This week's North West appointments

Kate Davenport, Rian Shafi and Lasma Veigule, Zut

Video agency Zut has taken on three new members of staff.

Kate Davenport, former sponsorship manager of the International Business Festival, joined the Liverpool-based company in the role of account manager.

Rian Shafi is the firm’s new camera assistant. Rian has previously worked on content for Channel 4 and Adidas.

Zut also appointed digital film production graduate Lasma Veigule as a junior motion designer.

Mark Hancock, director at Zut, said: “As client demand for video and animation content continues to spiral, it is essential for us to keep investing in talented young specialists to enhance our production and post production teams.

“Client satisfaction is at the bedrock of our business and Kate’s newly created role reflects our commitment to staying focused on delivering the highest service levels as our client base continues to grow.”

Dave Moutrey, Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council has announced the appointment of Dave Moutrey, director and chief exec of arts venue HOME, as Director of Culture for Manchester.

Dave will hold the advisory role alongside his position at HOME.

His remit will be to develop culture in the city, widening participation in the arts and attracting new audiences to the cultural events taking place in Manchester each week.

Cllr Luthfur Rahman, the authority’s Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure, said: “Dave’s appointment to this role is very apt as someone with a wealth of experience not just in the world of culture but crucially also in Manchester.

“We have long recognised the value of the arts and culture both to individuals and to the city itself and are determined to increase this further.”

Dave Moutrey commented: “Manchester is my home in more ways than one and I am honoured to be given the job of helping make culture in this city even greater than it already is.”

Ross Newton, Kayliegh Dixon and George Silverwood, MHA Moore and Smalley

Accountancy and business advisory firm MHA Moore and Smalley has appointed three trainees at its Kendal office.

George Silverwood, Kayleigh Dixon and Ross Newton will assist clients throughout the region on accountancy and tax matters, including corporate accounts, VAT, capital gains tax and self-assessment tax.

George is an ATT (Association of Taxation Technicians) trainee, Kayleigh an ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) trainee and Ross an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) trainee.

MHA Moore and Smalley partner Colin Johnson said: “Investing in the future is one of our core values. George, Kayleigh and Ross have a real passion and enthusiasm for the profession and, like many before them, have the potential to go on and have a great career with us.

“These appointments strengthen our whole team and will be of huge benefit to the firm and our clients.”

L-R: Aimée Buchan, Emma Allison, Zac Donlon and Vicky Walker

Four appointments, Forward Role

Recruitment business Forward Role has appointed a new head of marketing.

Emma Allison joined the company’s Manchester-based team from app developer Mapway, where she was marketing manager for two years.

Prior to that, she spent three years in the marketing department of another recruitment group.

Forward Role has also taken on three new recruitment consultants – Vicky Walker and Zac Donlon in the IT department and Aimée Buchan in e-commerce.

Steve Thompson, founder and managing director at Forward Role, said: “I’m delighted to welcome four more Forward Rollers to our growing family.

“They all bring a mix of extremely relevant commercial skills to the business and I’m confident they will play a big part in what’s shaping up to be another record-breaking year for us.”

He continued: “We’re thrilled to have appointed Emma to such an important role within our Marketing team. It’s a really exciting time for the business as we look to launch a new brand and website in the middle of the year and she will play a key part in delivering these projects.”

Emma commented: “Forward Role has a fantastic reputation in the industry as both a brilliant recruitment consultancy, serving some of the region’s biggest businesses, and a great place to work.

“Steve and the team have achieved so much and I can’t wait to get started and play a role in driving the business on to even greater heights.”