Member Article

This week’s North West appointments

Senior appointment news - Haydock manufacturer Aimia Foods

Aimia Foods has announced the appointment of Wayne Wanklyn to the role of Category Controller - Coffee.

In the newly created role, Wayne will be responsible for the development of customer-specific coffee solutions in the out of home sector. Wayne, who has worked in the foodservice and vending industry for 27 years with Nestle, joins Aimia Foods at a time when the company has recently invested in both coffee manufacturing and sourcing capabilities.

The firm has also announced plans to increase sales by almost 50 per cent and staff numbers by a third within five years, stating that a key strategy revolves around developing its coffee business*.

Glenn Hudson, sales and marketing director said “We are delighted to welcome Wayne to the team. As a well known, well respected industry heavyweight, he will be able to contribute significantly to our rapidly growing coffee business and support our focus on developing progressive coffee solutions for our customers.

“This new role recognises the importance of the coffee category to Aimia Foods, and the appointment of someone with Wayne’s experience enables us to support the needs of our customers more effectively. With the trend for customers to eschew big brands in favour of more bespoke, quality hot beverage solutions, Wayne will help us to capitalise on the opportunities in the market.”

Boasting an enviable heritage in coffee, Aimia Foods, which employs over 250 people, is based in Haydock, Merseyside. Proud of its British heritage, the privately owned company is investing in new partnerships, new product development and new outsourcing opportunities to achieve its ambitious five-year growth plan.

Flo boosts team with new appointment

Matthew Thomson joins Flo’s headquarters in Knutsford, Cheshire, as a sales executive.

He joins from Flo’s sister company de Poel, where he served as an operations executive. He brings four years experience in the sector, with an operational knowledge of the recruitment, healthcare, IT, facilities management, aviation and logistics industries.

Matthew, who lives in Sale, said: “My role at Flo will involve demonstrating the software we offer to perspective customers in order to grow our client base. I look forward to helping to expand Flo’s portfolio and introduce new agencies to the benefits of the software.”

Craig Aston, managing director of Flo Software Solutions, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Matthew onboard. We’re confident that he will prove to be a valuable asset to our team and will undoubtedly bring additional skills to the table as we strengthen our presence in the market in 2014. His appointment is an important step forward in Flo’s development, as we look to grow the business moving forward.”

Flo Software Solutions provides a cloud-based, end-to-end system, designed and built specifically for the temporary recruitment industry.

The system works in real-time and stores all data processed in Flo’s secure cloud, meaning that information can be accessed at anytime, anywhere, by employees, customers and candidates. As the software is cloud-based, there’s no need for installation. Data is protected and stored completely securely, with full disaster recovery if anything is lost.

Digital agency appoint sales and marketing director

Digital design and build agency Degree 53 has hired Stefan Rodgers as Sales & Marketing Director, in a move aligned with the Manchester company’s major plans for expansion.

He will be responsible for developing an internal sales and marketing team and leading the company’s communications and strategies.

Stefan’s key focuses include raising the company’s profile regionally and nationally, growing revenues in the B2B customer sector, expanding Degree 53’s eGaming client portfolio and being recognised as leaders in their field.

For the past 15 years 39-year-old Rodgers has worked for major blue chip companies in senior sales and marketing roles including technology driven incident management specialists FMG, who pioneered web based transactional systems in their industry.

He said: “The technology industry has exploded in recent years resulting in enhanced customer expectations.

Tailored digital solutions can dramatically improve business performance by driving revenues and as Director of Sales and Marketing it is my responsibility to raise product awareness, form strategic partnerships and identify new areas of growth for Degree 53.“

Based at Manchester’s digital and creative hub The Sharp Project, the thriving business is actively recruiting to add to its existing team of 40 design and development experts. The team is determined to become a destination employer attracting the UK’s best talent.

Stefan added: “I firmly believe that we can help Manchester become the digital capital of Europe and we will play a pivotal role in achieving this vision.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .