Member Article

This month's London appointments

Karen Baines, Shaftesbury

Real estate investment group Shaftesbury plc have appointed Karen Baines as their new Head of Group Marketing and Communications, effective from 31 May.

Karen will head up marketing and media strategies across the property firm’s retail and leisure portfolio in London’s West End which includes Chinatown and lifestyle district Seven Dials.

Shaftesbury, who boast a sizeable £3.1bn portfolio, will look to take advantage of her experience of the West End market gleaned from her current role as Head of Marketing and Communications at the Heart of London Business Alliance, the business improvement district which represents 500 businesses and 100 property owners in and around Piccadilly, St James’s, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.

Roger Fenwick, Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland have appointed Roger Fenwick as the bank’s new Regional Director of Commercial Banking for London and South East.

Roger, who joins from Natwest where he was Regional Director for London and South East, will work as part of the bank’s commercial team supporting SME customers in the region.

He brings extensive banking experience to the role, having worked in the sector for 28 years working across business and commercial teams at Natwest

Roger said: “I am delighted to be joining a strong locally based team that is focused on providing outstanding customer service.

“Our relationship management teams support a wide range of SMEs but we also have specialists with knowledge in key sectors such as healthcare, leisure, professionals, real estate, financial institutions and not for profit organisations.

“We have a vision to be the favourite commercial bank and as a team we are focused on putting people at the heart of modern banking to support our customers in achieving their ambitions and growing their businesses, through providing outstanding customer service.”

Caroline Gorski, Digital Catapult

In the first of two big appointments at the government-backed Digital Catapult, Caroline Gorski has been announced as the data sharing network’s Head of Internet of Things (IoT).

The Euston-headquartered organisation is planning a big push for IoT development and adoption across the UK’s public and private sectors, and Caroline will be responsible for increasing industry awareness of the impact of IoT as well as looking at ways to get IoT projects from concept to execution.

Gorski joins the Innovate UK-backed network with over 20 years of experience as a strategy consultant, with particular focus on transforming businesses, such as Telefonica and Sodexo, through the adoption of internet-based technologies.

Commenting on her appointment, Caroline said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Digital Catapult, which is committed to making an impact in driving the UK’s digital economy, and more specifically its adoption of and leadership in the Internet of Things technologies.

“By working with the incredible talent that already exists across the country, the role provides a unique and exciting opportunity to maximise, support and amplify the nation’s capability to deliver tangible Internet of Things solutions that solve real challenges and deliver lasting impact for business, public sector and society at large.”

Andrew Carr, Chief Operating Officer at the Digital Catapult, added: “The UK has reached a critical juncture in the deployment of the Internet of Things technologies and we must be ready to maximise the incredible potential of interconnected technology.

“Caroline’s appointment will ensure the Digital Catapult and IoTUK programmes help support and work with the UK’s growing IoT sector to drive further innovation and collaboration.”

Jeremy Silver, Digital Catapult

In Digital Catapult’s second big appointment of the month, the data sharing network has appointed Jeremy Silver as its Chief Executive Officer.

Assuming the role from June, the author, investor and business mentor brings a wealth of experience including the role of CEO at Sibelius Software and Executive Chair of Semetric Ltd as well as having held senior positions at Virgin Records and EMI.

He takes over from departing CEO Neil Crockett, and will be charged with growing the organisation’s network of UK data sharing centres and SMEs.

Jeremy Silver commented: “I’m delighted to be taking on the leadership of the Digital Catapult. The UK continues to be transformed in radical ways by the stream of digital innovation coming from academia, start-ups and larger companies.

“I’m excited to be able to help grow the Catapult’s contribution to accelerating that process through encouraging and increasing the responsible sharing of data.

“Other new areas such as blockchain, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, offer further opportunities for digital innovation. They can capture the public imagination and offer great commercial prospects for the UK in global markets.

He added: “Neil Crockett has done a really impressive job in establishing the Digital Catapult; I’m very much looking forward to taking up the baton and working with the team, so that together we can drive these achievements forward and on to the next level.”

Casey Phillips, Shelley Sandzer

Casey Phillips has been promoted to Partner at leisure property specialists Shelley Sandzer, agents behind high-profile restaurant entrants such as Five Guys and Xtend Barre.

Casey, who has spent six years with the firm working with national and branded restaurant operators on site requirements and group expansions, has built up an ‘enviable reputation’ as an ‘acquisition expert’ according Joint Managing Partner Nick Weir.

Nick added: “He has obtained an excellent understanding and knowledge of the leisure sector and has represented a wide range of operators, developers and investors. His promotion to Partner at Shelley Sandzer reflects his indispensable role within the leisure team and the growth of the company as a whole.”

Casey added: “I love working for Shelley Sandzer. The atmosphere is inimitable, and in terms of servicing our clients, our agency and professional team is unrivalled. I am thrilled and honoured to be a part of the company’s foundations and future as it continues to grow from strength to strength.”

Richard Crowder, LCP

Property firm LCP, who specialise in assets in the Central London area, have appointed experienced FTSE 250 chairman Richard Crowder as non-executive director of its quoted residential funds.

Richard brings extensive experience of structuring businesses, growing securities, banking and investment following roles at a range of prestigious firms across the world, including the Singapore office of asset firm Schroders.

Naomi Heaton, Chief Executive Officer of LCP, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Richard to our funds’ board of directors. He is a high-calibre appointment with extremely relevant experience in global investment and diversified asset classes.

“As pioneers of residential property funds in the UK, LCP has positioned itself at the forefront of the private rented sector. Our funds have gone from strength to strength, continuing to post outstanding results, and Richard will further reinforce the quality of our offering.”

Commenting on his appointed Richard said: “Having held non-executive directorships for multiple companies and global family offices, I regularly look for companies with specialist knowledge and diversification opportunities.

He added: “I believe the funds provide a solid platform to shape the future of this sector and am delighted to be joining the funds’ boards to support LCP during this next exciting period of its expansion.”

Jesse Mosebye, LendInvest

Online mortgage lender LendInvest has announced the appointment of Jesse Mosebye, former fund distributor at Canada’s Scotiabank.

Jesse joins the firm’s fund management and advisory division, LendInvest Capital, and will work closely with Carl Giannotta, Associate Director, in managing the group’s two discretionary funds which total over £85m.

He joins after five years at the Canadian bank’s European Capital Introductions team, where he built up the financial firm’s relationship with hedge fund and asset management clients.

Rod Lockhart, Managing Director of LendInvest Capital, commented: “Jesse joins LendInvest Capital at an exciting time when interest is surging from investors attracted to our income-led, low volatility investment proposition.

“Jesse’s experience is a great fit for the LendInvest Capital team and his investor network complements our existing relationships very well.”

Andrew King, EDM Group

EDM Group, the business process and management provider, have appointed Andrew King as their new Chief Executive Officer.

He joins from global firm KPMG where he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Corporates, Government and Private Equity as well as Director of Bidding.

Andrew has also previously held roles at global outsourcing firm G4S and workflow solutions firm Xerox, and will be tasked with bringing this experience to bear as EDM plots the next stage of growth for its technology platforms for the mortgage, insurance, automotive and public sectors.

Following his appointment, the new CEO said: “EDM is a company with a great reputation for delivering quality digital solutions to larger organisations such as Nationwide and HMRC while still being agile enough to meet the very specific and diverse needs of companies across multiple sectors.

“The combination of forthcoming regulation governing data management, the digitisation agenda in the public sector and the need for financial institutions to respond to competition from challenger brands is creating a fantastic opportunity for EDM to help organisations digitise processes to deliver both efficiency and innovation.”

Sam Ferguson, Group Chief Executive Officer and President, added: “We are delighted to welcome Andrew to EDM as CEO of our UK business and member of the Group Board.

“He has the ideal combination of commercial, operational and management experience to lead the UK team through its next period of growth, particularly with our increased focus on driving the digital agenda for our clients.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →