This week’s Yorkshire appointments

This week’s round up of Yorkshire appointments includes ZOO Digital, The Friendly Chemical Co, Chatter Communications, and Simpson. Read on to find out more.

Anna Chew - ZOO Digital

Media subtitling and dubbing specialist ZOO Digital has announced the appointment of Anna Chew as territory manager for SEA and China. Anna is an experienced localisation leader with a “dependable reputation” through her work at Walt Disney SEA, Blizzard Entertainment, Viacom International and ONE Championship.

In her previous role with Disney Character Voices International (DCVI), Anna led localisation projects and artist management for the SEA region and was responsible for sharing some of the most successful Disney, Star Wars and Marvel films of recent years, including Frozen, Moana, Finding Dory, Avengers, The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out, and Cinderella.

As ZOO Digital’s territory manager for SEA and China, Anna will be responsible for building a high-quality dubbing talent pool reflective of the modern content being offered by the entertainment industry today.

This will involve recruiting, training, and managing a network of experienced directors, voice actors and adaptors, as well as discovering hidden gems in the localization industry and unearthing the actors and directors of the future.

Anna said: “Within dubbing, Asia has a huge deal of potential. A lot of the content giants are aggressively producing local content within the region because of the success we’re seeing around the world. This content has a global appeal, and we want to give content owners the most authentic representation possible while building the capacity for the future of this localisation market.

“As a polyglot working in localisation, it’s fair to say I’m incredibly passionate about languages and I’m proud to help share such exciting stories and cultures with the world. These films and shows can help bring us together, so we owe it to the storytellers and the audiences to do it right.”

Ashley Butler - The Friendly Chemical Co.

Sustainable manufacturing business The Friendly Chemical Co. (FCC) has appointed a former Ecolab and LIFCO consultant, Ashley Butler, as non-executive technical director to support its rapid growth. FCC, based in Cononley, North Yorkshire, has also invested heavily to upgrade its facilities and equipment, as it looks to double production capacity again.

Ashley Butler joins FCC as their first non-executive technical director. An industry veteran chemist with years of chemical experience, Butler will support the business’ R&D and production teams to further help FCC pioneer and expand its award-winning domestic cleaning range, Miniml.

Scott Rudd, co-founder of The Friendly Chemical Co., said: “We’ve enjoyed considerable growth in the last twelve months. With more customers than ever before wanting to live more eco-friendly lifestyles, they’re opting for products and companies that make truly sustainable choices, which is FCC’s core mission.

“The demand for our Miniml range put us in a position where we need to rapidly grow our team and facilities, and in both cases, we’ve gone for the best equipment and best people. Ashley has a wealth of knowledge that will be key to our R&D plans, and our industry-leading machinery will also support this.”

Ashley Butler, non-executive technical director at The Friendly Chemical Co, added: “The eco-consumer goods market is ripe for disruption, and what FCC has achieved in its short history has established it as one of the true leaders in the industry.

“I’m thrilled to be on board and working with the team to drive new product R&D and ensure the business grows its position as one of the UK’s most sustainable manufacturers.”

(L - R): Nadia Pluck, Naomi Booth Wade, James Newbigin, and Kirsty Northage - Chatter Communications

Castleton Mill, Leeds based employer brand agency Chatter Communications has welcomed four new starters to its team as it continues to grow at a “rapid pace”.

Nadia Pluck has joined the team as head of operations. She has worked on the creative agency scene in Leeds for nearly 20 years, including positions at CreativeRace, Hub and DS.Emotion.

During this time she worked with national brands in retail, property and B2B, across the whole spectrum of marketing, branding, strategy and creative delivery. As Head of Agency Operations, she will be tasked with looking at ways to boost the agency’s core expertise and strategic and creative thinking and improving ways of working.

Naomi Booth Wade has joined Chatter as research & insight analyst, bringing with her several years of experience in the management consulting industry. Her most recent role was as a Research Consultant for Cirrus, part of Accenture, in conjunction with Alliance Manchester Business School, and she also previously worked in a research position at Leeds University Business School.

Two new account directors have also taken up their roles at Chatter. James Newbigin has a vast amount of experience in partnership management within professional sport, having worked at Harlequins, Bath Rugby and Southampton Football Club, managing partnerships with the likes of Adidas, Under Armour, Virgin Media and Etihad Airways.

The second new account director is Kirsty Northage, bringing with her a wealth of relationship management expertise. Prior to joining Chatter she worked as an Account Director for an event management agency, working on global employee engagement events and incentives.

Paul Ainley, managing director at Chatter, commented: “We are delighted to welcome four such experienced and talented individuals to the team. They’ve already fitted in perfectly and it’s great to be able to see how their knowledge can directly improve both the team’s working lives and the success of our clients’ campaigns.

“It’s a really exciting time in the people sector. More and more organisations are starting to recognise the value of employee experience and its link to brand performance – particularly as recruitment and retention are such key issues right now.”

On joining the team, Nadia commented: “I’ll be looking to help continue the amazing growth of the agency, enhancing the strategic, creative and empowering environment and developing effective ways of working to ensure Chatter is at the forefront of new opportunities in line with the important issues on our clients’ agendas.”

Andrew Gatenby - Simpson

Construction, development and fit-out company Simpson has appointed Andrew Gatenby as managing director. The successful York-based group now plans for significant growth across all its divisions.

Andy joined the business as an assistant contracts manager in 1998, having gained a degree in construction management at Sheffield Hallam University. He has worked for both Shepherd Group and Kier.

His experience within Simpson spans construction, heritage and fit-out, leading the team on high profile projects for brand-leading organisations across the UK. He was “instrumental” in establishing the group’s development operation in 2020, which has already successfully delivered an impressive apartment complex in Filey, now operating as holiday lets within the group’s leisure division.

The senior leadership team has been re-structured, with Russ Allerton becoming contracts director, responsible for the fit-out production delivery. Mark Cregan assumes the role of construction director with responsibility for construction and heritage projects and Steve Pratt takes over as commercial director with responsibility for commercial delivery onsite.

Andy said: “This is a hugely exciting time for Simpson and I am honoured to be appointed as MD, as we seek to broaden our portfolio and expand the business. I am leading a company which has an excellent reputation and is renowned for winning repeat business from blue chip companies across diverse market sectors.

“I feel privileged to be surrounded and supported by a strong team who consistently deliver high quality projects and I have every confidence we will build further on our success.”

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