This week's London appointments

Anna Flach, BSO

BSO, the global telecoms operator, has announced the appointment of Anna Flach as global marketing director.

Anna has been hired to take BSO’s brand to the next level. As a member of the management team, she will be responsible for defining and executing BSO’s marketing and communications strategy to drive the company’s continued success.

Anna is based in London and will be reporting directly to Fraser Bell, chief commercial officer (CCO).

Fraser commented: “BSO has grown significantly over the past years in terms of new products, network infrastructure and customer base.

“With our most recent acquisition [of IX Reach] we’ve become the largest privately owned telecoms operator in the world.

“Anna brings a wealth of expertise in financial services and technology to support our ambition, drive our customer-centric approach and position BSO as the network, cloud and hosting provider of choice for mission-critical applications.”

Anna said: “As a strong believer in the transformative impact of technology, I am truly excited to have joined BSO, a leading innovator in its field.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen a rapid shift towards digital technologies across industries.

“It is more important than ever for businesses to rely on a tech partner that provides flexible, scalable and secure infrastructure for their digital transformation needs.

“I look forward to driving customer experience, which is at the core of BSO’s DNA, with data-driven marketing approaches.”

Stephen Morana, Cazoo

Cazoo, an online car retailer, has announced that it has appointed Stephen Morana as its chief financial officer.

Stephen has floated two leading UK digital businesses in recent years, Betfair and Zoopla, both achieving multi billion pound valuations.

Stephen also sat on the board of online fashion giant Boohoo when it went public, now the highest valued AIM listed business and he is currently the senior independent director at FTSE 100 gambling giant GVC.

He commented: “What Cazoo has achieved in under a year is incredible and I’m really looking forward to joining the team.

“Selling thousands of cars and generating over £40m of revenues in just a few months since launch is exceptional.

“I have been lucky to work for some amazing businesses and wasn’t planning to take another full time role but, having worked with Alex before, I know that he is building a world-class operation with Cazoo that will transform the way people buy used cars in the UK by providing consumers with better selection, value and convenience. I can’t wait to get started.”

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Cazoo, added: “I am delighted to welcome Stephen to Cazoo and to be working with him again.

“His track record and experience are second to none and he will be a great addition to our team.

“There is nobody who has had greater exposure to some of the UK’s most successful digital businesses over the past decade and he will play a key role in helping to deliver on our ambition of creating the best car buying experience in the UK over the coming years.”

Charlotte Crawley, Navana Property Group

Former partner and head of customer experience at Cushman & Wakefield, Charlotte Crawley, has joined property and place services business Navana Property Group as culture and experience director.

Charlotte has held several high-level experience roles in the property industry. She was head of customer experience at Cushman & Wakefield for nearly five years and prior to that spent eight years as head of customer experience at DTZ.

Charlotte also sat on the accessibility and customer experience committee at REVO (previously the British Council of Shopping Centres) which advises on industry best practice.

Charlotte will lead a new specialised practice at Navana, planning and delivering customer experience and cultural strategies for the group’s clients, including for its recently launched build-to-rent division.

Kelly Bream, COO of Navana Property Group, said: “We’re putting experience at the heart of our offer for clients to help them answer these questions, designing and managing assets around the way people want to live to deliver their full potential.

“With her wealth of expertise and knowledge, Charlotte is perfectly placed to lead this work.”

Charlotte commented: “As lifestyles and consumer preferences evolve, developers need partners that can help them navigate these trends to create places where people will enjoy living, working, shopping and visiting.

“The property industry is more focused on customer and community needs than ever before.

“It’s a positive step change and one which Navana is helping to lead by investing in the tools and knowledge needed to inform a different way of creating and managing new places.

“I’m excited to be joining such a progressive team that truly understands the value of experience for both property users and clients.”

Adrian Ion, Therme Group

Global wellbeing organisation, Therme Group announced today the appointment of Adrian Ion as executive vice president for corporate finance and chief financial officer.

He will be based at Therme Group’s London offices and will assume responsibility for financial oversight and direction of finance related matters across Therme Group, and serve on the group’s executive board.

His most recent appointment was at Ares Management, where he served as the finance director of a $4bn diversified European real estate investment platform.

Dr Robert C. Hanea, chairman and CEO of Therme Group, commented: “Adrian brings to Therme Group 20 years of investment market experience and a proven track record in leading global finance teams in complex and dynamic finance organizations, with multi-billion-dollar investment operations.

“He possesses a profound understanding of global financial markets and has experience in building world class financial organizations and leading organizational and technological change.

“With his deep functional expertise and technical knowledge in corporate finance, financial planning and accounting, Adrian has the leadership capabilities required to support Therme Group’s existing operations and ambitious growth plans.”

Adrian said: “I look forward to working with Therme Group’s senior leadership team, to deliver its global roll-out plan and achieve its ambition to redefine wellbeing and make it accessible to all.”

David Young and Michael Venus, FirstPort

FirstPort, a residential property manager, has bolstered its senior team with two new appointments.

David Young joins the business from Centrica in a new role of chief operating officer, while Michael Venus takes up the role of director of HR.

Both David and Michael will sit on FirstPort’s executive board, supporting chief executive Nigel Howell.

David joins the business with 14 years of senior leadership experience, most recently during a decade on the board of British Gas and Centrica where he led innovation in energy efficiency, smart metering and carbon reduction.

His record of delivering strategic change, values driven leadership, revenue growth and regulatory compliance make him perfectly suited to a business concentrated on achieving significant expansion.

As FirstPort’s new COO, David will lead on the ongoing implementation of the organisation’s comprehensive digital programme – part of its five-year business plan focused on continued business growth and high-quality customer service.

Michael has a wealth of experience in senior positions across the construction, media, event, digital media sectors, and HR consultancy focused on HR management support, training and development.

Most recently working at construction giant Multiplex, he brings expertise in transitioning businesses’ human capital programmes to align with their digital and data-driven commercial strategies.

In his new role as director of HR, Michael will focus on enhancing employee experience and enabling colleagues to grow the skills and expertise the business needs for the future.

David commented: “I’m delighted to be joining FirstPort at a time of major innovation for the business, the sector and wider society.

“As the UK’s largest property manager, FirstPort is an organisation that has the expertise, scale and capacity to continue leading by example.

“FirstPort’s growth and continued delivery of top-class customer services is a testament to the senior team’s commitment to the strategy in place.

“With a strong track record for winning new business, I know we have the potential to do even more in the years ahead.”

Michael added: “Property management is a people business focused on one of the things that matters most to our customers – their home.

“The response of colleagues to the health crisis during COVID-19 has shown me just how dedicated and determined the FirstPort team is.

“I’m proud to have joined the organisation during such an important period.

“It’s the digital transformation underway at FirstPort that attracted me to the new role. Giving talented people the right tools to do their jobs is crucial and will be key to enabling continual improvement and navigating change.

“It’s great to be joining a team that so clearly recognises this.”

Simon Hirtzel, IQ Capital

IQ Capital, the deep-tech venture capital firm based in Cambridge and London, has appointed Simon Hirtzel as general partner.

Simon served as CFO at PA Consulting Group until 2007, then as COO of Kreos Capital, a growth debt provider for high-growth companies.

In his new role at IQ Capital, Simon will focus on building LP relationships to further IQ’s ambitions of taking companies through their entire growth cycle, from seed to exit.

Simon commented: “I am delighted to be joining IQ Capital, a firm renowned for the experience of its partners and strong growing team - and in backing ground-breaking deep-tech companies.

“IQ is in an exciting space in the market and is very well positioned, with four high-performing funds that demonstrate their expertise in IP-rich investment.

“The firm has also demonstrated that it is on an exciting trajectory, in particular with the recent Growth Opportunities Fund in bringing their investments to fruition.

“I have joined to build on the quality and standards that IQ has already developed to attract institutional investment into the deep tech space.

Max Bautin, managing partner at IQ Capital, added: “We are hugely excited to have Simon on-board at this important phase of our growth and the excellent opportunity that lies ahead in the early stage deep tech space.

“Like all IQ team members, Simon has a love of technology and deep tech expertise.

“He also brings valuable institutional experience to the firm - having gone through a similar trajectory at Kreos.

“Simon will play a key role in creating further relationships with institutional LPs and will help us grow our deep tech growth capital strategy.”