This week's Yorkshire appointments

Lee Lockwood, Begbies Traynor Group

Professional services firm Begbies Traynor Group has promoted Lee Lockwood to partner in its BTG Advisory division.

With over 15 years’ restructuring experience, Lee previously worked for Kroll and the majority of his career has been spent working alongside the major clearing banks. He has undertaken a formal secondment with Yorkshire Bank and also headed a project team working within National Australia Bank.

A chartered accountant and licensed insolvency practitioner, Lee joined Begbies Traynor in 2008, rising to the position of director. He has an insolvency background, focusing on corporate turnaround and recovery assignments.

Julian Pitts, regional managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire, commented: “Lee’s expertise in assessing financial situations and knowledge of distress has enabled him to guide businesses through difficult situations or to identify the most appropriate procedure to maximise return.

“Over the last 12 years, Lee has worked with SMEs across a variety of sectors and has an impressive track record of providing vital assistance. This promotion is well-deserved recognition of the key role he has played in helping us to strengthen our services across the region.”

Commenting on his appointment, Lee added: “It’s great to work for an advisory firm with such a strong reputation and to be part of a dynamic team. Given the current challenges facing businesses as we start to emerge from lockdown, it’s vital that they have access to expert advice they can trust.”

Alban Mlinaku, Hentons

Hentons appoint new HR manager to support national network.

Accountancy and advisory firm Hentons has appointed Alban Mlinaku as HR manager.

Alban joins the Leeds office of the firm from a role as an HR and recruitment assistant for ICS-digital.

In his new role Alban will support the firm’s continued expansion, and will be responsible for recruitment, resourcing and employee engagement.

Commenting on his new role, Alban said: “Team engagement and wellbeing are top of our agenda as we seek to retain and attract the best talent to Hentons.

“We are growing rapidly in all our offices, and it is key to ensure both new and current staff are working in the best environment and with a competitive range of benefits. A lot of this is based on strong communication across the board, something that we’ll be heavily promoting.”

Peter Watson, managing director of Hentons, added: “It is important that we maintain our client-focused and high-performance culture as we continue to grow both in the size of the team and geographic footprint.

“Alban brings a wealth of experience from a fast-growing digital business and will add a lot of value across the business.”

Dey Wilson, Parseq

Business process outsourcer (BPO) Parseq has appointed Dey Wilson as head of finance.

Dey Wilson brings more than 20 years of accountancy, finance and management experience to the firm, having held senior roles at machine blade manufacturer Fernite of Sheffield, insurance technology provider Direct Group Ltd and newspaper and magazine distributor Connect Group Plc.

At Parseq, Dey will be responsible for leading the business’ finance function. He will report directly to managing director Craig Naylor-Smith and work closely with the leadership team on the firm’s growth strategy, investment decisions and bids for new work.

Dey commented: “Parseq is an innovative business with a reputation for exceptional quality of service and a strong, diverse, client base that includes some of the biggest names in financial services, utilities and manufacturing.

“It also has a clear growth strategy. I’m looking forward to working with the leadership team and my colleagues across the business to ensure we’re on a firm footing to capitalise on successes to date and achieve this ambitious plan.”

Craig Naylor-Smith, managing director at Parseq, added: “We’ve continued to deliver essential services to our clients during lockdown thanks to the hard work and commitment of our staff and the success of our business continuity plans.

“However, in challenging times, it’s also important to look forward and growth is still firmly on the agenda. We’re continuing to build our project pipeline and tailor the technology-driven solutions we offer to help clients reduce costs, achieve compliance and increase customer satisfaction.

“We need the right talent on board in every department to make this happen. Dey has a wealth of experience that will add huge value to the business, and we’re incredibly pleased to welcome him to the team.”

Chris Neale, BHP

Accountancy firm BHP has appointed Chris Neale as audit partner.

Chris joins after nearly 14 years with PwC, most recently as director, where he provided audit and other assurance services to public and privately-owned businesses across Yorkshire and the Midlands.

His experience covers a range of industries across family and owner-managed, private equity backed and both Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and main market listed businesses. He has also supported companies through a number of transactions, including Initial Public Offering (IPOs) in the UK and internationally.

Chris commented: “I am absolutely delighted to have joined BHP as Audit Partner and cannot wait to get stuck in. It’s an ambitious and growing firm whose values are very much aligned with my own.

“The passion and energy of the leadership team and their strong track record of delivering change and developing an excellent working culture is what attracted me to the firm.

“The firm has secured award wins because of this and I am excited to have the opportunity to play my own part in contributing to these successes in the future.”

Paul Winwood, head of audit at BHP, added: “We are thrilled to welcome someone with Chris’ experience, energy and ambition to BHP in order to grow and develop the audit department further. He is a great asset to our team.”

Brendan Hampsey, Grey Matter

Sheffield-based marketing agency Grey Matter has promoted Brendan Hampsey to client services director.

Brendan Hampsey, who has worked at the company since 2011, Brendan began his career as a web developer before expanding his skillset as a digital marketing executive, delivering pay-per-click advertising, social media strategy and search engine optimisation to clients.

In 2014 Hampsey took on further responsibilities as project and operations manager, becoming the main point of contact for all Grey Matter clients and managing projects across all creative and digital services.

Brendan commented: “As we continue to grow the digital side of the business, I am delighted to be stepping up to the role of Client Services Director.

“Meeting with new clients to explore the problems they want to solve has always been a part of my role that I love. With my background in development and digital marketing, I can advise on technical issues, as well as having a handle of the bigger picture, including timeframes and budgets.”

Grey Matter’s creative director, Andrew Marsden, added: “In the current climate the digital side of our business is even more important. Throughout 2020 we will be investing in people and innovation to ensure we can meet the growing demands.

“As technology evolves and where attracting new business and communicating online continues to dominate strategies – we will be at the forefront in digital marketing, and our clients will be there with us. We’re all delighted to have Brendan on board in his new role!”

Simon Harrop, CBRE

CBRE in Leeds has appointed Simon Harrop as associate director on its valuation team.

Simon joins from Bruton Knowles where he was an associate in the valuation, development and planning faculties. Prior to that he worked in the Valuation team at CBRE in Dubai, within the strategic advisory team on projects throughout the Middle East.

Bringing more than 15 years of real estate experience as a chartered surveyor to CBRE, Simon will work on a range of regular and one off commercial projects, providing advice for loan security, financial reporting, acquisitions and disposals.

Michael Porter, senior director and head of the Leeds valuation team commented: “We are delighted to welcome Simon back into the CBRE family. Simon has a wealth of experience in valuing a wide range of property types, including undertaking complex development appraisals for development assets.

“His knowledge and capabilities will add further strength to the team and also enable us to offer an enhanced residential service.”

Gareth Horton, Force24

Marketing automation firm Force24 has appointed Gareth Horton as a solutions consultant.

Gareth brings 20 years of B2B data insights knowledge to the role, having supported a range of SMEs and large corporate brands.

The former insight director for data solutions specialist Market Location, Gareth’s leadership background includes achieving return on investment for clients, managing a team of analysts, and supporting clients to be more data centric through digital campaigns.

Gareth commented: “I’m extremely proud and excited to be a part of Force24. It’s a company I’ve known for a number of years and one that I feel is at the forefront of UK marketing automation.”

Speaking about joining a new firm during the pandemic, he added: “It’s a difficult time for everyone, however, I’ve been really impressed with how the team has maintained a strong company culture.

“They’ve achieved this through regularly communicating on business matters and pulling together to maintain camaraderie through the toughest of climates.”