated to Newcastle to complete a Masters’ Degree in law at Northumbria University, specialises in Commercial appointments across engineering, manufacturing and technology for clients globally.

In addition to her law degree, Aoife holds a qualification in Human Resources from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development, giving her the ability to truly consult and understand her client needs.

Richard Hogg, Managing Director of Jackson Hogg Recruitment said: “We are excited to have welcomed Aoife to our team. She has the experience, drive and character we are looking for in a Senior Consultant.

“Aoife understands the value of our relationship-based approach to recruitment, which means not only do we know our clients well, but they can be confident we know the candidates we are working with will be a good fit for their organisation.”

Aoife Owens said: “I am delighted to join the team at Jackson Hogg. It is a pleasure to be part of a company that truly cares about the clients and candidates they work with. It is exciting times ahead as we continue to grow. I am looking forward to building on an already strong reputation and expanding the Commercial division further at Jackson Hogg.”

Jessica Brain, Watson Burton

Commercial law firm Watson Burton has strengthened its commercial litigation team with the appointment of a new solicitor.

Jessica Brain, who undertook a graduate traineeship with Watson Burton and qualified as a solicitor this year will support the team’s work on corporate litigation, property litigation, shareholder and boardroom disputes, fraud cases, data breaches, negligence claims and contractual disputes.

A Newcastle University law graduate, Jessica undertook a Legal Practice Course at the College of Law in York before working as a senior paralegal at Stewarts Law in Leeds, where she was part of the commercial litigation and competition department.

During the course of Watson Burton’s two-year graduate programme, trainees have the opportunity to work across the firm’s key practice areas. The programme covers four six month rotations across Watson Burton’s national groups.

Jessica Brain commented: “Making the transition from graduate trainee to solicitor has been truly exciting and I’m looking forward to playing a key role in Watson Burton’s commercial litigation team.

“I gained valuable first-hand experience of commercial law and commercial litigation during my training contract and worked on high level cases, supporting senior solicitors and partners. “The skills and knowledge I acquired during the traineeship and in previous roles will provide an excellent grounding in my career as a solicitor.”

Anthony Rance, partner in Watson Burton’s commercial litigation team, said: “Jessica’s time as a trainee solicitor with Watson Burton demonstrated that she has a genuine passion for commercial law and a real understanding of the commercial litigation landscape. We are delighted that she is moving forward in her career as part of our team.

“As a firm we feel it’s important to nurture and develop legal talent and Jessica’s appointment shows that our graduate traineeship programme is a pathway to a rewarding, exciting legal career.”

Mark Dixon, Godfrey Syrett

North East furniture manufacturer Godfrey Syrett has announced the appointment of Mark Dixon as the firm’s new CEO and chairman with immediate effect.

Dixon, who returned to his North East roots last year to take up the role of executive chairman, has raised the firm’s growth target from £40m to £50m, a figure it plans to achieve by 2020.

Prior to joining Godfrey Syrett, Mark Dixon held a number of board level positions and established facilities management company, Promanex Group, which he successfully sold to Costain in 2011.

Commenting on his new appointment Mr Dixon said: “I am very pleased to have been given the backing of the board and to be in a position to lead the firm in what is a very exciting time of rapid growth.”

He continued: “Our growth strategy has started strongly but there is more for us to do to improve efficiency through investment in infrastructure. We are working hard to target new sectors and actively extend our client-base, which is crucial to achieving our target.”

Lord John Wakeham, chairman of the firm’s shareholders said: “Since joining Godfrey Syrett last October, Mark has made a significant impact and has clearly demonstrated the important combination of experience and vision that the company requires to achieve our ambitions.

“Following the publication of our 2020 strategy, Mark has secured the unanimous support of our shareholders and we have every confidence that he will now be able to drive the company forward.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointment news.