Here is our BusinessLive round-up of some of the latest promotions and appointments at the region’s biggest firms, trade bodies and organisations:
East Midlands Development Company
A team of experienced property and investment professionals will help advise on the progress of one of the biggest development opportunities in the 海角视频.
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The East Midlands Development Company has recruited a team of private sector non-executive directors to work alongside its local authority partners, commercial advisors and core team as it seeks to promote the development of three sites. Between them they cover an area the size of three London Olympic parks.
The EM DevCo was set up as a partnership by five local authorities in the East Midlands as the predecessor body to a regional development corporation – flagged in the government’s Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill as vital to boost growth in the 海角视频 regions.
The five new non-executive directors at EM DevCo are:
Lucy Blasdale, former development director at Homes England who will shortly be joining Barratt David Wilson
Gary Colligan, an architect and town planner who founded spatial design business Think Place
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Ben Denton, CEO of L&G Affordable Homes, one of the leading developers and operators of affordable homes
Imogen Ebbs, head of 海角视频 funds for the investment arm of insurance giant Aviva
Adrian Turner, the former Morgan Sindall executive who heads advisory business Lagom
They join local authority representatives on an independent board chaired by Sir Chris Haworth, the former head of commercial at Carter Jonas who himself has a 40-year career in the property and development industry.
Oakland International
Food storage and distribution specialist Oakland International has appointed Vera Bruntink as sustainability manager to drive forward its programme of environmental initiatives.
Oakland employs 600 people, with a head office in Redditch, and operations in Corby, Dublin, and Worksop.
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In 2020 it invested £4 million fitting out a 225,000 sq ft unit at Bardon, near Coalville in north west Leicestershire, to store, pack and distribute chilled food for other suppliers.
Having studied economics in the Netherlands and a marketing internship in New Zealand, Vera completed a master’s degree in management and corporate sustainability at Cranfield University, working on sustainability consultancy projects for a range of small to medium-sized enterprises.
She said: “Oakland has always prioritised sustainability from within an industry known for its significant environmental impact, giving me a great starting point for driving impactful sustainable change.
“My strategic mindset and experience in identifying sustainability issues and opportunities together with my passion for the environment will help me focus on driving the business to become net-zero.
“In the short term I will be mapping Oakland's current environmental performance and carbon footprint, after which we can set reduction and net-zero targets, as well as starting with several energy saving initiatives.
“In the longer term I will focus on securing B-Corp accreditation, increasing our on-site energy generation, working on decarbonising our distribution fleet, reducing packaging and waste, basically everything we can do to make Oakland as sustainable as possible.”
Mather Jamie
Loughborough based specialist land development and property consultancy Mather Jamie has promoted Gary Kirk to director.
The move means he joins the management board at the chartered surveyors alongside fellow directors Robert Cole, Andrew Bamber, Alex Reid, Gary Owens, and Amy Biddell.
Having spent a placement year with Mather Jamie during 2008-09, Gary re-joined the company in 2010 after getting a degree in rural enterprise and land management from Harper Adams University College, in Shropshire.
He became a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2012 and a fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers in 2013.
In recent years he has played an influential role strategically advising clients on the disposal of land to housebuilders and property developers, ranging in size from sites for two houses up to hundreds of homes.
Gary said: “Mather Jamie offers a great environment for young people to learn from experienced and well-respected professionals.
“My career is evidence of the way the firm supports young professionals and allows them to grow and flourish via their pathway of internal promotion.
“I am really pleased that my long-term commitment to the firm and our clients has been rewarded with promotion to Director and that I have been entrusted to help to ensure the future longevity of the firm.
“I am extremely grateful to my colleagues and clients for their support over the years.”
George Square Financial Management
Two experienced mortgage advisers have joined George Square Financial Management’s Nottingham city centre office.
Phil Browne and Alex Barrett join as mortgage protection advisers to meet growing demand for mortgage advice and specialist lending in the region.
Phil Browne has specialised in providing professional mortgage services for several firms in London and Brisbane for the last 20 years. Nottingham born and raised, he returns to the region to lay roots at a well-established local business and is looking forward to using his knowledge of the area in his new role.
Alex Barrett is CeMap qualified and has several years’ experience under his belt within the financial services sector. He will be responsible for providing high quality mortgage and protection advice and support to George Square’s clients. He joins the firm from a high-street estate agency, where he worked as a mortgage consultant.
SOS Wholesale
Investment firm RDCP Group has announced the appointment of Vipin Patara as the new managing director of family run, Derby bulk buy business SOS Wholesale.
Vipin takes over from Mark Beckett who is stepping down after 28 years and who will continue advising the business in a non-executive director capacity as a board member.
SOS Wholesale is one of the 海角视频’s biggest wholesalers of foods and beverages, employing 120 staff from its 75,000 sq. ft warehouse and distribution centre in Derby and sales office in Barnsley.
Its product range extends across 4,500 lines, selling branded products nationally and a select amount of goods to a growing export market.
It was sold to London-based investment firm RDCP Group a few months ago,
Sameer Rizvi, founder and CEO of RDCP Group, said: “Vipin has a commendable work ethic and brings a wealth of both management and trading experience to the role.
“We are excited to be backing Vipin as she positions SOS Wholesale for the company’s next stage of growth.
“I would also like to thank Mark Beckett for his many years of service and look forward to working alongside Mark as a board member of SOS Wholesale.”
Image Scan
Image Scan, a specialist in X-ray imaging equipment for the security and industrial inspection markets, has announced that executive chairman Bill Mawer is stepping down after eight years in the post. He will retire from the north Leicestershire business on June 30.
Mr Mawer was appointed chairman and chief executive in April 2014, changing to executive chairman in at the start of this year.
Following his retirement, a number of changes will be made to the roles of the remaining board members, completing a process of succession planning which began in January.
From July 1, Tim Jackson, currently non-executive director, will be appointed non-executive chairman.
Vincent Deery, currently interim chief executive, will be appointed chief executive.
Dr Richard Leaver, currently non-executive director will be appointed deputy chairman.
Sarah Atwell-King, currently finance director and company secretary, will be appointed chief financial officer and company secretary.
Mr Mawer said: "After eight years at Image Scan, I have decided the time is right for a change, both for me personally and for the company.
“Over the last six months, during which Vince Deery has worked as interim CEO, he has shown himself to be fully capable of stepping up to the CEO role, and I know he will have excellent support from the rest of the board.
“I am also delighted that Tim Jackson, with his considerable experience as an AIM company director, has agreed to replace me as chairman.
“As a shareholder, I shall continue to follow the company with interest and optimism for the future."
Blueprint Interiors
Ashby-based workplace consultants and commercial office fit-out specialists Blueprint Interiors has brought in Kate Bennett as a project designer and Martyna Paluszkiewicz as pre-construction manager.
Kate joins an all-female design team that collectively has more than 55 years’ experience and degrees from three top design universities.
She will be responsible for discussing and defining design briefs, space planning and specifying materials and translating that into visual concepts for clients for approval.
Martyna has a background in commercial fit-out and joinery and will be responsible for overseeing projects from the briefing stage, right through to completion.
Kate said: “I have worked across most industry sectors and so I have a wide variety of transferable skills and experience which I’m almost certain I will be able to bring to my new role.
“Our ‘people first’ approach starts within our great office in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and I can’t wait to advise other employers how they can benefit from this ethos.
Design Studio Architects
Architectural technologist Umesh Mistry has joined Leicester’s Design Studio Architects as senior technical manager – expanding the RIBA chartered architect practice’s portfolio of services.
With nearly 35 years’ experience in the industry, Umesh will help develop DSA’s new sports and leisure services and delivering large scale residential and industrial schemes, alongside commercial sector projects.
Umesh has experience in retail having worked on large scale out-of-town and shopping centre retail developments, nationally and internationally.
He said: “It is an exciting time in the history of DSA as the company expands and re-shapes the business and I very much look forwards to being part of this process bring with my voice, knowledge and experience.”
DBCP
DBCP – the Derbyshire Building Control Partnership – has strengthened its technical support team with the appointment of Natalie Hague.
Ms Hague brings more than 20 years’ experience in customer service to the role, and joins DBCP from Dunston Innovation Centre in Chesterfield, where the building control company is based.
Margaret Pratt, business operations manager at DBCP who heads up the technical support team, said she was impressed by the friendly and warm welcome she received each day from Natalie so had no hesitation in offering her the new role.
Natalie jumped at the chance to work in a completely new industry with the opportunity to gain new qualifications.
She said: “I was moving house and noticed the address on the building control documents was DBCP, which is based in Dunston Innovation Centre.
“I went upstairs to see if the guys at DBCP could help and, since then, I’ve just been really intrigued by the industry.”
XPO Logistics
Northants-based freight transportation specialist XPO Logistics has promoted Nigel Rouch to the position of senior vice president, technology – Europe.
Mr Rouch will be responsible for XPO’s technology organisation and digital strategy for its European business, reporting to Luis Gómez, president – Europe and to Pat Petersen, chief technology officer.
He has moved from his previous position as vice president, information technology and operational excellence – 海角视频 and Ireland.
Mr Rouch has 17 years of industry experience leading technology-based initiatives and joined XPO’s predecessor company in Europe, Norbert Dentressangle,
Luis Gómez said, “Nigel’s dual strengths as a technologist and a transport operational excellence executive will be an immediate benefit to our growth and customer delight strategy.
“Under his leadership, our innovation team will continue to collaborate with our country leaders to tailor digital capabilities to specific growth opportunities. I look forward to working closely with Nigel in his expanded role as head of our technology organisation and digital strategy in Europe.”