This week's Yorkshire appointments

Liam Douglas and Paul McCarron have been appointed as senior relationship managers, commercial banking at NatWest.

They will both be focussed on managing a portfolio of large SME businesses across South Yorkshire and will be based at NatWest’s offices in St Paul’s Place Sheffield.

Liam has moved into the role from Williams & Glyn, and Paul has been working for NatWest as part of the bank’s business team supporting smaller SMEs.

Both have several years experience supporting a range of businesses in South Yorkshire.

Craig Gray, director of commercial banking at NatWest, said: “I am delighted that we are able to continue to support our local growth plans with two excellent appointments of these experienced, high quality individuals.”

Natasha Rogerson, The Yorkshire Mafia

The Yorkshire Mafia (YM), one of the largest networks of senior professionals in the country, has appointed Natasha Rogerson as business development executive.

Natasha, formerly working on behalf of Google, will extend the relationships that the YM has with many businesses throughout the country, while educating and explaining the benefits that a group with more than 22,000 pre-approved LinkedIn members and a network of advocates can deliver for organisations of all sizes.

Natasha commented: “I’m really pleased to have joined the business at such an exciting time. Having the opportunity to work on huge events like Buy Yorkshire and Leeds Business Week, as well as building relationships with so many influential Yorkshire businesses is going to be a challenge, but I can’t wait to get started!”

With the group preparing to bring Buy Yorkshire, the largest business-to-business event in the North, back to Leeds in the new year, alongside organising its year-round schedule of networking events, Natasha’s appointment has come at a crucial time.

Kate Hutchinson, general manager at the YM, said: “With the growing success of Leeds Business Week and Buy Yorkshire, as well as our expanding schedule of drinks evenings, we’re looking forward to welcoming a much-needed extra pair of hands to the team.

“Natasha’s experience made her the perfect candidate for the role and we know that she’ll fit right in.”

Helen Beaumont (pictured) and Magdalena Ions, Truth Legal

Truth Legal, the Harrogate-based law firm, is enhancing its personal injury offering with two new appointments.

A new senior solicitor together with a specialist paralegal have joined the ten-strong team at the firm, which has celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer.

Helen Beaumont has over 20 years’ legal experience and has joined the personal injury team at the firm’s offices at Princes Square, Harrogate. The firm also has virtual offices in York, Manchester and London.

Helen Beaumont has worked at law firms based in Leeds, Harrogate and York. In a previous role, Helen helped secure £5m in damages for a client who was a stockbroker who suffered life-changing injuries following a road traffic accident.

Magdalena Ions has also joined the team as a legal assistant. Originally from Poland, Magdalena will work closely with Mirek Ksiezarek, who joined Truth Legal as a legal assistant in August 2014 and has been involved in providing legal advice to the Polish community in the UK since 2008.

Founded in 2012 in Harrogate by solicitor Andrew Gray, Truth Legal specialises in a number of areas including personal injury, clinical and professional negligence and employment law.

Andrew Gray said: “This is an exciting period of growth for the Truth Legal team and we are pleased to welcome Helen and Magdalena.

“Helen is an extremely experienced and tenacious solicitor. 2017 is a key year for us as we reached the five-year milestone and it’s a great achievement to further expand the team year on year.

“Magdalena will help provide invaluable support in offering a specialist service to the Polish community, an area in which we are building a particularly strong national reputation largely due to Mirek’s experience.

“Both Helen and Magdalena are great at advising clients and helping them to achieve the best possible outcomes in their individual cases.”

Max Clark (far left), Meghan McMurrough and Danielle Fleming, Absolute Commercial Interiors

Absolute Commercial Interiors, the Harrogate-based commercial interior specialist, has recruited a further three new team members taking the total team to 22.

Phil Brown, owner of Absolute Commercial Interiors, explained: “2017 is Absolute Commercial Interiors’ eleventh year in business and it has definitely been one to remember. Our client base has grown significantly and it’s been an incredibly busy year.

“We are confident that this growth will continue into 2018 so our latest recruits will ensure we have the talent within the team to service our clients and give them the interior design skills they require.”

The newest team members include operations director, Max Clark. Max has worked primarily on high-end commercial and residential fit-outs for interiors firms including Lucas.

Max explained: “Getting the right work-life balance was crucial when making the move to Absolute Commercial Interiors. We have great clients and challenging projects to work on and I get to walk home at the end of the day.”

Meghan McMurrough is the latest person to join the team and has taken the role of design manager.

Meghan added: “I wanted a new challenge and to work with existing buildings and interiors. The team at Absolute are so passionate about what they do it’s a great environment to use my existing skills and develop new ones.”

Danielle Fleming has joined the team as a designer. She was also drawn to Absolute Commercial Interiors for the work-life balance the business offers.

Danielle commented: “After graduating from York St. John University I moved to Bath to gain experience in Interior Design and build my portfolio as a designer.

“However, I am getting married next year and my partner and I wanted to relocate to closer to home – we are both from Yorkshire. Absolute Commercial Interiors has a great reputation within the industry.”

Mike Roberts, Independent Print Industries Association

The managing director of a Leeds-based print management firm has been appointed as the new chairman of the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA).

Mike Roberts, who is the managing director of PMG Print Management, will play a key role in rolling out the IPIA’s new accreditation scheme in 2018, as well as raising awareness of the association amongst sector stakeholders.

Mike has been a council member for the IPIA for a number of years and will now serve as chairman in what will be a two-year tenure.

He will work alongside IPIA chief executive Marian Stefani and replaces Kath Doran who previously held the position.

Founded in 1990, the IPIA was formed as a not-for-profit association focussed on helping its members from the print industry grow and develop their businesses.

Today, the IPIA delivers ongoing backing to its 130-strong member base through a series of networking events, workshops and support services.

Mike has worked in the print industry for more than 30 years, having started as an apprentice paste-up artist when he left school at 16. Mike has served as PMG Print Management’s managing director for the last 14 years and before this, held positions at Alastair McIntosh Ltd and Hardy Business Forms.

Marian Stefani, chief executive of the IPIA, commented: “Mike brings a wealth of experience to the role built up through a career of over 30 years as a leading figure in the industry.

“His expertise will be extremely valuable in ensuring the continued success of the IPIA as we move forward and I look forward to working with him.”

Chris Lim, PowerON

An IT specialist with almost 14 years’ industry experience has been appointed by York-based IT automation specialist PowerON.

Chris Lim joins from specialist software vendor and Microsoft system centre specialist Cireson, where he was the EMEA sales and partner manager.

Chris will be responsible for driving product development and building partner alliances.

Phil Mercer, solutions and services director at PowerON, said: “Chris brings a wealth of experience across the product management lifecycle, with his key focus being on customer experience. His skills will ensure we grow and continue to deliver excellence to our customers.

“Chris’s job will be to develop the software side of our business, expanding our services here in the UK, but also into the European and US markets as first target areas.

“Responsible for product development at PowerON, Chris will assist this expansion whilst we remain wholeheartedly committed to our core product and service offerings.”

Chris added: “I’m fortunate to have experience in solution integration, managed services, the license solution partner world, and most recently in the integrated software vendor landscape across EMEA.

“With such a dynamic change in both the Microsoft cloud solutions and global partner ecosystem, it’s going to be an exciting challenge to develop PowerON’s subscription software business from its core expertise and knowledge.”

PowerON has seen its turnover double to almost £2m since its inception three years ago, following contract wins in both the public and private sectors.

The firm also has offices in Lincolnshire and Surrey and provides IT management and cloud automation solutions to organisations of all sizes across the UK.

Sophie Joelle, The Angels Events

The Angels Events, a Harrogate-based events company, has appointed a new marketing manager.

Sophie Joelle joins with over three years’ experience in PR and marketing, having previously worked for digital agencies in PR and content roles.

Her role will include implementing a 360° marketing strategy to raise brand awareness, increase media presence and engage potential new clients.

Eleanor Richardson, founder of The Angels Events, said: “Having worked with clients to create private events right through to large-scale activations for national brands, we’re truly the industry’s best kept secret and it’s now time for The Angels Events to spread our wings and shout about the fantastic work we do.

“We’re expanding the team in line with our business growth, and we’re delighted to welcome Sophie as our newest member.”

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