Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Amanda Steel, Sarah Callaghan, Daniel Haley, Janean Fearon and Julie Taylor, JAK inc.

Darlington and Chester-le-Street print and design company, JAK Inc, has appointed four new staff members and also made a promotion into a newly-created position.

Amanda Steel and Sarah Callaghan have both joined as customer relationship managers while Daniel Haley has been appointed as graphic designer, having recently graduated from college. Janean Fearon has been taken on as an apprentice in the customer service department. Finally, Julie Taylor has been promoted to office manager at the Chester-le-Street office.

John Knowles, who co-owns the business with his son Andrew, commented: “Bringing new jobs to the region is vitally important to us so we’re thrilled to have hired several new people, all of whom bring impressive experience and enthusiasm to the team. We’re also pleased to have given Julie a much-deserved promotion. “It’s an exciting time for JAK – we’re not only expanding but also re-positioning ourselves to offer more digital services such as website design and social media management. We now have a strong team in place that will help us to drive the business forward.”

L-R Tait Walker managing partner Andrew Moorby with Lucy Elliott, Paul Shields, Chris Hird, Matt Higgins, Sam Nichol and Beth Ramsden

Chris Hird, Beth Ramsden, Samantha Nichol and Matt Higgins, Tait Walker

North East independent accountancy practice Tait Walker has promoted three of its staff and appointed three new members to the team.

The firm’s corporate recovery expert Matt Higgins has been appointed as Associate Partner, which will see him work closely with Gordon Goldie to further develop the Insolvency and Turnaround department.

Lucy Elliott, who has been with Tait Walker for over 10 years, has been promoted to Associate Director of the Corporate Finance team and Paul Shields, who has worked in Tait Walker’s Business Services department for the last 7 years, has been promoted to Associate.

New appointments Chris Hird and Beth Ramsden have joined Tait Walker as Corporate Finance Executive and Business Services Executive respectively. Northumbria University graduate Samantha Nichol, who studied Journalism BA (Hons), has been appointed as Marketing Assistant.

Andrew Moorby, managing partner at Tait Walker, said: Andrew Moorby, managing partner at Tait Walker, said: “2014 has been very positive so far and it’s a great feeling being able to reward our team members who have excelled in their work. “Matt and Lucy are perfect examples of those striving hard to get to where they want to be and achieving it. Paul has been with the firm for many years and is a real asset to our Business Services department so we’re delighted to have been able to watch him grow through the ranks to associate level. “We’re always keen to open up these opportunities to our ever-expanding team, while continually looking outwards to bring in new thinking and expertise from different backgrounds, which will prove invaluable to our clients. Samantha has already become a key addition and we’re looking forward to welcoming more graduates to the team in September”.

Gillian Marshall, Entrepreneurs Forum

Entrepreneurs’ Forum has appointed Gillian Marshall as chief executive. With a background in business development, finance and building partnerships, Gillian will lead on the Forum’s plans to put entrepreneurs at the heart of the North East’s growth agenda.

Gillian is taking over from Nicola Short, who led the Forum from being a not-for-profit publicly funded body to a self-sustaining membership organisation of more than 300 entrepreneurs and 14 corporate partners.

Gillian said: “I’m stepping into the CEO role at a really exciting time. The Forum is on a very strong footing, growing every month, hosting sell-out events and playing an ever bigger role in supporting entrepreneurs, helping to make vital connections and widening our networks outside the North East for the benefit of the region.”

Andrea Preston, TTE Technical Training Group

TTE Technical Training Group has appointed Andrea Preston as finance director. Andrea Preston has been promoted to the newly-created role after more than four years at TTE. She joined as Financial Controller and progressed to the position of Group Finance Manager before taking her current position. As a member of the board, Andrea will lead TTE’s financial strategic direction with particular emphasis on securing available funding for the training of young people on Teesside and overseeing commercial contracts. TTE has experienced strong growth in its commercial activities, particularly overseas in markets such as Oman, United Arab Emirates, West Africa and Azerbaijan.

Andrea Preston said: “I am looking forward to being an Executive Director of TTE and playing a key part in the success TTE is enjoying in delivering skills across industry. “The reputation TTE has established in both domestic and international markets has really helped with the organisation’s growth and its efforts to support the training of young people on Teesside. As a charity we reinvest the surpluses from our commercial activities into our training provision that assists the development of the local workforce.”

Dave Johnson, Advanced Industrial Solutions (AIS)

Dave Johnson has been appointed as engineering operations manager at Advanced Industrial Solutions (AIS).

Dave Johnson will be responsible for managing the North Shields firm’s recently expanded engineering division. Dave has worked in the industrial sector for the past 24 years. He joins AIS from lifting engineering specialists, Lloyds British Testing where he was engineering services manager for the offshore sector.

Dave Johnson said: “AIS was a supplier to the previous company I worked for so I knew them well. I was always extremely impressed with the company’s significant achievements, as well as its ambition and innovative approach to getting the job done, so when the opportunity arose to join AIS I jumped at it.

“AIS’s engineering division has an enormous range of products and services and deals with some of the world’s biggest brands so it’s a very exciting prospect to now be part of the team going forward.”

Lauren Saul, North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC)

North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) has appointed University of Sunderland graduate Lauren Saul as marketing assistant.

Lauren joins a number of new recruits recently welcomed to the enterprise agency as new projects begin to take development. Lauren said:

Lauren said: “As soon as I visited the BIC I knew straight away that it was a company I wanted to be a part of. I am looking forward in helping to support the BIC’s Open Space facility as well as identifying networking opportunities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .