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This week's North East appointments

A roundup of the latest appointments from across the North East.

Michael Stevens, Square One Law

Square One Law has welcomed seasoned business services lawyer, Michael Stevens, to the firm as a consultant to help Commercial Partner, Helen Brain, develop its Commercial Team.

He has over 20 years’ extensive experience supporting Executive Boards and Operational Teams at listed companies, equity and venture capital houses, private companies and partnerships.

Michael was formerly a partner in Walker Morris LLP, a Top 50 UK Law Firm, and was independently-ranked in both Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

On joining the firm, he commented: “It’s a real privilege to be involved with such a dynamic and radically different law firm, which puts clients first and at the heart of what it does.

“Square One Law is passionate about supporting its clients and developing its services and Helen and her growing team have the skills, commitment and drive to offer the highest quality commercial legal services to new and existing clients.

“I’m relishing the opportunity to contribute to the development of the team and to being involved in what will be an exciting new phase for the firm.”

Sally Hart & Donna Cheney, George F. White

George F. White, the land, business and property Group, has made two senior appointments within the business in a move that will bolster its strategic growth.

Sally Hart, previously Head of Communications at the Group, has been promoted to Operations Director, where she will steer the performance and delivery within the George F. White business. Her role involves setting growth objectives across every arm of the business, including GFW Letting, the Group’s letting agency, which operates as a separate entity.

Donna Cheney has been recruited as GFW Letting’s Regional Operations Manager, following extensive experience in the residential letting sector. Predominantly, Donna will focus on building and developing the established letting business to help meet the agency’s five-year performance and revenue targets.

Talking about the appointments, Robyn Peat, Managing Partner at George F. White, said: “The George F. White Group puts its clients and its people at the heart of everything it does and the team is always committed to delivering high quality professional work, whatever their discipline.

“The people-led ethos has provided the ideal environment for the team to grow as individuals and lead as members of the senior management team. It has enabled Sally personally to rise up through the ranks and also help us to attract a high calibre professional in Donna.”

Powerhouse Software

Newcastle-based software studio Powerhouse Software has enhanced its team of designers and developers by welcoming 4 new members.

Formed in 2015, the company’s mission is to help small businesses overcome everyday workplace obstacles through efficient and effective software solutions.

After a successful investment bid, the company were able to expand their team. Collaborating with a local training and resource provider, they appointed 3 junior developers and a designer.

David Todd, Creative Lead, said: “A lot of companies struggle to find skilled developers, but with the help of our partner, DevAcademy, we were able to meet with some very talented and passionate people.

“We’re really pleased to have the new members join us at this exciting time in the business, with new products about to launch and further ideas for platforms in the pipeline.”

“We’re busy readying our first product, a mileage tracking platform, which is due to launch in the coming weeks. The platform is designed to make tracking business mileage for teams and individuals as easy as tapping ‘go’, and it’s something we’re really proud of.

“With the expansion of our team, we can continue our ambitious plans for growth and further product development.”

Tom Leslie, James Design

Newcastle-based business James Design has employed graduate Tom Leslie, thanks to financial support from an European-funded project managed by Northumbria University.

The company, which designs and makes a wide variety of high quality, made-to-order furniture for business and domestic customers, recently recruited Tom as an intern through the NEBS project.

Owner Nick James said: “The NEBS project from Northumbria is extremely useful, both for me as a small business able to take on talented staff like Tom, and for the graduates themselves looking for the right opportunity and experience.

New graduates will generally have excellent design skills and capabilities, but they may not have had much industry experience. What NEBS provides is some much needed breathing space for an employer to train and develop a new recruit properly, without the financial pressure to deliver an immediate return. This is far more sustainable and can help build a more secure long future for the graduates.

Commenting on his experience as an intern, Tom added: “It can be a struggle to secure a paid internship position within the creative industries, so the support from NEBs really does open doors. Working at James Design is a fantastic opportunity, allowing me to apply my own skills and develop my own designs.”

David Blyth and Martin Blight, Surgo Construction

Contractor Surgo Construction has announced new additions to its Board in the form of David Blyth and Martin Blight.

David, will assume the role of commercial director with responsibility for a team of four. While Martin has been appointed as estimating director and is responsible for a team of five.

The move is a key part of Surgo’s management and succession strategy and it is likely that further appointments will be made in the coming months and years

Speaking about these latest promotions, Surgo’s managing director, James Walker, said: “I’m delighted to make this announcement. During their time with the company both David and Martin have made a significant contribution to the success of Surgo Construction and their appointment to the board is a clear reflection of that.

“As we continue to win work and deliver a wide range of projects, this will assist in our continued efforts to challenge existing processes and methods to exceed our clients’ expectations. “

Ellen Deboeck, Crowne Plaza

One of Newcastle’s newest hotels, the Crowne Plaza, has appointed Ellen Deboeck as its new General Manager.

Ellen, who hails from Brussels, has 25 years’ hospitality management experience from across the world, including positions across the Caribbean and Europe.

Hailing from Leuven in central Belgium, Ellen – who has worked for Crowne Plaza parent company InterContinental Hotels Group for nearly five years - has now made Newcastle her home.

She said: “Crowne Plaza Newcastle is a fantastic hotel that is the anchor for the regeneration of the Stephenson Quarter here in Newcastle.

“I made several trips here before starting the job in February and I know the venue has something special about it.

“The team here is very committed and enthusiastic, which reflects the wider North East spirit.

“We have a great building and facilities here at Crowne Plaza Newcastle and it’s important our brilliant staff have exactly the right support to be able to deliver for our guests.”

Shaun Oakes, NELEP

Shaun Oakes, managing director of Newcastle-based biometric company ievo, is the latest regional business leader to join the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) Enterprise Adviser initiative.

Shaun will work with staff and pupils at The Hermitage Academy, Chester le Street, to improve careers education and support the Academy in working towards the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks, a national pilot scheme led by the North East LEP to improve the quality of careers advice in schools and colleges.

Working strategically with senior leaders at The Hermitage Academy to shape the quality of careers provision, Shaun joins a long list of leading North East business people who have become Enterprise Advisers.

Shaun said: “As a local employer I know there is a wealth of talent in the North East and what we’re hoping to achieve through the partnership with The Hermitage Academy is for students to gain an understanding of the type of skills employers in our region are looking for.

“It’s important students know that the subject choices they make in school have a direct impact on their chosen career path. We’ll be using our own management team at ievo as case studies to demonstrate pathways into various jobs, from marketing and computing to sales and project management.

“Practical sessions on interview skills and cover letter writing will help students understand it’s not just academic achievements businesses are looking for. We’ll be championing the importance of work experience and apprenticeships as really valuable routes to employment.”

David Greasley, Omega Plastics

North East plastic injection moulding and tooling firm Omega Plastics has appointed David Greasley as a project estimating engineer.

In this role, Dave will be responsible for handling enquiries from both new and existing customers and providing quotes for projects across all of the market sectors Omega operates in, including automotive, medical, defence and FMCG.

With over 30 years’ experience within the manufacturing industry, including development and prototyping in the automotive sector, Dave’s appointment has come at a critical time for the business as it pushes towards reaching its annual growth target.

David said: “Having been a customer of Omega Plastics during my working life in the North East, I already had a really strong working relationship with the company, so I was delighted to be offered the chance to work for them at this incredibly exciting time.”

Holly Shiel-Redfern, Explain Market Research

Holly Shiel-Redfern, former Operations Manager at George F. White, has been appointed as Explain Market Research’s new Commercial Director.

The regional market research company specialises in providing insights across the utilities, finance, housing, public and healthcare sectors.

Commenting on her appointment, Holly said: “I am delighted to join Explain Market Research. Explain has an exceptional history of delivering for clients across the private and public sector.”

“Explain demonstrates all the components of a successful forward thinking business. The team are committed to developing and delivering added value for clients, and have a fantastic opportunity to grow; it’s great to be part of it.”

Kim Davis, Managing Director, added: “The appointment of Holly to our team is testament to our commitment to grow Explain. Holly’s experience in growing businesses in new sectors will help position Explain and enable the team to deliver on our growth plan.”

“With the addition of Holly to the team, we will develop and identify opportunities which will add significant value, enabling us to continue to develop our approach and provide insights to new and existing clients.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointment news.

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