This week's London appointments

Stephen Cahoon, Cromwell

Real estate investor Cromwell has promoted Stephen Cahoon to head of asset management - Europe.

Having joined Cromwell Property Group in 2011, Stephen has experience within the real estate sector, including previously holding a lead role in the CEREIT team which prepared the platform for its €1.3bn IPO in 2017.

Prior to his role as co-head of UK, Stephen held the position of head of asset management UK at Cromwell. He also holds a degree in estate management from Heriot-Watt University.

Commenting on the appointment, Wouter Zwetsloot, head of real estate - Europe at Cromwell said: “Since joining Cromwell, Stephen has taken on increasing management responsibility, latterly as co-head of the UK.

“His promotion to this newly created role reinforces his position in the European senior management team and will see him take a more central role in formulating and implementing a cohesive European asset management strategy across the portfolio.

“His experience and in-depth knowledge of both Cromwell’s platform and assets under management will be a huge advantage going forward.”

Will Brereton, ClassPass

Health and fitness subscription firm ClassPass has appointed Will Brereton as its UK general manager.

Joining from Deliveroo where he was global head of the commercial legal team, law-trained Will has worked in the fitness industry for over twenty years, both as a fitness instructor and in senior roles at home fitness giant Beachbody and New Zealand based group exercise company Les Mills.

In his new role Will plans to widen the scope of the company’s ClassPass Empowerment Programme, which leverages ClassPass’ rich data and industry expertise to support studios seeking to expand their operations and promote the growth of the studio fitness sector.

Will Brereton, UK general manager at ClassPass commented: “So far, the ClassPass Empowerment Programme has been hugely beneficial in assisting world class UK brands like Core Collective and Boom Cycle expand and grow.

“I am looking forward to building on this success by helping more homegrown brands succeed, particularly those born outside London, whether this is through using our data insights to help refine their offering or enabling them to grow into new location or markets, both in the UK and internationally.

“All of this is part of ClassPass’ mission to grow our community in a sustainable way and help people find the activities that make their true selves come alive.”

Emily Rutter, ResearchBods

Customer data and intelligence specialist ResearchBods has appointed Emily Rutter as its client services director.

With over 16 years of experience with a number of agencies, Emily has worked with brands such as Tesco, Warburtons, E.ON, Jet2 and More Than.

Her new role will focus on leading and developing the client services team, whilst taking responsibility for service levels and strategic thinking.

Robin Hilton, co-founder and director at ResearchBods commented: “As we enter into a new and exciting stage of our journey as part of the STRAT7 group we wanted to appoint an experienced agency professional to head up our client services team.

“Emily is results-driven with a passion for excellence and I’m confident she’ll continue to build on the success of our growing client portfolio.”

Eva Werner, Pickerings Lifts

Lift maintenance and repair firm Pickerings Lifts has appointed Eva Werner as operations manager for the London South region.

Eva joins the firm from a local lift manufacturing and servicing company, working as a repairs supervisor for eight years.

In her new role, Eva will be covering Central London, South London and the surrounding areas, overseeing the delivery of lift maintenance, service and repair work for Pickerings Lifts’ portfolio of customers.

Commenting on her appointment, Eva said: “I’m delighted to have become operations manager at such an exciting time for Pickerings Lifts.

She added: “I’m looking forward to applying the skills I’ve learned through my career to this role.”

Warren Ralls, The British Business Bank

The British Business Bank has appointed Warren Ralls as UK network director, South and East of England.

Warren and his team will represent the UK network across the South and East of England and will work closely with business finance intermediaries in these areas.

Prior to joining the bank, Warren was director for the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Network, the representative body for the 38 LEPs operating across England, leading a network of LEP Chairs and CEOs throughout the country.

Warren has also held a number of economic development roles across the south of England, including positions with South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Business Link for Surrey, Urban Futures London Ltd. and TS²k.

Judith Hartley, managing director, UK Network, commented: “Warren brings with him a wide network of senior stakeholder contacts across not just the South and East of the country but the whole of England.

“I am confident he will be a great addition to the team as we work to help identify and reduce imbalances in access to finance for smaller businesses across those regions.”

Warren Ralls, UK network director, South and East of England added: “I am delighted to be joining the British Business Bank at such an important time for the UK business community.

“Working with colleagues in the UK network, I am thrilled to be helping smaller businesses across the UK to be better informed about how to access sources of investment at all stages of their development, as highlighted in the government’s industrial strategy.

“This role will require the close support of stakeholders across the South and East of England, and I look forward to continuing existing relationships and building new ones.”

Kevin Green, Coople

European on-demand staffing platform has appointed Kevin Green as strategic advisor.

Formerly the chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Kevin has over 35 years of HR leadership experience,

Kevin has held senior HR roles at organisations including Royal Mail, as well as being the founder and CEO of What’s Next Consultancy.

In addition to his previous roles, Kevin is also a TEDx speaker and author of business strategy book Competitive People Strategy.

Commenting on the appointment, Rinaldo Olivari, chief executive officer at Coople said, “Kevin’s deep insight into best practices in recruitment and HR will be invaluable as Coople continues to enhance the value it offers to clients.

“With Kevin on board, we will be better placed to advise clients on how they can put people, and especially flexible workers, at the heart of their competitive differentiation. We look forward to having him on the team.”

Marissa White and Ed Ellis, Perkbox

Employee experience platform Perkbox has appointed two new executives to its senior team.

Marissa White has joined as revenue operations director, and Ed Ellis has been appointed as organisational readiness director.

Marissa brings with her experience in sales operations including leadership roles at firms like Concentra Analytics, BAE Systems and EMC.

In her new role Marissa will be leading the firm’s new revenue operations team in Perkbox’s HQ in London.

Marissa commented: “I did a short engagement for Perkbox earlier this year and I came to love it so much it was hard to say no to the offer of staying.

“The company has expanded in 2019 in a number of exciting ways - new markets, new channels, and new product offerings. Enhancing and optimising our internal operations in the revenue functions will help us globalise harmoniously so that soon, everyone worldwide can enjoy Perkbox!”

With experience in process improvements, Ed has worked for firms such as EMC and Symantec, and will lead the systems operations and customer experience teams across the London and Sheffield offices.

Commenting on his appointment, Ed said:“I’m delighted to be joining the Perkbox team to assist with the next step of scaling their internal infrastructure.

“Having worked across process improvement in a variety of areas including finance, HR and sales, I’m excited to put this expertise to use at Perkbox to help the team work as efficiently as possible together and deliver a great customer experience.”

Phil Hall and Steve George, Ocean Outdoor

Digital out-of-home media owner Ocean Outdoor has appointed Phil Hall and promoted Steve George to its senior team.

Formerly the chief commercial strategy officer of MediaCom, Phil joins the firm as co-managing director of UK, working alongside newly promoted co-MD Steve George.

The duo will take joint responsibility for the UK business, with Phil overseeing the company’s UK commercial operations and Steve responsible for the franchise and development operations.

Ocean Outdoor CEO Tim Bleakley commented: “UK growth remains a key part of our plans and Phil brings a wealth of experience and insight that will help us and the industry evolve at what is an exciting stage for the digital out-of-home medium.

“His media pedigree and standing alongside Steve George’s proven entrepreneurial talent is an exciting leadership axis.”

Commenting on his new appointment, Phil added: “ I’ve long admired the product and especially the team at Ocean Outdoor and the chance to play a significant part in their continued growth is an opportunity I can’t resist.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge and to help Ocean Outdoor build on their impressive success to date.”