This week's London appointments

Sherry Bennett and John Castle, SDL Auctions

Nottingham-headquartered SDL Auctions has appointed two new business development managers help grow its presence in the capital.

Sherry Bennett and John Castle will work to build relationships with estate agents in the city, which will enable them to offer their properties for sale by auction as they continue to be marketed locally.

Sherry will cover South and East London, while John will focus on estate agents in North and West London.

SDL Auctions’ national sales manager, Jason Lee, said: “We are increasingly seeing lots from London and the South East appearing in our online auctions and we intend to build on this by bringing more and more partners on board.”

James Weaver, Downing LLP

Downing LLP, the London-based investment manager, has appointed James Weaver for the role of chief operating officer.

James was previously COO of Amicus Finance Plc for four years, where he spearheaded the acquisition of specialist finance teams to boost the firm’s invoice discounting, asset finance and property finance capabilities.

At Downing, James will help drive the company’s growth strategy and take responsibility for improving efficiency in its business operations.

Chief exec Tony McGing said: “We are very pleased to welcome James to this crucial role within the Downing team, at what is an exciting time for our business.

“We reached over £1bn in funds under management last year and we aim to build on this even further.”

He continued: “James will be key to helping take the business forward as we continue to go from strength to strength.

“His industry experience should prove an invaluable asset to Downing LLP and we look forward to working with him.”

John Hirst, British Standards Institution

The British Standards Institution is appointing John Hirst CBE as non-executive director and chairman designate.

John will become non-exec director from October 15 and take over from outbound BSI chairman Sir David Brown on January 1 2019, when he will become a member of the Audit and Social Responsibility Committees.

Before joining BSI, John was chief executive of FTSE 250 electronics distribution firm Premier Farnell and, latterly, chief exec of the UK Met Office.

BSI chief exec Howard Kerr said: “We are delighted to appoint John Hirst as a non-executive director and chairman designate.

“An accomplished business leader, John’s experience of complex and diverse organizations will be of immense benefit as he guides BSI in its strategy to embed excellence in organizations across the globe by improving business performance and resilience.”

He continued: “I look forward to working with him over the coming years. We are immensely grateful to Sir David for his contribution to the strong and sustained growth at BSI since he joined the Board in 2010.”

John said of his appointment: “It will be an honour to succeed Sir David Brown, who has been an exemplary chairman of BSI. I am excited to join the team at BSI which is a unique organization making an important contribution to businesses in the UK and internationally.

“I very much look forward to working with Howard Kerr, his executive team and the board.”

Michael Cole-Fontayn, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) has elected Michael Cole-Fontayn as its new chairman.

Michael will hold the position for an initial three years. He succeeded Sir Alan Yarrow, who served as CISI chairman for nine years and did not seek re-election.

His career includes 35 years at financial services giant BNY Mellon and the founding of the Financial Markets Standards Board. Michael is also chairman of the Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME).

He said: “I am extremely pleased to be officially working with the Institute now as its chairman.

“I am particularly delighted to support CISI’s commitment to raising standards, conduct and professional behaviour, both in the UK finance sector and globally and I look forward to helping to encourage the next generation’s enthusiasm for a career in finance.”

Chartered FCSI and CISI chief exec Simon Culhane commented: “I am delighted to welcome Michael as our chairman.

“I very much look forward to working with him strategically so that we can remain adaptable and responsive as we grow our membership and professional qualifications both here in the UK and in global markets.”

Jonathan Best, Uberall

Location marketing firm Uberall has appointed Jonathan Best as chief revenue officer, a newly created position.

Jonathan has led high-performing sales teams for over 20 years. At Uberall, he will be responsible for forging new strategic partnerships and capitalising on the growing international demand for location marketing services.

Prior to his appointment, Jonathan was chief revenue officer at retail startup honeybee.

David Federhen, co-CEO of Uberall, said: “Jonathan has an outstanding track record of achieving high sales and revenue growth by building strong, highly-engaged sales forces with a very client-focused approach; this experience will be invaluable as we continue to ramp up our global operations.

“By focusing on expanding our enterprise business, breaking into new markets, and forming closer bonds with partners and customers alike, Jonathan will play a pivotal role in our future growth plans. We are delighted to welcome him to the Uberall team.”

Jonathan will split his time between Uberall’s new London base, its Berlin HQ and its offices in Amsterdam, Paris, San Francisco and Cape Town.

Shallu Behar-Sheehan, StarLeaf

Meeting room and video conferencing services provider StarLeaf has appointed technology marketer Shallu Behar-Sheehan as its new chief marketing officer.

Shallu’s remit will include working to accelerate customer adoption and elevating brand awareness.

Her background includes executive roles with Cisco, F5 Networks and others.

StarLeaf chief exec Mark Loney said: “This is a strategic appointment for StarLeaf and signals the next phase in our evolution as a global business communications provider.

“Shallu will be instrumental in leading the charge as we continue to disrupt the industry and build StarLeaf into a globally recognised brand.”

Shallu commented: “I’m excited to join StarLeaf at this pivotal point in the company’s growth and to have the opportunity to work with some of the industry’s best engineering minds.

“StarLeaf’s communications solutions are relied upon by businesses every day. I’m looking forward to amplifying our story, driving new business and supporting our customers and partners on their journey to provide and enjoy seamless collaboration.”

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