This week's North East appointments

Your latest roundup of appointments from across the region is here.

Alan Welby, North East LEP

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has appointed a new innovation director.

Alan Welby will lead the LEP’s innovation programme, which aims to drive delivery of key programmes and stimulate investment in innovation and its ecosystem in the North East of England.

Alan joins the LEP from Liverpool John Moores University, where he was director of research, innovation and partnerships, and was responsible for the delivery and management of a £25.7m annual programme of community, commercial and collaborative activity.

He said: “I am delighted to join the LEP as Innovation Director. I am very pleased to be working back in the North East and am looking forward to delivering results.

“I have always wanted to make a positive difference and this role will allow me to do so as innovation is so important when it comes to competing in a global economy.”

As innovation director, he will also play a pivotal role in helping to deliver the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP).

Mark Humphreys, Handelsbanken

Handelsbanken, a local relationship bank for businesses and individuals, has appointed Mark Humphreys to manage its successful branch in Tynemouth.

Having joined Handelsbanken as corporate manager 12 years ago and with over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, Mark is well placed to lead the Tynemouth branch, which opened in September 2016 and is located on Manor Road.

Mark Humphreys commented: “It’s a real privilege to join the team here and be responsible for serving North Tyneside and the local Tynemouth community in this way.

“The whole team is committed to building upon our unique local relationship banking approach to more and more businesses and individuals in the area.

“We are a team of time-served and experienced bankers with the power to make the decisions that matter to our customers, swiftly and sensibly here in the local branch.”

Originally from Sweden, Handelsbanken now has over 800 branches in more than 20 countries and was named the world’s third safest commercial bank, by Global Finance magazine.

Steve McNicol, Ward Hadaway

Law firm, Ward Hadaway has appointed Steve McNicol as its new strategic business development partner.

Bringing with him over two decades of experience in the legal sector, Steve will lead Ward Hadaway’s business development strategy and growth activities from its headquarters in Newcastle across the firm’s three offices.

Having been managing partner at Muckle LLP for almost 12 years and then taking responsibility for client and strategic development there, Steve said that the time was right to embark on the next chapter of his career.

He said: “The opportunity to lead Ward Hadaway’s business development strategy and to work alongside the team here is very exciting indeed.

“There is an overwhelming feeling of ambition and enthusiasm across the business that has been evident from the very start of our discussions. The firm already has a superb reputation and the very fact that the partners are exploring different ways to build on that is really compelling.”

Steve, from Hexham, Northumberland, will work with colleagues to maintain and build on already strong client relationships, create new opportunities whilst developing the firm’s profile, ensuring that client servie remains a ‘distinguishing’ feature of the business.

Harry Hobson; Stuart Grieve, Muckle

Independent law firm for businesses, Muckle LLP has appointed two new solicitors to its corporate team.

Harry Hobson and Stuart Grieve have joined Muckle LLP’s corporate team, already ranked top in the North of England by independent researchers, Legal 500 UK.

Harry Hobson, who completed his graduate diploma in law at Northumbria University, has joined Muckle from the Leeds office of Squire Patton Boggs.

Stuart Grieve is experienced in corporate finance matters and has spent time at regional and national law firms before joining Muckle.

Harry said: “I grew up in the North East and have always felt a great connection with the region. I wanted to join Muckle because it has an excellent reputation within the North East and throughout the UK.

“It is totally committed to the region and passionate about advancing the North East socially, culturally and economically.”

Stuart added: “The reputation that Muckle has in terms of delivering the highest level of service and developing lasting relationships with both clients and business partners meant that the opportunity to join this award winning corporate team was too good to turn down.”

Jonathan Rudge, Bradley Hall

North East property firm, Bradley Hall has welcomed the head of its new department as the company continues its expansion.

Jonathan Rudge has been appointed as head of its land, development and new homes team.

Jonathan, a former partner at international consultancy Cushman and Wakefield, will oversee all of Bradley Hall’s strategic and site-specific development advice to occupiers, investors, developers and public policy makers.

His appointment will also see the launch of the company’s land, development and new homes department which has been introduced to continue and grow the firm’s ability to provide specialist advisory services to property developers and house builders of all sizes.

Jonathan said: “This is an exciting time for the region’s land, development and new homes sector, and an equally significant time for Bradley Hall as it continues growing its success and business.

“I am delighted to be joining the team of such a reputable firm which is dedicated to the development of the North East property sector.

“The demand for new housing and current activity in the regional market means that such services are highly required, and we have already hit the ground running and have a number of exciting projects underway.”

Helen Stewart, Calm Digital

Helen Stewart, former head of business development for Teesside software firm, Calm Digital, has been appointed as a new director to help develop new business relationships and support organic growth.

Since joining the Calm Digital team in March 2016, Helen has been focused on providing clients with cutting edge digital solutions for their business.

With 13 years of digital experience, Helen was ‘perfectly suited’ for the role, having experienced the client side of the business and of managing digital teams and client projects alike.

In her new position, Helen will take responsibility for expanding Calm Digital’s reach nationally, internationally and globally.

She said: “Calm are highly specialised in our sector, the team’s ability and expertise is second to none.

“My aim is to motivate growth and ensure we have the strategy in place to make it successful. It’s a very exciting time and I’m privileged that I’m involved at director level at this stage of the journey.”

Emma Saunders; Lewis Couth; Aimee Hubbard, Sintons

Sintons has appointed three new senior figures, bringing on ‘significant growth’.

The team has taken on two associates and one senior associate to add further expertise and capability to the department.

Emma Saunders, Lewis Couth and Aimee Hubbard all have their own expertise areas.

Emma is a well-known contentious probate and disputed dourt of protection specialist, while Lewis is a specialist in intellectual property (IP) and property disputes. Aimee covers a host of areas including professional negligence.

Angus Ashman, head of the dispute resolution department at Sintons, said: “Emma, Lewis and Aimee have all been superb additions to our team and are helping to grow our reputation even further.

“We are well known as being leaders in our field in the North East and we attract work from clients across the country.

“We have seen a significant increase in caseload in the past few months and have the resource and capability to continue to grow. We are able to handle the most complex of disputes and have the experience, and indeed the expertise, to do so.”

Kelly Adamson, Tetrad

Fast growing recruitment specialist, Tetrad, has appointed recruitment employment confederation (REC) North East director, Kelly Adamson, to its board as chief executive officer.

Kelly’s professional career spans strategic HR and recruitment, the last 18 years of which was concentrated on specialist, niche appointments.

Founded in early 2017 by entrepreneur, Neil Stephenson, Tetrad saw a gap in the market to offer specialist recruitment support for sales, marketing and tech roles, nationwide.

Kelly, who was appointed North East regional director of the REC in 2008, a role that sees her act as spokesperson on matters such as skills, said: “Tetrad is a highly defined model, focussing on being an expert in sales, marketing and tech roles. We are seeing demand from businesses looking to scale up in these areas and are in need of our proven expertise.

“Many have a growing reputation in the private equity market and have a desire and commitment to help their investee companies to grow faster. I have vast experience working in niche sectors and built two businesses of my own, so I fully understand the challenges growing businesses face, especially around scaleup.”

From its restored grade 2 listed offices in historic Ward Jackson Park, Hartlepool, Tetrad has a growing customer base spread across the North. These include Redu Ltd in Seaham, fast growing tech and social business, Infinium IT, based in the North West and Teesside tech business, Phusion IM.

Chairman, Neil Stephenson, added: “Kelly has more than 20 years of experience and we are delighted to have someone of her calibre leading the business. Kelly brings a reputation for delivering excellence and has a real passion for growth.

“We are disrupting a traditional market and establishing a reputation for helping organisations to find talent that can help them to deliver improved sales and more visible and accountable marketing.”

Louise Miller, Mincoffs Solicitors

Newcastle law firm, Mincoffs Solicitors has promoted wills and probate specialist, Louise Miller to partner.

Nottingham-born Louise, a graduate of Northumbria University, qualified as a solicitor in 2006.

She previously worked for firms including Bywaters Topham & Phillips and Hadaway and Hadaway before joining Mincoffs Solicitors as head of wills, probate and trusts in 2011.

Louise has particular expertise in advising on wills, estate planning, trusts, probate, powers of attorney and court of protection matters and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Her promotion takes the number of partners at the firm to 10 and she is the third partner to be appointed in the past 18 months.

Louise said: “I am delighted to become a partner having enjoyed playing a part in Mincoffs’ growth over a number of years and I look forward to further strengthening our offering.”

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