This week's Yorkshire appointments

Haydn Mursell, iMist

Water mist fire suppression business iMist has appointed Haydn Mursell as chair.

The former CEO of Kier Group, Haydn brings over 30 years’ experience in the contracting, services and development sectors to the firm.

From roles early in his career as chief financial officer of Lendlease and deputy group finance director at Balfour Beatty, Haydn went on to join Kier Group as finance director in 2010, becoming chief executive four years later, before leaving the company in 2019.

Having operated at plc board level for over 10 years, Haydn has a range of financial and management experience. He has knowledge in growth and business performance, managing acquisitions and improving safety, customer experience and employee engagement.

Haydn currently holds a number of non-executive and board adviser positions for complementary businesses within the construction industry.

Haydn commented: “iMist has a sound business model and good market conditions to accelerate its growth, along with the backing from Foresight Group to enable them to realise their vision.

“Managing director Tony Sims is supported by an extremely knowledgeable management team who have ensured that every relevant safety and quality accreditation has been achieved, and also established an impressive R&D capability.

“I immediately like their down-to-earth, honest approach to running the business and felt that with my industry experience and large company background, I could really add value from advising on the best path for growth and overcoming some of the challenges that come with rapid expansion, to corporate governance and measuring business performance.

“iMist has huge potential both in the UK and internationally and I’m really pleased to be joining the team at such an exciting time.”

Tony Sims, managing director of iMist, added: “Haydn has an impressive track record as an experienced CEO, CFO and board adviser, and brings a wealth of skills having worked for some of the best-known construction and infrastructure groups in the UK.

“Having held senior positions in residential development, civil engineering and building businesses, he really understands our clients and their operational dynamics.

“Following our recent PE investment, iMist is now embarking on the next stage in its development and we believe that Haydn will have a pivotal role to play as we optimise the current regulatory opportunity in order to drive further growth and development activities across the UK.”

Peter Nicklin, Tunstall Healthcare

Health and care technology company, Tunstall Healthcare has appointed Peter Nicklin as chairman of the board.

Peter has held the role of senior healthcare executive with Baxter International, Bayer Healthcare, Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and worked across a range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines, medtech, dental, animal health and healthcare services.

More recently, Peter has been CEO and member of the board of Amann Girrbach AG based in Koblach, Austria. Currently, he is chairman of the board of Swiss pharmaceutical firm Versantis, as well as chairman of the board of pharma services company Healthcare at Home.

Peter commented: “I’m delighted to be joining Tunstall at such a pivotal time for the digitally connected health and social care industry as there is rapid acceleration in the adoption of digital healthcare worldwide.

“Tunstall is ideally placed to continue to build on its market leading position in the sector throughout the countries it operates. I look forward to working with the Tunstall team to capitalise on opportunities in the market and drive forward its strategy.”

Jordan Gresham, Richborough Estates

National land promoter Richborough Estates has appointed Jordan Gresham as regional director for the North.

Jordan joins from housebuilder Taylor Wimpey where he was strategic land regional director, responsible for identifying and bringing forward residential sites across the North West, with previous experience of operating across both Yorkshire and the North East.

At Richborough Estates, Jordan’s patch stretches from Sheffield up to Northumberland, including Yorkshire, the North West and the North East.

Jonathan Bloor, managing director of Richborough Estate’s western division, commented: “The North of England is seeing high demand for new homes from housebuilders and local authorities but there is a shortage of suitable oven-ready land.

“With Jordan’s leadership, we will help plug that gap by quickly building on our existing pipeline of sites which already has potential to deliver around 3,000 new homes in areas including Harrogate, Warrington and Greater Manchester.

“Jordan knows the patch extremely well and brings an excellent understanding of the local and regional planning system as well as experience in delivering sites from conception right through to completion.

“We’re delighted to have him on board and his appointment demonstrates our keenness to secure further sites across the North.”

Jordan added: “I’m thrilled to have joined Richborough Estates and I look forward to building on its success in the North.

“The company has a friendly and forward-thinking culture with a reputation for bringing forward high-quality sites that make excellent places to live and work while delivering value to stakeholders. It also has an outstanding team of surveyors, planners, urban designers and housebuilding experts.

“I look forward to working with contacts old and new to bring forward exciting new land opportunities.”

Jack Samples, SPÄRKA

Architectural ironmongery firm SPÄRKA has appointed Jack Samples as sales development representative.

In his new role, Jack will promote the full range of SPÄRKA products and develop relationships with builders’ merchants and other customers.

Pripr to joining SPÄRKA, Jack has been working in retail as a duty manager since graduating from Sheffield Hallam University.

Commenting on his appointment, Jack said: “I’m really looking forward to being part of the journey of such a young and dynamic company.

“It’s great to join SPÄRKA in its early stages and help the company reach what it set out to in its plans.

“I can’t wait to get to know and work with our customers and promote our industry-leading door hardware across the UK.”

Jonathan Green, Exemplar Health Care

Specialist nursing care firm Exemplar Health Care has appointed Jonathan Green as managing director of core.

As part of his role, Jonathan will oversee the operational management of Exemplar Health Care’s services to drive and maintain quality standards across its 32 care homes in Yorkshire, Midlands, North East and North West.

Jonathan will also work alongside Selina Wall, managing director of commissioning, to support the company’s growth with the opening of five additional homes in Hull, Bradford, Birmingham, South Elmsall and Ellesmere Port in 2021-22.

Jonathan, who started his career in the British Army, has a range of experience working in operations, including in the health and social care sector. He worked with a range of private companies including Gatwick Airport, Rentokil-Initial, Iron Mountain and most recently Choice Care Group, where he was chief operating officer.

Talking about his new role, Jonathan commented: “I’m proud to be joining a company that has a fantastic track record of delivering the highest quality specialist care for people living with complex needs.

“Joining a specialist care provider during an international pandemic is challenging, but I’m delighted to be joining an organisation which commits to providing the highest quality care and has exciting plans to open more of these much needed specialist services across the country.”

John Whitehead, CEO of Exemplar Health Care, added: “We’re delighted to have Jonathan on board to work closely with our Operations Team and Home Managers, and to continue the incredible work already happening to drive quality across our care homes.

“Jonathan joins the company at an exciting time as we embark on a new digital transformation journey and prepare to open five new homes. We’re excited to see what his skills and experience can bring to the role.”

Leah Wood, Matt Dove and Sebastian Heap, Blue Digital

Digital marketing agency Blue Digital has made three new appointments to its Leeds team.

Leah Wood has been appointed by Blue Digital as digital PR & content executive, Matt Dove joins as website developer, Sebastian Heap has come onboard as marketing & sales executive.

Leah brings six years’ experience in PR and marketing to the role, having previously worked in-house for a printing company and at press release distribution company, RealWire.

Matt previously worked at Bradford-based marketing agency Peardrop Creative, and will responsible for maintaining and updating client websites, creating websites for new clients and automating and improving web development processes.

Sebastian has several experience of working within a sales environment, including within the manufacturing industry. His main focus will be on bringing in new clients and working with existing clients to offer marketing investment and guidance information. He will also help clients to utilise SEO, PPC and email marketing to drive their sales leads.

Managing director, Roy Moody, commented: “Ultimately we are here to help our customers grow. By having a strong digital presence, the more successful our customers become, and in turn, the more successful Blue Digital becomes.

“Despite the lockdowns we’ve faced, we’re really pleased we’ve been able to expand Blue Digital and look forward to growing the business even further in the near future.”

Stephanie Pullen and JJ Amos, Rascal

Digital-first creative agency Rascal has appointed Stephanie Pullen as head of digital strategy and JJ Amos as head of design.

Stephanie was previously with Brilliant Agency where she worked across creative strategy for clients including Very Lazy, Newman’s Own, Yorkshire Provender and Mighty Pea.

JJ has previously held senior design and art director roles at agencies including Brilliant and Twentythree04.

Speaking on the appointments, Rascal founder Joe Costandi said: “I’m so pleased to have JJ and Steph as part of the Rascal team.

“We’re in a strong growth phase and these positions are vital to our business, putting us in a perfect position to push ourselves even harder on our ambitious plans.

“JJ and Steph bring a wealth of ideas and creativity with them and will be working with me to strengthen the team over the coming months.”