This week's North East appointments

Welcome to your latest roundup of North East appointments.

Richard Ponton, Jaimie Lawton, Mark Smith, Walton Robinson

Independent property consultancy, Walton Robinson has appointed Richard Ponton, Jaimie Lawton and Mark Smith as shareholders, with Mark Smith becoming a director alongside Richard and Jaimie.

Managing director, Mark Walton now has a strong executive team to help him grow his business even further. Walton Robinson has also undergone a restructure which now combines the estate agency business with the lettings and property management business.

Mark said: “I’ve worked with Richard and Jaimie since 2001, and Mark since 2008. We have developed and diversified the business making it stronger and more adaptable.

“Walton Robinson now help clients let, sell, buy, refurbish and develop. We are constantly looking at ways to improve which is what excites us about the day-to-day operations.

Richard, Jaimie and Mark are instrumental in our future expansion plans and that is why I decided to make them directors and shareholders. It hopefully demonstrates they are valued and reassures them we are working as a team towards a common goal.“

James Holmes, North P&I Club

Newcastle-based North P&I Club appointed James Holmes as chief information officer from Greggs to drive the business IT strategy and enhance service delivery.

James Holmes joins the marine insurer as CIO after 16 years at Greggs. He will provide long-term strategic direction for the development of North’s IT and digital infrastructure.

The firm has regional offices and subsidiaries in China, Greece, Japan and Singapore, as well as Sunderland’s marine offices.

James commented: “I’m delighted to be appointed CIO and I am looking forward to utilising my previous experience in business transformation and technology to benefit the business.

“One of my priorities will be the delivery of the current business system upgrade which will see new systems and processes rolled out across the business later in the year.

“My focus moving forward will be to work with other members of the senior management team to ensure that the IT strategy supports the needs of the business”

Steve Arnold, Sweco UK

Engineering, environment and design consultancy, Sweco UK has boosted its buildings team in the North East with the appointment of Steve Arnold as project engineer.

Steve is a mechanical building services engineer with 40 years of experience.

Throughout his career, he has successfully led M&E teams undertaking the detailed design and site monitoring of building services projects across the education, residential and leisure sectors.

Grahame Kelly, operations director in Sweco’s buildings team, said: “Steve’s technical expertise and broad experience are an excellent fit for our growing portfolio of buildings projects in the north.

“We’re pleased to welcome him to the business at a very exciting time, following a range of recent appointments, including the £2.9bn Crown Commercial Service framework and the North East Procurement Organisation Framework.”

Sweco consults on major projects nationwide via its network of 15 regional offices, with recent work including the Queensferry Crossing and the Bloomberg headquarters in London, the world’s most sustainable building.

Paul Green, The Expanded Metal Company

Paul Green has returned to The Expanded Metal Company to take on a business development role, focusing on the company’s ExMesh range of security solutions.

The range offers innovative fencing systems and security products, designed to protect people, property and infrastructure from a broad array of threats.

In his role, Paul will be responsible for driving sales of the range’s products and expanding the firm’s presence within the security sector on a national and international basis.

A highly experienced sales professional, Paul has a great depth of expertise in the perimeter security sector having previously held senior level positions across sales, marketing, business development and management for national and global organisations.

Paul Green said: “The Expanded Metal Company is an innovator in expanded metal mesh and I am excited to return and to be part of an ambitious team.

“The company is renowned and recognised across the world for developing and supplying high security solutions and I am looking forward to using my industry expertise and sales experience to further drive the company’s growth in this area.”

Donna Anderson and Alex Rayner, Sintons

Law firm, Sintons has promoted two of its lawyers to become partners.

Donna Anderson and Alex Rayner have both been awarded partnership in the Newcastle- based firm, in recognition of their achievement in respective practice areas.

Leading employment lawyer, Donna, acted for major public and private sector clients across the North East and beyond, and was recently instrumental in setting up Sintons’ specialist immigration law service.

Alex, Sintons’ head of construction and engineering, has helped to grow the firm’s construction department. Following the promotion of Donna and Alex, Sintons will have 33 partners.

Mark Quigley, managing partner of Sintons, said: “Donna and Alex are outstanding lawyers in their respective fields, and through their proven track records of providing outstanding legal advice, have made a significant and valuable contribution to their departments and the firm.

“Our vision is to set the standard for legal excellence, and in doing so, to become the law firm of choice for individuals, businesses and organisations both regionally and nationally.”

Scott McGowan, Zenith People

Scott McGowan has joined Zenith People to head up its new offering within the IT sector and to build on its already established presence in the North East.

Scott’s career started in financial sales before making the move into IT recruitment seven years ago.

His consultative approach saw him build lasting relationships with clients and candidates as well as establishing his reputation in the recruitment market. Scott has recently relocated to the North East for a fresh challenge and to assist Zenith in what is a new and exciting area of growth.

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