Member Article

This month’s South East appointments

David Fitzsimmons, Locate in Kent

A former Group Vice President of BP plc and experienced non-executive director has been announced as the new Chairman of Locate in Kent, the county’s investment promotion agency.

David Fitzsimmons, from Tunbridge Wells, succeeds Warwick Morris who spent three years in the role.

Born in Bromley, David has held numerous non-executive director roles, largely with companies operating in the energy sector, including four years as CEO of Novera Energy, an AIM-listed UK renewables company. He is also a governor of the Skinners Kent Academy in Tunbridge Wells.

Speaking of the challenges ahead, David said: “A key one currently is the view people have of the throughway to the continent.

“To outsiders at the moment, what they are seeing are reports of Operation Stack and the issues Eurostar and Eurotunnel are having with migrants in Calais. The challenge is to get people to understand the benefits that we in the county know so well – the excellent and quick connections to the continent that benefit businesses based here.”

David added that he was keen to foster even closer links with the many other organisations that seek to promote Kent and Medway and its economy, such as the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP).

“While I don’t have a huge commercial property background, I find the idea of being closely involved in the promotion of Kent as a great place to do business along with the county’s other development organisations an exciting one.”

Away from business David is a keen sailor and has taken part in three legs of the Clipper Round the World yacht race. He is married with two grown up children.

“We are very pleased to have someone with David’s considerable experience as a non-executive director heading up the board of Locate in Kent,” said Chief Executive Paul Wookey.

“His undoubted business acumen and leadership qualities will prove invaluable in helping drive Locate in Kent forward, and in promoting the county to business from home and overseas.

“Warwick Morris enjoyed a very successful three-year term as chairman and finding a worthy successor was always going to be quite a challenge. In David Fitzsimmons, I am sure we have found the right man.”

Joe Carter, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square

Marriott’s flagship conference and events hotel, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, has appointed Joe Carter as Director of Event Operations.

Joe brings extensive meetings and event operational knowledge to his new role with 12 years’ experience in this sector. Throughout his 15 year hospitality career, Joe has worked at London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Marriott Waltham Abbey, Thistle St. Albans and Sopwell House.

Joe Carter, Director of Event Operations at London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square said, “London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square is one of London’s key banqueting and conference events venues, offering impeccable services and facilities.

“It is a real honor to join the team. Meetings Imagined is an exciting online tool, which enables organisers to create imaginative experiences, and that I’m looking forward to bringing clients’ ideas to life.”

Originally a stately townhouse, London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square has 217 rooms and 20 suites.

The hotel also boasts an award-winning speakeasy cocktail bar, The Luggage Room, which is accessed through a secret door and is located in the hotel’s original luggage room. London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square remains one of Marriott’s flagship properties.

Adam Harding, BAM Construction

BAM Construction’s South East business, behind projects such as the Ashmolean Museum, the Laboratory of Molecular Biology for the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, and Network Rail’s National Centre in Milton Keynes, has appointed a new Regional Director.

The firm is also behind several structures in the continuing multi-billion pound redevelopment of Kings Cross.

Adam Harding officially takes up the top role on 1 October in a business whose work spans 13 counties.

Mr Harding trained in construction management at the University of Westminster and began working for BAM as an engineer in the early 1990s.

His first job as a project manager was the Manor Road Building for the University of Oxford, and his last job on site was at the £107 million Network Rail offices in Milton Keynes. In 2010, he was a gold medal winner at the national Construction Manager of the Year Awards for his work at West Herts College, Watford.

Mr Harding reflected on the changes the industry had undergone in the past two decades.

“Construction is a very different proposition even to when I started out; technology is allowing us to work differently, for one thing,” he says. “However the industry remains a people business – at the heart of successful projects you will always find strong relationships built on mutual trust.

“When I started as a chain boy working on a Tesco store in Osterley, the industry was in a recession and employment opportunities were scarce. Now we’ve in emerged into a rising market and there is young talent and the business has exciting opportunities.

“Also, young construction professional now are more open about their ambitions. One of our jobs is to nurture and retain our talented people. They need recognition and a career path.”

BAM’s South East team is based in St Albans but works in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire, plus some areas of Greater London. BAM has a separate team in central London.

Jason Kitcat, Crunch Accounting

Former Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council Jason Kitcat has joined forces with the UK’s fastest growing accountancy firm, Crunch Accounting, to campaign for the rights of freelancers, contractors, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

In his new position as Crunch Ambassador, Kitcat will represent the rights of the UK’s five million micro-business owners and give them a voice to influence government.

Today Jason Kitcat attended his first public role as Crunch Ambassador at a breakfast roundtable at the start of the Labour Party Conference.

Kitcat discussed innovation in the technology and digital sector at a roundtable chaired by Hove MP Peter Kyle, with Anneliese Dodds MEP, Stephen Kinnock MP and Stephen Timms MP.

Jason Kitcat, ambassador for Crunch Accounting said: “Having started and run a number of my own businesses I know exactly how it feels to be taking the leap on your own. As Crunch’s ambassador I’ll be listening to the concerns of Britain’s small business owners and ensuring their voice is heard.

“Despite micro-businesses making up 96% of all UK businesses, their needs are too often ignored and misunderstand by those shaping our economy. One of the first issues I’ll be tackling is the Chancellor’s planned changes to dividend taxes, which we believe will unfairly affect middle earners more than the higher earners.”

Darren Fell, CEO of Crunch Accounting added: “The freelance and micro-business community is one of the fastest growing, yet grossly under represented sectors of the country’s economy.

“Ill-conceived legislation like IR35 already creates a huge compliance headache the freelance community, and based on the amount our clients pay every year to stay compliant, is costing the sector around £6.5m a year. With this government’s plan to strengthen the legislation, these figures will only go up.

“We are delighted to be working with Jason to finally give the UK’s freelancers and small business owners a powerful voice in government. Having previously run tech businesses, he’s the natural choice to help create truly meaningful changes for the nation’s army of small business owners.”

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