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This week's North East appointments

The latest appointments from across the North East.

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Dr Stan Higgins, ITS Ltd

Middlesbrough technology business ITS Ltd has appointed Teesside business champion Dr Stan Higgins as a non-executive director.

Dr Higgins, who recently stood down from his role as CEO of NEPIC (North East Process Industry Cluster), has a well-known track record in the region having worked with a host of international businesses over a career spanning almost five decades.

Early in his career, Dr Higgins became managing director of Fine Chemical Company, Peboc, gaining two Queen’s Awards to Industry along the way. On divesting the company from Solvay he moved to the USA as Eastman Fine Chemical’s manufacturing director.

In 1999, he joined Laporte Fine Chemicals and following its sale to Degussa, moved to James Robinson Ltd, helping to establish new facilities in India. In 2013 Dr Higgins set up the Pharma & and Speciality cluster in the North East which in 2014 became NEPIC.

In 2017 Dr Higgins received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK Chemical Industries Association and was also honoured by the Indian chemical industry for his contribution to the work of the Indian Chemical Council.

Welcoming Dr Higgins on board, Malcolm Knott said: “Stan brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge that surpasses most people in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the UK, let alone the North East or the Tees Valley.

“I am delighted to think that we at ITS have his experience to call on. Stan’s business and technical experience is respected across the sector. Furthermore I personally look forward to being challenged to think outside the box, to consider other possibilities and to look for new growth opportunities for ITS in the coming years.”

Dr Higgins added: “ITS is hugely respected across the process and manufacturing sector for its instrumentation development and automation skills that assist its customers to drive up quality, efficiency, output and safety standards.

“I am proud to be involved with the ITS team and hope to contribute to the growth of this ambitious organisation.”

Giles McCourt, Muckle

North East law firm Muckle LLP has boosted its Real Estate team with with the appointment of associate solicitor Giles McCourt.

Giles has more than a decade’s worth of experience across the North East law sector having acted for a number of high-profile clients, including landowners, developers, investors and occupiers, both locally and nationally.

A northerner at heart, Giles attended two North East universities including Sunderland, where he was one of the first students to take the Law LLB degree course, and Northumbria University where he took his Legal Practice Course (LPC).

Speaking about his appointment, Giles said, “Naturally I’m delighted to join Muckle who have been on my radar for some time. I have seen how their reputation has steadily grown regionally and nationally and developed as a market leader over recent years and I’m looking forward to joining and working with the Real Estate team.

“I was 40 in June and this was the career move I’ve been looking for. Now I’m very much looking forward to progressing my career within this thriving business.”

Muckle Partner Will McKay, added: “Giles is a welcome addition to the real estate team here at Muckle. His professional background as a commercial property specialist combined with his knowledge of working with businesses across the North East and the rest of the UK stood out for us and he will no doubt prove to be a valuable member of our growing team.”

Oliver Earl, Ellen Dawson and Ryan Snowdon, Newcastle Building Society

Newcastle Building Society has added Oliver Earl, Ellen Dawson and Ryan Snowdon Scott to its graduate management training programme.

Northumbria University Business With Economics graduate, Oliver has joined the training programme’s Operations Management work stream, while Ellen, who is from Gateshead and holds an Accounting & Finance degree from John Moores University in Liverpool, is working in the Society’s Finance function.

Also from Gateshead, Ryan has studied Business & Marketing Management at the University of Sunderland, and is now working as part of the Society’s Marketing and Product Development team.

Each graduate has a dedicated line manager to support them in their learning, and to ensure a consistent point of contact and management throughout the programme.

Andrew Haigh, chief executive at Newcastle Building Society, said: “We created the graduate programme to help us identify and channel talented young people with the aptitude, skills and character to succeed with the Society.

“Growing and developing talent within our Society is a core element of our commitment to provide a great place to work for our colleagues.

“The training and development opportunities we’ve designed as part of this programme give our graduate recruits real opportunity to cultivate the skills and knowledge that will serve them well throughout their working lives.

“The competition for places on our graduate recruitment programme was extremely strong, and Ellen, Ryan and Oliver have already shown themselves to be exceptional individuals by successfully coming through the selection process.”

Tom Hall, Sanderson Weatherall

Chartered surveyor and property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall has strengthened its Newcastle team with the addition of three graduate surveyors, a trainee surveyor and an architectural assistant.

Tom Hall joins Sanderson Weatherall’s property management team as a graduate surveyor, having recently completed his MSc Real Estate course at Northumbria University. Prior to completing his masters course, Tom graduated with a 2:1 in History from the same university and gained property experience in agency and valuation at Gateshead Council and Lambert Smith Hampton.

Mohsin Rashid after completing his undergraduate degree commenced working in his family’s residential management business, before deciding to broaden his experience in the commercial sphere with a view to completing his APC. Mohsin will be working in the rating and regeneration team alongside Partners Richard Farr and Liz McLoughlin in the Newcastle Office.

Nick Vincent who has recently completed his MSc in Real Estate will also join the rating and regeneration team where he will be focusing on Business Rates appeals and mitigation with Richard Farr and Rob Cohen, who has recently rejoined the practice.

Hayley Anderson will be assisting Sanderson Weatherall’s North East valuation team as she completes her placement year from Northumbria University. Hayley said that she is looking forward to learning more about the role of a surveyor within a national company and hopes to gain the knowledge required to help her through her final year at university.

Lucy Gallagher joins Sanderson Weatherall’s in house architecture team as a part 2 architectural assistant after graduating from Northumbria University with a distinction in her Master of Architecture degree.

Richard Farr, head of Sanderson Weatherall’s Newcastle office commented, “The appointments further outline our continued commitment to growth and we are all really excited to welcome the newcomers to our team.

“At Sanderson Weatherall our graduates have a very high success rate when it comes to passing their assessment of professional competence (APC). Working as part of a nationally recognised company, the five new starters will be able to take advantage of our various experience, providing them with excellent foundations for the progression of their careers.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointment news.

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