This week's Yorkshire appointments

The latest roundup of appointments from across Yorkshire.

Phil Morrison, Clarion

Phil Morrison has been appointed as head of Clarion’s new construction team; he is the fourth partner to join the firm’s property practice.

With over 25 years of experience, Phil joins from Shulmans where he was head of construction for the last five years.

Dual qualified in English and Scottish Law, and has a strong track record advising large private and public-sector bodies and all parties involved in the construction industry.

Phil’s expertise includes providing commercial advice concerning procurement, development agreements, building contracts, such as JCT, FIDIC, and PFI contracts, subcontracts, professional team appointments and collateral warranties.

He will work closely with colleagues in commercial property and with the banking and finance team on development finance projects.

Martin Grange, partner and head of property at Clarion, said: “With the commercial property market in Yorkshire continuing to be very active, we are launching a new construction arm to extend our support to clients in this specialist area of law.

“One of Clarion’s key strengths is the way in which our specialist teams are able to draw on expertise from one another, and with Phil’s in-depth knowledge of construction law, we are confident that he will make a valuable contribution.”

Frank Yates and Shani Hutton, RGW

A vehicle contract hire firm has added to its team with the appointment of two new staff members.

The new appointments, made with the support of Yorkshire recruitment consultancy, Glu Recruit, sees RGW bolster its sales team.

Frank Yates has joined the firm as a sales consultant, whilst Shani Hutton has joined as a sales administrator.

Established in 2016, the appointments come following a sustained period of growth for the Sheffield-based firm. The team has grown from one to nine and turnover has increased by 78 per cent.

Graham Waller, director at RGW Vehicle Contracts, said: “We’ve recently undergone a period of increased growth, and these new appointments will enable us to continue on our growth trajectory.

“We’re delighted to welcome Frank and Shani to the team. We would also like to thank Glu for their support in appointing the right people to the roles, and are positive that we now have the ideal new candidates to help us achieve our business objectives.”

Mike Hamilton; Natalie Antonopoulos; Nikki Symons; Brooke Dawson, XSEM

Leeds-based marketing and events agency, XSEM, has added to its growing team with four new hires.

They include Mike Hamilton as client services director, Natalie Antonopoulos as marketing manager, Nikki Symons as senior creative and Brooke Dawson as business development manager.

Dan Bardgett, managing director at XSEM, said: “We’re heavily investing in our business development, marketing and creative teams in order to maintain our competitive advantage as we grow.

“We want to effectively communicate the strengths of our team from the very start of a new business relationship and our new hires are fundamental to this.

“Each new member has extensive experience and adds varied expertise to the business as we build our client offering.”

New client services director, Mike has spent many years in the hospitality industry working with the likes of Forte and DeVere. Most recently, he has worked for a selection of experiential marketing agencies including WRG, N2O and mclcreate.

With more than eight years of experience in planning and executing marketing strategies, XSEM’s new marketing manager, Natalie, has worked with a creative, fashion-based company in London, to leading FTSE 100 companies. Natalie is XSEM’s first investment into internal marketing resource and her role is to develop and grow the XSEM brand.

Nikki has brought her creative flair to XSEM, joining as senior creative. An ambitious designer with a wealth of experience in B2B and B2C markets, Nikki brings her unique skill set along with her keen eye for detail to XSEM and will be spearheading XSEM’s creative offering.

Brooke Dawson has joined XSEM as the newly appointed business development manager. This follows 10 years’ experience within senior positions in industries such as hospitality, drinks and travel.

As a result of her work, Brooke has won several prestigious sales awards for companies such as Spirit Pub Company & Flight Centre. The decision to join XSEM was based on an appreciation for the organisations ability to ‘incorporate incredible service yet encompass their core values’.

Elizabeth Aben, Pennine Business Partners

Huddersfield-based Pennine Business Partners has appointed an HR consultant to strengthen its team.

Elizabeth Aben has 12 years of management and professional HR experience. Her areas of expertise include employee relations, pay and benefits, recruitment and HR strategy.

As a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), she brings a commercial focus to the role gained whilst working for blue-chip companies including Ernst & Young and PWC.

Elizabeth will look after key construction, manufacturing and third sector clients in Pennine Business Partners’ portfolio.

This autumn, she will host free seminars at the company’s headquarters at Lockwood House, Huddersfield, for anyone wanting to learn more about HR matters.

Elizabeth said: “I was attracted to the role with Pennine Business Partners because I immediately identified with their professionalism and client-focused approach.

“I’m looking forward to the variety of work and clients I will be working with, which I am sure will keep me on my toes!”

Lynn Bradley, director of Pennine Business Partners, added: “We are delighted to have Elizabeth on board. She started out her career in general management before moving into HR, so like the rest of our team, she brings the practical experience to apply to her HR skills in the real world.”

Garry Levitt, thebigword

Language services provider, thebigword has appointed an industry leader as chief revenue officer to tackle the group’s global growth and customer success programme.

Garry Levitt has significant international experience in leadership positions in the customer experience, globalisation and localisation sectors and particularly strong expertise in multilingual content services and technologies.

He was formerly vice president for sales at Welocalize, the provider of multilingual content to the world’s largest companies, and a member of the group’s global leadership team.

Previously, he also held a succession of senior roles at SDL, the multinational language translation and content management company, including vice president of alliances for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

At thebigword, Garry Levitt will be responsible for growing the group’s translation and interpreting business, which serves many of the world’s biggest and best-known brands and a number of major departments within the UK and US governments.

He will also be responsible for building new language service partnerships with multinational corporations.

Nihat Arkan, global chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to welcome Garry Levitt to thebigword family.

“He is an international executive of the highest calibre and brings significant experience and expertise and a proven track record to our business.

“This will be invaluable as we strive to become a top-five language services provider.”

Larry Gould, founder and executive chairman, said: “Garry Levitt’s appointment completes the strengthening and reorganization of the board, a programme we have been undertaking over the last six months.

“The growth opportunities for thebigword are tremendous and we look forward to bringing Garry Levitt on board for the next stage of our exciting journey.”

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