This week’s Yorkshire appointments

KPMG has appointed Pamela Mathieson as Senior Business Development Manager for South Yorkshire.

Philippa Sanderson, who leads KPMG’s South Yorkshire market presence, said: “Pam is a fantastic addition to our team, being well-known and respected in the local business community. She will lead our relationship building activities across the region, accelerating our ability to build on our existing portfolio of clients and projects.

“Having worked in professional services for many years, Pam brings a wealth of experience along with an understanding of the importance and significance of trusted relationships.”

Pam Mathieson commented: “I am delighted to be joining KPMG at this exciting time. We have a great opportunity to enhance and further support the business community in South Yorkshire by bringing the best of our national and international specialisms to the local market.

“A key objective is to ensure that mid market businesses know of our appetite to work with them, as well as large organisations.

“In fact, KPMG’s Enterprise offering, launched just over a year ago, is designed to help privately owned businesses achieve their growth ambitions. We have always been a strong player in the mid-market, with our smallest regional clients turning over £1-2m.”

Simon Davidson, Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton has announced a senior addition to its Yorkshire practice with the appointment of finance transformation specialist Simon Davidson.

Simon, who joins from Deloitte, will be responsible for leading Grant Thornton’s Finance Transformation Team across the North of England.

A new venture for the firm’s regional practice, the offering focuses on assessing and improving the performance of finance functions at businesses across all industries, ownership types and revenue size, with the mid-market being a particular focus.

Andy Wood, practice leader for Grant Thornton in Leeds, said: “As part of our leadership team in the North, Simon will ensure that we build and leverage our Finance Transformation capability, adding value to existing relationships, and improving our ability to win new ones.

“This is a hugely exciting time for Grant Thornton as we continue to establish ourselves as a category-of-one firm with a differentiated offer from others in our sector.

“We’re extremely pleased at having someone of Simon’s calibre join Grant Thornton as we continue on our journey and his appointment is another strategic piece of our jigsaw as we work to help create the vibrant economy that businesses need to grow and prosper.”

Simon said: “Grant Thornton’s culture, focus on trusted client partnerships and collaboration mirror my own ethos and I’m genuinely excited about joining the firm and am looking forward to adding further value to our wider offer as clients continue to focus on growth opportunities.”

Zoë Nicholson, Blacks Solicitors LLP

Leeds-based law firm, Blacks Solicitors LLP, has announced that Zoë Nicholson will join its experienced Wills and Probate team as an Associate Solicitor.

Zoë’s expertise lies in both non-contentious and contentious probate work, and she has a great deal of experience regarding all aspects of Court of Protection Work, particularly with elderly clients who require support with health and care decisions and protection of financial affairs.

Zoë said: “It’s exciting to be joining such a well-established law firm. As a local to the city, a real highlight for me will be supporting people in the Leeds community.”

Chris Allen, Managing Partner at Blacks, said: “Blacks is continuing to grow year-on-year. We are committed to ensuring that we are able to offer our clients the level of service that they have come to expect from us, and Zoë will help to ensure that our Wills & Probate team is on top form as we progress through 2016.”

Richard Fearon, Leeds Building Society

Richard Fearon has joined Leeds Building Society as Chief Commercial Officer.

Richard will be responsible for product development, marketing and brand, digital, customer insight, and distribution, including the Society’s 67 branches across the UK, Gibraltar and Ireland.

Before joining the Society, Richard spent 10 years with Lloyds Banking Group, where he held a number of senior roles in both the mortgage and savings businesses. He started his career at management consultants Oliver Wyman & Company.

Richard joins the Society’s main Board, which consists of five executive Directors and eight non-executive Directors, led by Chairman Robin Ashton.

Robin said: “This is an excellent appointment and I’m delighted to welcome Richard to the Society.

“His skills and experience further strengthen our executive team as we continue our investment in the future of the Society to benefit even more members and deliver further improvements to our service.

“Richard has a strong understanding of product development to meet customer needs, which is a key part of the Society’s sustainable business model as we grow our membership and build financial strength.”

Ian Peters, The Floow

Sheffield-based telematics organisation The Floow has appointed Ian Peters as an independent non-executive director.

Mr Peters brings with him more than 30-years’ experience working in a myriad of business development roles for some of the country’s most recognised brands – both in the business to business and business to consumer sectors – including NatWest Bank, Marsh, British Gas, and Goldfish Bank.

Mr Peters, who held several roles at British Gas over a 10 year period including Interim Managing Director, and was formerly executive committee member for Centrica - said he is ‘looking forward to the opportunities’ that are ahead for The Floow as the business continues to ‘push beyond the existing markets that are associated with telematics technology’.

Aldo Monteforte, The Floow’s CEO, added: “We are delighted to welcome Ian to the team and excited to take advantage of his expertise in order to help us continue to move the business forward – both here in the UK, and on an International basis.

“With experience working for some of the country’s leading organisations it is fair to say that he brings with him a ‘big business’ mentality, as well as experience running smaller challenger businesses. As The Floow continues to lead the way when it comes to innovation within the industry – exposing limitless opportunities along the way - this mind-set will prove invaluable.”

Mr Peters also holds a number of other advisory roles, including acting as a non-executive director for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and non-executive Chair of British Gas Services Limited.

Mark Shepherd and Bob Marshall, OneMedicalGroup

OneMedicalGroup, a national provider of healthcare solutions for premises and care delivery, has strengthened its senior team with two new board appointments.

Mark Shepherd, joins as Chief Operating Officer and Bob Marshall as Chief Finance Officer.

The group, with its head office in Leeds, has a multi-million pound property portfolio and delivers primary care solutions across the UK.

Mark joins OneMedicalGroup after having spent the last five years based in the US with a global retail operator, with responsibilities for worldwide innovation, delivery and operations.

Joining the group as Chief Finance Officer, Bob Marshall qualified as an accountant at KPMG and has held a variety of senior finance roles. Bob is responsible for the financial operations of OneMedicalGroup and the development commercial growth strategy across the network. Caroline, who has been with the group for four years, will continue to develop and deliver high levels of patient care services throughout the network.

Rachel Beverley-Stevenson, Chief Executive of OneMedicalGroup, said: “The appointment of Mark and Bob is a strategic investment for the group and alongside Caroline’s passion for developing the workforce to deliver the best solutions to our patients and clients, we are looking to become leaders in healthcare innovation.

“With their combined wealth of experience and the clinical expertise from Jackie, our strengthened leadership team will be a huge asset as we build on our premises and facility solutions expertise and continue to provide best in class care services with our patient first approach.”

Steve Beedle, Nexus Vehicle Rental

Nexus Vehicle Rental, the pudsey-based corporate vehicle rental provider, has announced the appointment of Steve Beedle to the role of Head of New Business Sales.

Steve has over twenty years of industry experience, beginning his career in the rental and leasing industry in 1995.

He will work to support Nexus’ continued growth following the acquisition of the business by private equity investor, Bowmark Capital, in late 2015 with immediate duties including managing and building-up Nexus’ New Business team and sourcing new client opportunities.

Steve previously worked for the company in 2012 and brings with him a wealth of expertise in daily rental sales negotiation and targeting, established during over 20 years working for some of the industry’s leading operators.

David Brennan, CEO at Nexus, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Steve back to Nexus. We couldn’t think of anyone better suited to the role and it was a natural fit to get him back onboard.

“Previously, he consistently delivered above target performance by targeting SME clients to grow revenue. We have ambitious plans this year and look forward to the professional service and strong results Steve will bring.”

Nick Ashmore and Oliver March, Force24

Marketing automation specialist Force24 has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of two experienced communications experts.

Nick Ashmore joins the Leeds-headquartered firm as marketing director. Having kick-started his career with advertising agencies in London, he moved to Monitise in 2008.

Progressing to the role of vice president of marketing, he was responsible for lead generation and brand strategy for the group, helping the business grow from a tech start-up to a global leader in the mobile payments sector. He will now be responsible for building awareness of the Force24 brand and its market leading technology.

Nick’s appointment coincides with the recruitment of sales director Oliver March. Oliver joins Force24 from Oracle, where he was responsible for enterprise sales of marketing automation solutions Eloqua and Responsys, as well as the data management platform Bluekai and online testing and optimisation solution Maxymiser.

With a wealth of B2B and B2C experience, Oliver will support Force24’s accelerated growth through the sale of its powerful multi-channel marketing technology and associated creative services.

Adam Oldfield, managing director, said: “Our platform is built by marketers, for marketers – not scientists! We work hard to maximise the value of marketing automation throughout the customer lifecycle, in turn promoting better conversations, fuelling clients’ growth and giving marketers the tools to shine.

“But now is the time to talk to more CMOs, marketing directors and CRM heads, to quash the pain points they’re experiencing. Nick and Oliver are well-placed to help us do just that.”

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