This week’s North East appointments

Chris Gill, Jonathan Anderson - Razorblue

Managed service provider Razorblue has appointed founding director Chris Gill as its managing director of business applications. Jonathan Anderson has been also appointed as technical director of business applications.

Razorblue now has a headcount exceeding 140 operating in seven offices, with plans to recruit over 25 additional team members in the next 12 months to support its plans to continue expanding its nationwide coverage and adding more products and services to the current offering.

Chris was a founding director of the business and has since held senior roles working within the business applications space, as well as supply chain management and warehousing. His return marks a focus on growth of this division which helps businesses increase profitability and efficiency through digital transformation.

Working closely with businesses, Razorblue supports application integration, data analytics, industry-leading Microsoft Dynamics 365 Financials, ERP and CRM solutions, as well as bespoke application development.

Chris said: “It’s a great joy for me to be returning to Razorblue, and to be given the opportunity to develop the business applications division. It feels very much like coming home, and the familiarity of ethos and company values will mean I can hit the ground running.”

Chris will primarily be based at the company’s Wynyard office and is tasked with leveraging the market opportunity in this field, utilising the reach and capability of Razorblue in supporting the digitisation of SMEs across the UK.

Dan Kitchen, CEO of Razorblue Group said: “It’s great to have Chris back in the business, with his vast knowledge and expertise. He was an asset previously and I know he will be again, not least because in the last few years he has been developing an even wider skill set and understanding of the exact areas that we wish to focus on as a business.”

Wes English - Robertson Homes

Housebuilder Robertson Homes will accelerate its growth strategy in the North East of England after appointing Wes English as land director.

Wes has joined the Gateshead based developer from Avant Homes, citing the appeal of Robertson’s properties as a major factor in the move.

Wes said: “Very few developers offer a range of larger properties designed and built to the quality of a Robertson home and this fits perfectly with my desire to work with landowners to help them create genuine legacy developments that local communities and homeowners will be proud of.”

Robertson Homes currently has three live developments across the North East and is looking to double its output over the next five years, acquiring three to four sites per year ranging from 30 to 250 units.

Robertson Homes managing director, John Murphy, said: “Wes is a very experienced and well-connected land director in the North East and his local knowledge and ability to identify sites which lend themselves to our larger than average homes will be a huge boost for our regional strategy. I am very excited to welcome him into our growing Gateshead team.”

Hailing from Herrington in Sunderland, Wes has spent the past ten years working in land acquisition for housebuilders and is looking forward to the opportunities ahead for Robertson.

Wes continued: “I still get a real buzz watching a site I have identified go all the way to completion and I am looking forward to playing my part in developing award-winning schemes in the North East for Robertson.”

Lisa McClure, John Shepherd - Gentoo Group

Sunderland based housing association Gentoo Group has strengthened its technology and transformation team with two senior digital appointments, Lisa McClure and John Shepherd.

Reporting into the group’s recently appointed IT and transformation director, James Mullenger, Lisa and John will both assist James in delivering Gentoo’s ongoing digital transformation. The new appointments demonstrate Gentoo’s commitment to improving digital services for tenants with a focus on both user experience and value for money.

Lisa joins Gentoo from Opencast Software, where she was a senior consultant. She brings to the group knowledge of user experience design and user research. Lisa is skilled in facilitating group activities to drive out findings and identify opportunities for organisational change. She has experience working with both public and private sector organisations.

John joins Gentoo from Capita Consulting, where he was a lead solutions architect specialising in rapid application development and cloud platforms. He was responsible for developing the Innovation Lab facilities at Capita’s Newcastle Digital Delivery Centre, and brings to Gentoo more than 30 years’ experience..

John Shepherd said: “I’m delighted to be joining Gentoo when digital transformation is a clear priority in the future direction of the Group. I look forward to being part of the journey to develop innovative solutions to transform the customer experience and deliver engaging user interactions”.

Lisa said: “I’m excited to join Gentoo where I have been given a unique opportunity to grow the user centred design capability within the Group and provide expertise to improve the Gentoo customer experience”.

James Mullenger, IT and transformation director at Gentoo Group said: “We are delighted to welcome John and Lisa to Gentoo and the IT & Transformation team”.

“Both bring vast and varied experience in providing user centric digital transformation and creating innovative engaging digital services. Their skills will be a great addition to the Group as we focus on developing a user centred approach to transform the way we deliver services to our tenants.”

Andy Wright - Insight IAPT

North East based mental health organisation Insight IAPT announced the appointment of Andy Wright as their new national operations director.

Most recently, Andy has been involved in several projects that focus on NHS talking therapies, as part of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.

Andy has worked in mental health for the majority of his career, with experience across a range of organisations, including the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, and the NHS.

In his new role as National Operations Director, Mr Wright will be working with Insight IAPT’s local teams nationally, helping them with their day-to-day running, as well as supporting their community and employment services.

Andy said: “I am delighted to be joining Insight IAPT team as their new National Operations Director and I’m excited to get my teeth stuck into my new role.

“I have been an advocate for IAPT therapy for over a decade and I’ve witnessed how it can transform people’s lives for the better. I’m eager to get started and find how we can link our IAPT provision with our community and employment services to make the service better for everyone.”