Member Article

This month’s South East appointments

Magdalena Eliasz, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square

London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, has appointed Magdalena Eliasz as Director of Operations.

Magdalena brings ten years’ hospitality experience to her new role, with six years of her career spent at various Marriott International properties, including Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Aberdeen Airport and London Marriott Hotel Twickenham. Her most recent position oversaw room operations at the recently launched JW Marriott Bodrum.

Magdalena Eliasz said, “It is a real honor to join London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in its 30th year and to be a part of the leadership team that will mould the hotel’s direction for the next 30 years. Since joining Marriott International this hotel has been on my wish list and I’m excited to have been appointed to one of the best conference and event venues in central London.”

Following a highly successful trial period, Marriott’s flagship conference and events hotel, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square launched Meetings Imagined. It is an innovative online conference, events and meeting tool designed to help meeting organisers’ visualise, plan and implement their event. London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square was the only property in the UK to test the initiative before it was made available nationwide in April 2015.

Chris Kidd, Powell Williams

Powell Williams, a London-headquartered building consultancy, has welcomed senior building surveyor Chris Kidd. Chris joins Powell Williams from Hunter and Partners in London, before which he was with EC Harris.

He is the latest new recruit to the Powell Williams London office, and follows the arrival of chartered surveyor Natasha Tyler in February. The firm, which also has offices in Chester, Birmingham and Leeds, is looking for another two surveyors to complete the London-based team, working under senior partners Andrew Marshall and Darren Ward.

Having originally started his working life as a sound recording engineer working for the BBC and on movies, Chris qualified as a RICS surveyor in 1994. He spent six years at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) where he project managed a number of initiatives including those surrounding the Feed In Tariff. He amassed experience in contract administration, condition surveys, building pathology and project management, mainly in the public sector.

He said: “Powell Williams has a reputation for its commercial mindset and devising solutions which help clients maximize their property assets. I’m looking forward to working with the team in London and applying my knowledge within the commercial sector.”

Andrew Marshall, senior partner in Powell Williams London office, said: “Chris brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles with well-respected property firms and from his time with the BRE.

“This experience also gives Chris a deep understanding of current sustainability requirements and solutions to fit, while his expertise in building pathology will allow him to diagnose defects and design remedies as part of any refurbishment programme. These specific skills and Chris’ easy manner, make him a huge asset to Powell Williams and our clients.

“Our current recruitment drive comes as we are receiving an upsurge in instructions from our investment fund clients, as they respond to the significantly improved market conditions. We are advising on a number of large portfolio acquisitions and disposals, alongside project managing refurbishment works on sites across the country. In addition to growing the London office we are also looking to recruit in Birmingham, Chester and Leeds over the coming months.”

Powell Williams London headquarters office is based at Austin Friars in the Bank area of the capital. Clients include the BP Pension Fund, Cube Real Estate, AEW Europe and Aviva.

David Shaw, The Pollen Estate

Mayfair landowner The Pollen Estate appoints non-executive director David Shaw as its Chairman

The Board of the Pollen Estate Trust Company Limited, which owns a significant part of Mayfair, has appointed its non-executive director David Shaw OBE as Chairman of the Pollen Estate.

David is currently Head of the Regent Street Portfolio at The Crown Estate where he has, since 2002, overseen the regeneration of the 4 million sq ft Regent Street portfolio.

David was formerly a management board director of retailer, the Burton Group, where he was responsible for retail planning and property. Alongside his Chairmanship of the Pollen Estate, he will continue his role at The Crown Estate and as a non-executive director of the New West End Company. .

David was awarded an OBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list for services to the Retail Industry and Voluntary Service, particularly though the Orpheus Foundation, which supports talented young classical musicians.

The Pollen Estate comprises 43 freehold properties in Savile Row, Cork Street, Bond Street and surrounding streets. The Estate portfolio is some 730,000 sq ft in area over some four acres. The Estate has some 120 beneficiaries. The Pollen Estate’s origins trace back to 1622, when William Maddox purchased 35 acres of undeveloped ground for the sum of £1,450. Development throughout the 17th and 18th centuries saw the land form a substantial part of modern day Mayfair, with its elegant buildings and broad Georgian streets.

Michael Childs, Cardinal Maritime

Sharston-based Cardinal Maritime has appointed a new regional manager for the South of England at its Basildon office, following a period of substantial growth.

Michael Childs, 34, joinsthe logistics provider’s original CardinalMaritime.com brand from Estuary Logistics, where he directed freight forwarding operations and developed key relationships within the wholesale and retail sector.

Bringing over 10 years of industry experience, Michael’s new position will see him take responsibility for managing and developing CardinalMaritime.com across the southern region.

Additional responsibilities will include managing and developing the existing account managers, while looking to recruit additional team members as the company continues to expand.

The Basildon office, which opened in January 2014 – escalating Cardinal Maritime’s presence in the South of England – had previously been managed remotely from the company’s Manchester headquarters.

Rick White, managing director of Cardinal Maritime.com, said: “With the coordination of CardinalMaritime.com’s operations being such a huge undertaking, and our base in the South becoming ever more pertinent to the continued success of the business, it’s critical that we have the right people in place.

“We’re confident that Michael’s experience will lend itself well to the demanding role of regional manager and that he will uphold the company’s values, while assisting the business with its ambitious development plans.”

Tom Allder, Aliki Levi, Chris Greeno & Pablo Uson; Oakam

Oakam, a London-headquartered lender providing financial services to unbanked and micro-businesses, has appointed four major new executive appointments, as the company sets its sights on expanding globally.

Tom Allder joins as Chief Marketing and Digital Officer after holding several senior roles at American Express, Aliki Levi (also ex-AmEx) joins as Chief Data Scientist , Chris Greeno ( from MEM Consumer Finance and ParkerFox) is Oakam’s new Chief Information Officer, and Pablo Uson (formerly Aldermore, Credit Suisse and GE Capital) joins as Chief Financial Officer.

Oakam, founded in 2007, operates a network of high-street stores and a virtual store and successfully offers affordable credit to the under-banked and microbusiness segments, using data science and gamification techniques to instil responsible borrowing behaviour.

The new hires are tasked with aggressively scaling the business by driving innovation and digitising its proven model so it can be applied across the UK and beyond.

Frederick Nze, CEO of Oakam said, “We’ve brought together the best brains in the industry to solve a major global problem – how you provide low-cost credit to the billions of under-banked around the world.

“We’ve shown over the past seven years that it’s possible to encourage positive borrowing behaviour and reduce the risk of lending thereby helping the financially excluded rejoin the mainstream financial system. Chris, Tom, Aliki and Pablo now bring fresh new technological and global experience to help us address this issue further afield.”

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