This week's North East appointments

Hayley Shields, Teesside Airport

Hayley Shields has joined the Teesside Airport team as a business development manager after spending three years at Manchester Airport.

She said: “I’ve known aviation has been my thing since I was very young. I pursued some pilot studies but when I did some flying I found it very isolating so I went down the academic route instead.”

“I worked in various parts of the business, in customer service and experience, and I was seconded to look at the region’s relationship with China. I even got a chance to visit China just six months before the pandemic hit and when doing this I was fortunate enough to meet the Manchester Airport aviation team, which I then joined.”

During the pandemic, Hayley was furloughed and, as many others did, re-evaluated what was important to her, making the decision to leave Manchester and move back home to be with her family, fiancé and dogs when she heard about the opportunities at Teesside Airport.

She contacted the airport about any potential opportunities and, after a period of unemployment and a job at Darlington’s Amazon Fulfilment Centre, she was offered the role of Business Development Manager.

Now Hayley’s keen to get going, looking at how the airport can capitalise on and expand its cargo and freight offering and the Jet Centre to bring in more revenue and business opportunities, alongside other duties.

Matthew Bell, Craig Ross, Caroline Horn, George F. White

Land and property group George F. White have made several key senior appointments following strong growth across the region.

The firm has appointed Matthew Bell as Partner leading tax related advice in their Commercial team. Matthew brings with him experience of having worked in both regional and national firms and specialises in Capital Allowances and Fixed Asset analysis.

His appointment is part of the firm’s strategic growth plan which is further supported by the promotion of Craig Ross to Equity Partner and Caroline Horn to Partner.

Both Craig and Caroline have been involved in the growth of the firm in recent years with Craig driving the expansion of the firms Planning department alongside fellow Partner Richard Garland. Caroline, who works in the rural surveying team, plays a key role in developing George F. White’s land and property client portfolio across Yorkshire.

Revenues continue to grow year on year with the consultancy expanding its client base across the North of England. Due to this growth, the firm is now recruiting for multiple roles including positions in its planning and commercial teams.

Robyn Peat, Managing Partner at George F. White, said: “Matthews appointment is an exciting addition to the team offering a new service stream and providing further value to our clients.

“Further to this our current recruitment drive comes hot on the heels of strong profits and steady growth in clients wanting a wide range of our services from valuations and sales to planning, architectural, development and Farm business consultancy advice.

“Our success is testament to the commitment and skill set of our people who have worked tirelessly and determinedly despite the long-lasting challenges presented by Covid-19.

“Not only have they strengthened the business and the core services we offer but they have gone above and beyond for clients who have found themselves requiring new streams of advice and support during challenging times.”

Neil Williams, GB Bank

GB Bank has further strengthened its executive team with the appointment of Neil Williams as chief lending officer.

GB Bank recently announced it had secured its provisional banking licence making it the UK’s newest challenger bank. Positioned as the ‘go to bank’ for property developers in the North, GB Bank will address the shortage of funding required to get Britain building again.

It will be a dedicated lender to SME property developers, focusing initially on the North East, Yorkshire and the North West, and will support the levelling up agenda.

As a member of the bank’s executive management team, Williams will oversee the management, direction, and development of GB Bank’s lending proposition which is focused on serving SME property developers across the North. He will be based at GB Bank’s headquarters in Middlesbrough.

Williams brings with him over 38 years’ experience working in the finance and banking sector, most recently working as a Strategic Growth Consultant for North East and Yorkshire businesses.

Sue Hayes, chief executive officer, GB Bank said: “We are pleased to welcome Neil to our leadership team. He has an impressive track record of supporting business lending and growth.

“His experience will be a great benefit to us going forward and we believe that Neil is a great cultural fit for GB Bank, sharing our vision to improve the funding options available for regional property developers across the North of England.”

Neil Williams, Chief Lending Officer at GB Bank said: “I am excited to join GB Bank at this stage of its journey, helping the bank to execute its lending strategy and support regional businesses working in the property sector. This is a pivotal time for GB Bank which recently achieved its banking licence.

“As a lender focused on SME property development, we have scope to make a real difference, filling a much needed gap to support entrepreneurial SMEs in the North.”

Alice Clewes, Chartered Institute of Taxation

Alice Clewes is now responsible for leading the regional work of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).

CIOT is a national organisation aiming to promote education for taxation professionals and achieve a more efficient and less complex tax system for all.

Alice, who is a partner in the private client department at Hay & Kilner Law Firm, will serve a two-year term in office and takes over the role from Mitch Johnson of the Newcastle office of advisory firm EY.

Originally from the south west, Alice moved to the North East to join Hay & Kilner 13 years ago and is dual qualified as both a solicitor and a chartered tax adviser.

She is also a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and advises clients on all aspects of private client work including wills, trusts, inheritance tax, succession planning and estate administration.

The North East arm of the Chartered Institute of Taxation draws its regional members from many of the region’s professional services firms, with membership being earned by examination, and is a joint branch with the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), with some regional members being part of both organisations.

Having conducted all of its activities online for the last 18 months, Alice is hoping to gradually reintroduce face-to-face educational seminars, speaker events and networking sessions in the new year.

She says: “The CIOT sets the standard for tax education and professional expertise, and it’s an honour to be taking on the role of leading the North East’s highly impressive community of taxation practitioners.

“Our meetings have always provided an excellent forum for the region’s accountants, lawyers and other professionals to come together and build relationships that could be useful to their client work, and it’ll be good to begin to bring everyone together once again.”