This week’s Yorkshire appointments

Chris Austin, Brewster Bye

Brewster Bye, a Leeds-based architecture firm established 23 years ago, has appointed a new managing director.

Chris Austin, who has been an integral part of the Brewster Bye team for 22 years, is taking over the role from founding partner Keith Brewster. Keith will take up a new position as a consultant in the business and continue to support the board of directors as well as overseeing a wide range of projects in the residential and community sectors.

Chris will work alongside fellow directors and shareholders Mark Henderson and Nathan Wilkinson to continue growing the firm, which is based in Headingley and employs 23 staff.

The firm is currently working on the luxury residential conversion of St. Leonard’s Place in York for Rushbond PLC, the redevelopment of the Leeds Girls High School site in Headingley for Stonebridge Homes and three regeneration sites in Doncaster of over 300 houses for Muse Developments.

Keith, Brewster Bye’s founding partner, said: “Since founding the business with David Bye in 1992, our team of directors have ensured that Brewster Bye has earned an enviable reputation in both the public and private sectors for delivering visually striking and highly functional quality projects that are managed to the highest level. I am really looking forward to my new position and seeing the business continue to thrive under Chris’ leadership.”

Commenting on the appointment, Chris added: “It’s a privilege to accept this new role and I will be continuing to work closely with Keith and the rest of the team to grow our business. It’s a very exciting time for us as the improving economy presents a wide range of opportunities across all sectors, with both new and existing clients.”

Mark Wilkinson, Dawn Carlisle and Rob Lucas, Shulmans

Corporate law firm Shulmans has promoted three associates to the position of partner.

Mark Wilkinson, head of Insolvency and Credit Management Services, has extensive experience in this field and has been the driving force behind the rapid growth of the department. He will play a key part in further enhancing its reputation as experts in business recovery. Mark joined Shulmans two and a half years ago having previously worked at Lee & Priestley and Lupton Fawcett.

Dawn Carlisle joined the firm in 2011 from Gordons. A highly experienced commercial property solicitor operating within the firm’s Real Estate team, she specialises in mixed-use developments, retail and industrial parks, relocations and solar panel development. Dawn is also a member of Shulmans’ international team.

Rob Lucas, head of the firm’s Intellectual Property team, joined Shulmans in 2008 and is recognised in the Legal 500 for his work in the field. Rob also developed Shulmans’ international IP profile, assisting multinational clients and has recently worked on matters in Brazil, Canada, USA, India and Europe.

Tim Halstead, managing partner at Shulmans, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of three new partners.

“Our recent breaking through the £10million turnover barrier could not have been achieved without the talented people that make Shulmans an award-winning firm. In the past five years we’ve created 65 new jobs, attracted a high calibre of recruits from outside the firm, and also promoted from within. These new, senior appointments underline our ambitions for the future and demonstrate that we have the right people in place to move forward into what we predict will be very exciting times for the firm.”

Sara Blannin, Ecus Ltd

Ecus Ltd, an environmental consultancy based in Sheffield, has boosted its board and management team with the appointment of a new finance director.

Sara Blannin has joined Ecus Ltd, which assists clients through the planning process including ecology, landscape, geosciences and environmental management services, and will divide her time between the firm’s Cheltenham office and its Sheffield headquarters.

Sara previously worked as an associate director at environmental, health and safety support services firm RSK, where she had divisional finance role and also headed up the ecology business.

Nick Birkinshaw, Ecus managing director, said: “Sara has a proven track record in delivering results and we are really pleased to welcome her to the team.

“Thanks to a combination of her wealth of experience in accounting and her background in and knowledge of environmental planning and ecology, I am sure her appointment will enhance the team here at Ecus even further.”

Commenting on the appointment, Sara said: “Both the variety of the role and the ethos here at Ecus really appealed to me. It is a company that is very client-focused and remains committed to its core values, despite enormous growth in last few years. Often when companies get bigger, they lose sight of those values but, while Ecus delivers professional services to an expanding client portfolio and has ambitious plans for further growth, the culture remains down to earth and welcoming.

“It is something I am very excited to be a part of, hence becoming a shareholder as well as a director.”

Glen Judge, IGEM

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) operations manager Glen Judge, has been appointed Chairman of the North East and Yorkshire section of IGEM (Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers).

Glen was the regional secretary for IGEM for several years and now takes up the leading position of the organisation for this region for the 2015/2016 financial year.

IGEM is a professional body for people working in the gas industry, both in the UK and around the world, with regional sections across the country.

As part of his new role, Glen will be responsible for managing the numerous networking and social events which take place each year as part of the IGEM calendar.

Commeting on the appointment, Glen said: “It is a real honour to be appointed Chairman this year and I hope to help deliver a great programme which has something for everyone.

“My appointment was made formal at IGEM’s most recent regional innovation and networking event, which took place in Harrogate on 7th April. This year’s theme was ‘innovation for customer excellence’ where our Head of Customer Experience, Eileen Brown, was speaking on the subject. The event was really well attended as always and it was a great opportunity for guests to hear about the latest technologies and techniques in our industry.”

NGN delivers gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses across the North of England and provides the region’s rapid response service for customers who smell gas at home or work.

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