This week’s North East appointments

This week’s round up of North East appointments includes Vida Creative, Elanders UK, Tolent, and EQUANS. Read on to find out more.

Chris Stephenson - Vida Creative

After virtually doubling turnover in 2021, bespoke website, marketing, and branding experts Vida Creative has welcomed Chris Stephenson to oversee and manage the design team and creative projects, including work with Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

Chris brings a wealth of industry experience, across a range of sectors, having specialised in the creation of bespoke brand identities for countless freelance projects. With experience working in a handful of agencies, both in and outside the region, Chris has specialised in a range of disciplines including brand experiences, marketing and advertising.

The team at Vida Creative specialise in the creation of high impact brands and creative campaigns for clients in various industries, including events, charity, and tech. Current projects include brand and web design for a wellbeing platform alongside a rebrand and web development for a national recruitment company.

Vida Creative co-founder Henry Coggin said: “We’re thrilled to have Chris on board as our design director. With so many exciting projects underway and a strong project pipeline, we needed to introduce a skilled director to oversee the team, ongoing and future work.

“Chris has been a welcome addition to the team and we’re really proud to continue with our growth plans, including a shift into our own office space. Demand for design and branding work has continued to increase thanks to our agency gaining more presence across the UK, recommendations, and an award win last year.

“We’re lucky to support some fantastic local and UK wide businesses and we’re really looking forward to what 2022 has in store for us.”

Martin Ellison - Elanders UK

North Tyneside based Elanders UK has announced the appointment of Martin Ellison as head of business development.

Having previously worked as head of sales and marketing at Cirrus Research, in his new role, Martin will head up the UK business development team with a strong focus on growing the businesses supply chain footprint within the fashion and lifestyle and consumer goods sectors.

Martin said: “This is an exciting time to join Elanders UK and I am looking forward to working alongside the senior management and marketing teams to help grow the business within existing markets and through the sectors we have identified as offering real opportunities for growth.

“We have very ambitious growth plans for the UK, which would see us grow substantially from our current position. To achieve our goal, we will be appointing additional, skilled people, during the next 24 months.”

Kevin Rogers, managing director for Elanders in the UK, added: “It’s exciting times at Elanders, as we have very ambitious growth plans and we will take a real focus on our supply chain capabilities.

“It’s great to have Martin on board with his many years of experience in business development to guide our already strong performing sales and marketing teams.”

Mark Overton - Tolent

Tolent is celebrating the appointment of industry stalwart Mark Overton, who joined the business in February. Mark joins the North East contractor as chief financial officer and will work with the newly-appointed CEO, Paul Webster in a new look executive board.

The appointment will see Tolent benefiting from a “wealth of knowledge and experience” with Mark possessing a decade’s worth of experience as CFO at Colas, a £300m UK based business in the transport infrastructure market.

Mark said: “I feel very privileged to be taking on the role of CFO for Tolent. My personal goals align with Tolent’s vision perfectly, and it feels like a great fit on many levels.

“Being a part of the construction industry for as long as I can remember, I have been impressed with Tolent and its mighty portfolio of works it has delivered in the past. I am really looking forward to this new adventure and very keen to know more about Tolent, its team, and its projects.”

Paul Webster, the chief executive officer, added: “We are thrilled to have someone of Mark’s calibre join our organisation and I look forward to working closely with him over the coming months as he familiarises himself with our business.

“It’s certainly been a very challenging couple of years for the whole industry and I am confident that Mark’s appointment to our executive board will provide us with strength and stability long into the future.”

Will Kay - EQUANS

EQUANS, the new name for ENGIE’s regeneration and services-led activities, has welcomed Will Kay as new regional managing director to its North East & Cumbria business, strengthening the company’s existing expertise in delivering high-quality construction projects and zero carbon solutions.

With vast experience across the construction industry, having previously worked at Kier, Morgan Sindall and Willmott Dixon, Will has been a successful company director for more than 20 years, with a proven track record of delivering business growth and improvement.

He comes into the leadership role at an exciting time for EQUANS. The company’s work in response to the sustainability agenda has expanded significantly over the last year with projects now underway across the North East with clients including Your Homes Newcastle, Northumbria University, Gentoo and Believe Housing.

Will said: “I’m delighted to have joined EQUANS, a leader in providing innovative solutions for local authorities, housing associations and further education providers in particular, as well as other Public and Private Sector organisations.

“The business in the North East & Cumbria is in a strong position. We have a talented and dedicated workforce, which are crucial to continuing the growth the business has enjoyed. We plan to continue to build on our achievements and use our range of in-house expertise to help customers and partners tackle the challenges facing them right now.”

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