Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

A North East Sugar Crafter of the Year winner is creating a stir in her new role as cake maker at a Newcastle restaurant.

Emma Bell, from Stanley has been appointed to head up the new cake service at Blackfriars to create cakes for the growing number of weddings, christenings, birthdays and other celebrations held at the restaurant and Banquet Hall as well as an ever-increasing demand for cake-decorating workshops and cup cake parties.

Originally from Carlisle, Emma moved to the region five years ago and studied her Level 3 Patisserie and Confectionery at Gateshead College and Intensive Sugarcraft in Inverness. She went on to open her own Cake Shop called EmJays which she ran for three years.

North East-based IT services company, Perfect Image, has announced the promotion of Mark Jackson to sales manager of the Managed Services division.

The promotion comes in light of a recent partnership between Perfect Image and Amazon Web Services (AWS), seeing the IT services company offer its clients a fully managed true cloud service solution.

Having joined Perfect Image in 2011 as a business development manager for the Project Services division, Mr Jackson’s new role will see him manage and develop the Managed Services division’s sales team, drive the product and service strategy and develop relationships with key partners such as AWS, Dell, HP, Symantec and Citrix.

He will also be responsible for the Managed Services division’s sales targets; driving revenues, controlling costs and providing an excellent customer experience.

Darlington-based HR2day has recruited a new business development manager whose remit is to help SMEs understand where they are failing to comply with legislation.

Avril Leach has 28 years’ experience in liaising with clients and helping to manage their needs in Manchester, Leeds and the North East.

Nicky Jolley, founder of HR2day, said: “Avril’s appointment is a significant step forward for us. As an 18-month-old business we have already made great strides in helping SMEs and larger businesses to understand their compliance needs.

“We have four qualified and experienced HR and training consultants and are planning to increase that number as Avril helps us to develop the business.”

Stiller Warehousing and Distribution has appointed a new general manager in a move which will help boss Paul hand the reins to the next generation of his family almost six decades since the birth of the company.

As the Newton Aycliffe firm approaches its 60th birthday, Stiller heads into a transitional period by promoting Matthew Stiller to Commercial Manger.

Brian Simpson has now joined the family-run business from neighbouring PWS, a major manufacturer of kitchen components and worksurfaces, to help with the process.

Current managing director and dad Paul, who was handed the company from his father, Gunter, 30 years ago, says it’s a major step forward.

He said: “We’ve known Brian for a number of years and we’ve always had such a high regard for him The disciplines he brings with him, his management style, the whole package, will benefit the business tremendously.

“He’s also ideally placed to help Matthew in the transitional period of him taking the reins, and that’s a key element.

“It’s a major step for us, from a developmental point of view. He brings with him a modern, up-to-date management style which can only benefit Matthew and the company.”

Steel firm Finley Structures has appointed a new senior quantity surveyor - and her first job is to work on the high-profile Hitachi Rail Europe project in Newton Aycliffe.

Diane Ruston is used to working on large-scale construction projects - among other contracts, she worked for Severfield Watson Structures, part of the Thirsk-based Severfield Rowen group, on the 5 Broadgate development in North London.

The 12-storey building - which includes 13,000 tonnes of steel, more than The Shard - will provide more than 700,000 sq ft of trading space.

Diane, 30, from York, says she jumped at the chance to work for Aycliffe-based family-run firm Finley Structures after eight years with Severfield.

The Warwick University economics graduate said: “The attraction was working for a family firm, and working in smaller teams.

“I can get more involved in the systems side of jobs and looking at procedures, and the opportunity to work on projects like Hitachi’s train-building factory is fantastic.”

A chef who has cooked for rock stars and royalty and worked at the Michelin starred London restaurant, Le Gavroche, has taken on a new role heading up the catering at an award-winning retirement village in the North East.

Jo Stoddart worked alongside one of the world’s best known chefs, Michel Roux Jr, at his acclaimed restaurant Le Gavroche – the first in the UK to gain three Michelin stars – and is now bringing some Michelin magic to Middleton Hall Retirement Village, near Darlington, County Durham, as its new catering manager.

Jo was among five students plucked straight out of catering college, in Liverpool, to join Le Gavroche where she found she was the only female out of 20 chefs.

She said: “I’ve joined Middleton Hall because of the vision there is for the catering. It’s going to be really exciting to be part of it and working with the team to look at all aspects of the catering for residents.

“We’re looking to make the menus more seasonal from locally sourced ingredients. Middleton Hall is working on healthy eating so we are looking at what we cook, how we present it and how we source food.”

Commercial law firm, Muckle LLP has extended the expertise within its highly-respected Dispute Resolution Group with the appointment of a new partner.

George Festing joins Muckle as a partner with a wealth of experience in resolving Intellectual Property (IP) disputes for national and international clients.

His experience has been gained helping to protect clients on a wide range of contractual disputes involving copyright and trade mark infringement, design and brand identity.

George’s appointment in this specialist role positions Muckle’s Dispute Resolution Group with leading contentious IP capability based locally in the North East.

A North East college has announced the appointment of an executive director of commercial activity, in an effort to drive forward its relationship with businesses in the region.

With over twenty years’ experience in the public and private sector, Iain Nixon joins Sunderland College as part of the senior leadership team to help grow the college’s apprenticeship provision, secure European funding and generate commercial activity through a broad range of employer-facing services.

Having spent 10 years at Newcastle University in a variety of business development roles as well as 10 years running a consultancy business based in the North East, working with Government departments and funding bodies, universities and colleges, and employers to influence policy and practice on innovation and skills.

Mr Nixon brings a wealth of commercial experience from working at the interface between business and education to the college.

Four lawyers have been promoted to the position of partner at law firm Ward Hadaway.

Associates Andrew Evans, Bill Goodwin, Heather Markham and Sharon Mathieson are now all Partners at the firm, which has offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.

Jamie Martin, managing partner at Ward Hadaway, said: “It is a great pleasure to announce these promotions for people who have made outstanding contributions to the continuing success of the firm.

“The promotions are all richly deserved and they reflect the talent, expertise and dedication which Andrew, Bill, Heather and Sharon have demonstrated in their time at Ward Hadaway.

“Each of them has shown the commitment to service and client care excellence which we strive for at the firm and I know that the work which they carry out makes a real difference to the clients whom they advise.”

Commercial lawyer Matt Cormack has been promoted to associate at law firm Ward Hadaway.

Matt, who joined Ward Hadaway as a trainee solicitor in 2008, acts for a wide range of clients from large multi-national corporate companies to early stage businesses and start-up enterprises.

He has advised on issues across various sectors including offshore oil and gas and subsea products and services, and has worked with a variety of e-commerce and technology-based businesses in preparing their customer-facing contracts.

During his time at the firm, Matt has advised on several multi-national corporate group re-structures for a global client involving project management across various overseas jurisdictions.

He is also a solicitor in residence at the Business and Intellectual Property Centre in Newcastle, where he provides initial consultations to clients on a variety of legal issues.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .