Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

Jacqui Watson, Lewis Kaid & Martin Bell, Erimus

Stockton-based Erimus Insurance Brokers has made three major appointments to its Tees Valley HQ.

The commercial insurance specialist has appointed new recruit Jacqui Watson as manager of the Small Business Unit. Jacqui has joined Erimus from Darlington-based BIB, where she worked for 16 years.

Director Ian Miller commented: “Erimus is absolutely committed to offering a local service to all businesses, no matter what they spend, and we see the value in building long-term relationships with our clients.

“We’ve been established on Teesside for nearly 30 years and we’re extremely proud to count on many of the region’s largest and most successful businesses as our clients.

“We believe that our new Small Business Unit will allow us to continue our expansion plans without compromising on service to any of our clients.”

Mr Miller, who worked alongside his new colleague for 10 years at BIB, is delighted to have secured her services.

“It’s a great boost that Jacqui has agreed to join us to establish our dedicated Small Business Unit. Jacqui is an excellent operator and has an abundance of great contacts in an around the Durham and Tees Valley area.

“Her philosophy of giving clients a high level of personal service together with competitive insurance premiums fits in perfectly with the Erimus strategy.”

A top 100 UK independent insurance broker with record-breaking premium revenue of £15 million forecast for 2015, Erimus has also recruited Lewis Kaid and Martyn Bell.

New business broker Lewis, who has joined the corporate and commercial sales team, is responsible for negotiating deals with insurers on behalf of new clients.

Having also previously worked at BIB, account executive Martyn is now managing an established portfolio of clients who have followed him from his previous employment and who now benefit from the significant resources which Erimus are able to offer their clients.

Jason Cartwright, Restaurant Design Associates (RDA)

A North East catering design and installation firm has recruited an experienced manager to take the reins for a series of projects as the company’s client list continues to grow.

South Tyneside-based Restaurant Design Associates (RDA) has appointed project manager Jason Cartwright following a number of new contract wins.

Jason will be overseeing a range of projects including the installation of a hospital café, a kitchen refurbishment at a prestigious London school, and a leading university’s kitchen and servery refurbishment.

His role will involve regular liaison with clients and sub-contractors, collating health and safety records, ensuring that jobs are completed on time and within budget, and coordinating detailed surveys of future projects.

Jason, who is a fully qualified, JIB approved electrician with 24 years of industry experience, previously worked as a contracts manager for an electrical contractor, where he designed and developed nationwide projects and managed a team of 20 electricians and office staff. He is also trained in asbestos awareness, and has regularly conducted health and safety training for employees.

Jason said: “I’m really pleased to be joining RDA, which is well known as a leading player in the catering industry, with a talented team. I’m looking forward to working with a variety of clients across multiple sectors – from SMEs to large hospitals and universities.

“Having worked with RDA as a sub-contractor on several past projects, I was well informed of how the company was structured and the type of work that they carried out, and the rest was an easy decision to make.”

Roy Addyman, director of RDA, said: “This is an exciting time for RDA, as we’ve now completed more than 250 projects since setting up the firm in 2007 - and this year is proving to be the busiest yet. As a result of our steadily growing client base, we wanted to recruit an enthusiastic, self-motivated project manager with strong organisational skills, and Jason was the ideal candidate for us.

“We have no doubt that Jason’s systematic approach and his extensive experience of managing projects from start to finish – as well as his impressive background in electrical work – will be hugely beneficial to our team.”

Alan Green, H&H Insurance Brokers

Durham based H&H Insurance Brokers has appointed Alan Green as Senior Commercial Executive for the North East.

This is a newly created position, in which Alan will be responsible for developing the company’s commercial insurance business.

This appointment reflects the continuing growth of the business and the strength of H&H Insurance Brokers across the Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear regions.

Based in their recently opened Durham Office, Alan’s role as a highly experienced Insurance Broker focuses on expanding the business and providing insurance solutions, for a wide range of risks, including Property & Business Interruption, Public, Products & Employers Liability, Directors & Officers Liability, as well as emerging risks like Environmental Liability and Cyber.

Alan brings with him a wealth of experience and joins the company from Aon Risk Solutions where he held the position of Client Manager.

An Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII) and Chartered Insurance Broker,, he started his career 32 years ago with Reed Stenhouse as a Trainee Insurance Broker. Since then he has progressed in the profession, working with leading names in the industry including Lycetts Insurance Brokers.

Alan said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to join such a forward thinking and progressive company.

“My main objectives will be to manage and maintain the existing client base, whilst developing new opportunities.

“I will be working closely with the Directors of H&H Insurance Brokers to formulate strategies to drive the business forward and achieve healthy growth. I am absolutely committed to understanding my client’s needs and providing the most effective insurance and risk advice as a result”.

Marie McCarty, Stagecoach North East

Marie McCarty, a former bus drive from Sunderland, has taken up the role of Commercial Assistant within the Commercial Team at Stagecoach North East.

Marie has swapped steering wheels for spreadsheets as she begins her new position for Stagecoach North East at its regional head office in Sunderland.

Marie is now part of a team which is responsible for all commercial aspects of the company, including bus and driver scheduling, developing routes and timetables, data collection and financial reporting.

Prior to taking up this new opportunity, Marie undertook her qualification as a bus driver in October 2014, where she spent the next six months on the roads around Sunderland, and gained invaluable experience in the scheduling, routing and general travel day to day issues which bus drivers face.

Paula Addison, UK Steel Enterprise

Paula Addison has joined UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel subsidiary which supports new and growing businesses with finance and premises.

Paula will be one of the Administrators in the Northern team responsible for the day-to-day running of UKSE’s two flagship Innovation Centres in Hartlepool and Redcar, which house around 80 growing young businesses.

She will be based mainly at the Centre on the Queens Meadow Business Park in Hartlepool.

Paula has wide experience as an administrator, receptionist and personal assistant having worked in the North East, London and in Australia with companies involved in recruitment, IT, interior and kitchen design, sports nutrition, the offshore industry and water treatment.

“I’m delighted to join the UK Steel Enterprise team,” she said. “It’s proving to be a steep learning curve but is extremely varied and interesting with companies from so many different sectors based here.”

Peter Taylor, Area Manager for UK Steel Enterprise, said: “Our Administrators are vital to the smooth operation of our Centres. The buildings, facilities and services are all designed specifically to help young businesses grow and to take the day-to-day running of their office or workshop premises off their shoulders. Paula was a stand-out candidate with impressive experience and we’re very pleased to have her on our team.”

Mark Patterson, AIS

Manufacturer and trainer, AIS has appointed Mark Patterson as business and strategic development manager to boost the profile and range of its technical insulation and fire protection products.

Mark, from Gosforth, will be responsible for promoting AIS’s extensive range of award-winning insulation and fire protection jacketing systems, which are used by the oil and gas, petrochemical and heavy industry sectors to protect against the spread of fire and reduce overall energy and maintenance costs.

Mark will also help AIS increase its extensive range of innovative and technologically advanced products to meet tomorrow’s industrial challenges such as improving safety and reducing costs.

Mark has a wealth of relevant experience having joined AIS from global paint and coatings giant, Akzo Nobel where he was responsible for developing and promoting new technology for the oil and gas sector.

A chemistry graduate, Mark has worked in the paint and coatings industry his entire career with expertise gained across a range of technologies and applications in global territories throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

His career has also seen him working more recently on major oil and gas construction projects such as GDF Cygnus and Talisman MonArb, where he supported design engineers in specifying Chartek as the hydrocarbon passive fire protection coating.

Mark said: “I knew about AIS from my previous role as I helped them to develop a specialist fireproofing application training course for industry. I was extremely impressed with the company’s innovative and professional approach so when this opportunity to join them came up I jumped at it.

“AIS is one of only a handful of companies across the globe to produce highly technical products of this nature and it has won a string of awards for its work, including the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

“I’m really looking forward to helping the company build on its excellent reputation for developing cost-effective, innovative new products, as well as promoting its full turn-key solutions globally.”

Head of AIS Technical, Chris Evans, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark to the team. He brings with him unrivalled expertise of new product development and also invaluable customer insight. We are very pleased that he has decided to join us and believe our customers will benefit from his input.”

Ros Danson, EMG Solicitors

Durham-based EMG Solicitors has been joined by Ros Danson, a specialist in wills, trusts and probate, who will be working as part of the family law team.

Ros, originally from South Shields, has worked at a major law firms and smaller niche practices in the region before becoming part of EMG, which was set up a year ago by Court of Protection specialist, Emma Gaudern.

“I am very excited to be part of the team at EMG,” said Ros, who has been a solicitor for 16 years.

“Everyone is so committed to what they do and so enthusiastic, they are a fantastic bunch of people to be working with.”

Ros’ expertise centres on a range of areas, including inheritance tax planning and providing a bespoke service for people with complex family or financial arrangements.

“With so many people now in a second marriage but who may have children or family from their first, it’s important that they leave a will which properly details how everyone is to be provided for,” said Ros.

“There are all kind of issues to take into account and it is this personalised service which looks at individual situations which we specialise in.”

Along with the work being carried out by Emma, which includes acting as a Professional Deputy for children and adults with complex brain injuries arising from personal injury, EMG Solicitors also work in a number of other areas including divorce and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

The six-strong team operate out of offices at Durham’s Rivergreen Centre, headed up by Emma.

“We’re delighted to have grown our team yet again by bringing Ros on board,” said Emma.

“She is a huge asset and means that we are now able to offer even more services to our clients.”

David Calvert, IX7

County Durham based business growth consultancy IX7 has appointed David Calvert as a Senior Consultant to gear up for future growth.

David will head up the Newcastle office, of which IX7 take tenancy from July 2015, and be responsible for business development and strategic consultancy in the North East. Using IX7’s tried and tested 7 Stage Model for Business Growth, he will consult clients on matters of strategy, sales and marketing and operational consultancy, to help Managing Directors, who turn over £1 - £20 million, drive profitable business growth.

Having previously co-founded two businesses himself, David has a wealth of experience when it comes to business strategy and growth, and crucially, what it takes to grow an asset rich business. David joins the team from a well-known IT Solutions company where he was responsible for implementing the company’s sales strategy; generating leads and forming strategic partnerships, in a bid to win new business.

David commented on his new role and said: “IX7 is a tremendously ambitious company with an incredibly unique proposition: the company has a strong set of values and achieve phenomenal results for clients. I’m looking forward to contributing to this.

“In my first week I attended The Business Show in London. IX7 exhibited at the event and delivered presentations to over 200 fast growing businesses. It provided great insight into IX7’s unique proposition and we have been inundated with calls since our return to the office.”

The appointment came after a comprehensive overhaul of the company’s offering and workplace infrastructure.

Lisa Bean, Managing Director of IX7, commented on David’s appointment and said: “I am delighted to have David on board. We have known of each other for some years now, and David’s experience, approach and ambition align perfectly to IX7’s. It’s great to have him on board and he has had an impact from day one! “

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