This week's North East appointments

Emily Broughton, Roberts Environmental

Roberts Environmental, the Newcastle-based geo-environmental consultancy firm, has appointed Emily Broughton as graduate consultant.

Emily graduated from Northumbria University in 2016 with a degree in geography and environmental management, and went on to complete a Masters in environmental engineering at Newcastle University.

Roberts Environmental offered her a full-time job on the back of a work experience placement.

Emily’s role will focus on phase-I environmental reports, due diligence reports, phase-II site investigations and coal mining risk assessments.

She said: “I was particularly keen to work with a firm specialising in contaminated land and site investigation and after a short work placement with Roberts Environmental I was delighted to be offered a permanent post.

“I am joining the firm at a very exciting time of growth and look forward to working on projects throughout the country.”

MD and founder Jeff Roberts commented: “Emily will be a great addition to our team and we are very pleased she has now joined us on a permanent basis.

“She will be able to help us in a number of areas and as a firm we can give her a good range of experience to set her up well for her career.”

Arlene Atkinson, Armstrong Watson

Armstrong Watson, the accountancy and advisory firm, has announced the appointment of an audit and assurance director at its Hexham office.

Arlene Atkinson, who trained as a chartered accountant at Moore Stephens Belfast, moved to Newcastle in 2006 and has since worked for accounting giant KPMG.

Her career has seen her assisting international groups and owner-managed businesses across sectors including energy, utilities, transport, manufacturing, wholesale, health and education.

She said: “I was keen to join Armstrong Watson as they are a very ambitious firm, with strong growth plans and a unique offering, targeting owner-managed family businesses but with all the skills that you’d expect of the Big Four.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to use the breadth and depth of my knowledge and experience to assist in the growth of the audit and assurance practice and the wider Armstrong Watson positioning in Hexham and across the North.”

Andrew Robinson, lead partner at the Hexham office, commented: “From the first meeting with Arlene it was clear her passion and enthusiasm would be a real asset to Armstrong Watson, bringing with her a wealth of ideas and experience which will definitely be beneficial to our team and clients.”

Mandy Charlton, The Inspire Network

North East women’s networking group The Inspire Network has appointed its first ever chief executive.

The organisation launched Inspire Network International Limited after running as a not-for-profit for eight years, as it looks to become an international organisation and set up Inspire groups all over the world.

Mandy Charlton, a Newcastle photographer and blogger, will lead the expansion.

She said: “15 years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and agoraphobia. Despite this I set up Mandy Charlton Photography with one camera and £250 and have since become one of the most successful photographers in the North East.

“I wanted to connect to people who were in a similar position to me and I was naturally drawn toward business women who seemed calm, composed and in control. I heard about a local networking meeting which was child friendly, I went along and it’s led to great friendships with women who share similar issues to me.”

The group went on to become the Inspire Network and extend its membership to all women, regardless of whether they have children or not.

Mandy continued: “It’s tough building any business and as a woman it can be even tougher with running a household and bringing up children, requiring great skill to juggle effectively. Add to this my battle with mental health issues and sometimes it can feel like guerrilla warfare.”

Mandy’s vision for the new business is to make it a profitable, global brand with philanthropic and supportive values at its heart.

Image L-R: Mike McGoldrick, Richard Steedman, Adam Finch and Jonathan Reeder Scott

Richard Steedman and Jonathan Reeder Scott, Eddisons

Property consultancy Eddisons has taken on two building surveyors at its Newcastle office.

Richard Steedman joined the company from national building consultants AA Projects. His experience is in design and project management, particularly in the education sector.

Jonathan Reeder Scott will work at Eddisons for 18 months in the role of assistant building surveyor, after which he will return to Northumbria University for the final year of his building surveying degree.

The pair will work alongside associate director and chartered building surveyor Adam Finch, who established Eddisons’ Newcastle base in January 2017, and colleague Mike McGoldrick.

Adam said: “We are really pleased to welcome Richard and Jonathan to the Eddisons team. Their skills complement those of our current people and they will both play vital roles in delivering an increased number of professional surveys and building projects, most notably for our clients in the education sector.

“Richard is highly experienced in working in close professional partnership with schools and this is invaluable to the careful and successful management of projects in the ‘live environment’ of a school or college.”

He continued: “Education is a highly rewarding sector to work in and, as a key area of growth for us, we are continuing to build our in-house expertise and will be making further appointments throughout 2018.”

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