This week's North East appointments

Your latest roundup of appointments from across the region is here.

Emma Etherington, Hay & Kilner

North East law firm, Hay & Kilner has strengthened its private client team with paralegal, Emma Etherington.

Emma brings 15 years of legal sector experience to the Newcastle-headquartered practice, having initially worked as a legal secretary before developing her career as a paralegal.

Emma, from Newcastle, is now responsible for managing her own caseload, drafting legal papers and working with other members of the private client team on behalf of a wide range of clients.

She said: “I was looking for a new challenge, and from the moment I walked through the door at Hay & Kilner, I felt right at home.

“It’s a busy department with a very varied workload, and I’m very much enjoying getting to know my new clients and colleagues.”

Established in 1946, Hay & Kilner provides various legal services to businesses and individuals from both within and outside the region.

Chris Marsh and Alan O’Kane, Spanish City

The hospitality group behind operations at the new Spanish City, Kymel, has appointed Chris Marsh and Alan O’Kane as general manager and executive head chef respectively.

Chris graduated from Edinburgh Napier with a hospitality management degree, before taking part in the Marriott Graduate Trainee programme.

Following this, he held roles on the Royal Yacht Britannia, working at events with the Queen in attendance and undertook a placement at a prestigious members-only country club in Connecticut before becoming a GM at the Castle Venlaw Hotel at the age of 24.

Chris said: ’The local area is very special to me and I feel I have a real understanding of what Spanish City means to the local people and tourists because it means a lot to me too.

“I went to school in Tynemouth and have fond memories of Spanish City in all of its glory, I can’t wait to see it restored and reopened again.”

Meanwhile, Alan’s enthusiasm for food have earned him many accolades including three AA Rosettes, a Bib Gourmand and North East Small Hotel of the Year. He is also passionate about bringing employees through the ranks to fulfil their potential.

He added: “The reinvention of Spanish City creates some incredible dining options which is something I’m really excited about.

“I’m already in the process of hiring some very talented chefs and also seeking out enthusiastic new talent who want to learn their trade somewhere inspiring and fresh.”

Leanne Nash, BHP Law

BHP Law has appointed Leanne Nash as a partner to lead on its corporate and commercial services.

The company has brought together all of its business services - including commercial property, employment, dispute resolution, debt recovery and corporate law - under the leadership of Leanne.

Leanne worked in product development and in the legal department for a major retailer before moving to a regional firm and most recently ran her own business management consultancy, as well as having more than 10 years of experience as a qualified solicitor.

Leanne said: “The message to businesses is that we not only provide high quality commercial advice and services for matters ranging from basic terms and conditions to multi-million pound commercial transactions, but alongside that we have specialists in the team to advise on a whole series of other issues relating to business.

“Providing an accessible, well rounded service that is value for money, not cumbersome and with solicitors and advisers who are friendly, approachable and speak plain English, not legal jargon, is what sets us apart and what appeals to businesses.”

Anthony King, Ocucon

The world’s first Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) platform, Ocucon has appointed Anthony King, formerly of King Security Systems, as a consultant to the business.

Ocucon delivers a cloud-based storage and retrieval platform, combining intelligent data analytics with the facility to store, analyse and retrieve unlimited amounts of HD video surveillance footage from within the Ocucon portal. It is the first technology of its kind to offer unlimited cloud-based storage as a service.

With over 30 years in the security industry, Anthony King brings a lot of experience and business contacts. In his new role, he will be responsible for Ocucon’s business development, growth and supporting the management team in its strategy and the development of Ocucon’s new services.

He said: “I am incredibly excited to be coming on board as a consultant to Ocucon. As the world’s first VSaaS platform, Ocucon is truly breaking new grounds in surveillance technology and gained an enviable reputation since its launch only last year.

“This is the prime time to be joining the company and I look forward to working with the team to support its continued growth.”

Chelsey Etherington; Daniel Richardson; Sharon Morgan; Victoria Milne; Jill Stewart; Allison Lister and Ian Thompson, Transmit Group

Gateshead-based Transmit Group has added to it award-winning team as it continues its growth plans focused on supporting more UK entrepreneurs.

Transmit, which provides various high-impact services designed to help businesses start and scale up, has increased its own team from 20 employees to 29 in the past year.

Seven new employees have been recruited in recent weeks in response to growing demand for services from entrepreneurs and enterprise organisations.

Chelsey Etherington, Daniel Richardson and Sharon Morgan have joined the team as applications assistants; Jill Stewart is business advisor and mentoring co-ordinator; Allison Lister is business advisor and assessment co-ordinator, while Victoria Milne and Ian Thompson have been recruited as associate business advisers.

Transmit Group’s commercial director, Richard Myers, said: “This latest wave of recruitment reflects our own growth strategy and the success of our team in delivering quality services to entrepreneurs and enterprise agencies across the UK.

“The new recruits bring yet more experience and expertise into the group to make a real difference to customers ranging from micro businesses to major franchises.”

Will Smith, BMC Recruitment Group

BMC Recruitment Group, the Newcastle-based search consultancy has announced a number of recent promotions and appointments to support its next stage growth plans.

Established by chartered accountant, David Blair, BMC Recruitment Group has successfully achieved 100 per cent year-on-year growth for the second consecutive year, and is working with seven of the region’s eight largest businesses.

With clients such as Nissan, Sage, and Proctor & Gamble, BMC has rapidly expanded into a wide range of sectors, supported by a sixteen-strong team.

Leading the technology division is Aqueel Ahmed, who joined the business as principal consultant, building upon BMC’s established presence within the technology sector.

Aqueel said: “There is a real buzz in the North East technology sector - the tech market is going from strength to strength, I am delighted to join BMC at such an exciting growth phase and look forward to working with BMC’s long-standing clients as well as developing new relationships.”

Will Smith joins the business after a number of years within operations and was attracted to a career at BMC by the ambitious business strategy upheld by David and the team.

At the age of 28, Will was already managing a 70-strong team and was a widely recognised name in the financial services industry for best practice operations.

Will is BMC’s first consultant to join the business from outside the recruitment sector, and having led his previous company’s most recent business venture, is set to make promising headway in the world of recruitment.

Will added: “The first thing you notice at BMC is the passion, energy, and professionalism displayed by the team - they are so driven by David’s vision and it’s amazing to see.

“The business has achieved so much in a relatively short space of time - I’m delighted to join such a forward-thinking business. As one of the most respected recruitment firms for professional search consultancy, I look forward to what I can achieve here at BMC.”

Ran Ho, Walton Robinson

Newcastle property consultancy, Walton Robinson, has appointed Ran Ho as its international client manager.

Ran began her career at Walton Robinson in 2013, working part-time as a lettings consultant before progressing to the role of lettings manager, utilising her bilingual skills as a native Chinese speaker to assist students and landlords from all over the world.

Ran will continue to build on her work with clients in the UK and internationally, sourcing rental properties, sales properties and investment opportunities.

Mark Smith, operation director, said: “Ran has been instrumental in allowing Walton Robinson to develop our work with international students, landlords and investors since starting at the company and we look forward to seeing how she can build further on this in the coming months and years.”

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