This week's London appointments

Fiona Ravlic, OPEN Media

Out of home media specialist OPEN Media has appointed Fiona Ravlic as national sales director.

Fiona joins the firm with 17 years of experience in the out of home advertising industry and will be responsible for developing new business relationships and nurturing sales.

Commenting on her appointment, Fiona said: “I am really excited to join the team at OPEN Media as National Sales Director.

“There are several reasons why the role appealed to me but the three things that set their business apart from others are the people, product and culture.

“I look forward to building the profile, presence and business for OPEN Media across the national specialist and agency market in London.”

Managing director of OPEN Media, Mike Smith added: “The addition of Fiona is a huge step forward for OPEN Media, particularly for our presence in London.

“We are excited to have Fiona join our ever-expanding team to tighten our relationships with agencies and specialists from the industry.”

Theodora Hadjimichael, Responsible Finance

Finance organisation Responsible Finance has appointed Theodora Hadjimichael as chief executive.

Policy and research manager at Responsible Finance for the past six years, Theodora has been promoted to the role which will see her lead the firm.

Charles Dodwell, acting chair of Responsible Finance, commented: “I am delighted that Theodora has accepted our offer to become our CEO.

“She has been with us for 6 years now and has proved herself to be extremely knowledgeable about our sector, and has excelled in her previous role.

“More than ever, in these uncertain times, it will be good to have her maturity and wisdom at the helm of Responsible Finance.”

Theodora added: “Responsible Finance has a strong track record in supporting its members to transform their communities through access to finance.

I am excited to build on this success and work with our members to ensure that consumers and small businesses across the UK have access to the right kind of finance.“

Martin Dodd, Huntswood

Resourcing and consultancy firm Huntswood has appointed Martin Dodd as chief executive officer.

Joining from Lloyds Banking Group where he was most recently in the role of managing director of connect, Martin has experience of customer service and complaints handling.

In his new role Martin will sit on Huntswood’s board, delivering the strategic ambition of the company and driving growth and shareholder value.

Commenting on his new position, Martin Dodd said: “Having sat on the opposite side of the table for some time, I’m excited to take on this new challenge and use my experience to further Huntswood’s already impressive levels of service and advisory.

“Customer experience has been a major focus in my career to date, and there has never been a more important time to recognise its importance in futureproofing and protecting the reputation of firms.

“Huntswood prides itself on delivering value and great outcomes for clients, and I look forward to growing this ambition over the coming years.”

David Brownlow CVO DL, founder of Huntswood, added: “I am delighted that Martin has joined our team.

“His invaluable experience will be hugely beneficial in driving the business forward, helping to navigate the complex operational and regulatory environment for new and existing clients.”

Piers Stobbs, Cazoo

Used car tech firm Cazoo has appointed Piers Stobbs as chief data officer.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Piers joins Cazoo from MoneySuperMarket, where he spent four years as chief data officer.

Prior to this, Piers headed up Data Science at dunnhumby, driving the utilisation of advanced machine learning methods across the business.

In his new role, will be responsible for all aspects of data including product analytics, BI, data science and AI, data engineering, governance and data innovation.

Alex Chesterman, founder & CEO of Cazoo commented: “I am very pleased to welcome Piers to the Cazoo team.

“His experience in building customer centric data teams and using data to drive value will create fundamental advantages in our model in terms of how we apply data across all areas of the business, most notably throughout the stocking process.”

Commenting on his new role, Piers Stobbs added: “I am delighted to be joining the team at Cazoo and to build a data team that is focused on the customer and purchasing behaviours as well as supporting the buying and pricing teams.

“The opportunity to drive the optimal use of data throughout the business is immense and it will give Cazoo a significant edge over existing players as we scale.”

Steve Glew, Touchstone

Property management firm Touchstone has appointed Steve Glew as operations director.

With over a decade of experience in housing, Steve joins Touchstone from Hello Student Management Ltd, part of Empiric Student Property, where he was responsible for a diverse portfolio of 49 sites across 15 cities in the UK.

Experienced in customer service, Steve will focus on enhancing the customer journey for Touchstone clients, as well as supporting the firm’s work in the Build-to-Rent (BTR) sector.

Helen Kings, managing director at Touchstone, commented: “Steve is a fantastic addition to Touchstone.

“We are always looking for ways to innovate and develop our management offer, and Steve will play a key part in this, providing both our clients and customers with the first-rate management we’re known for.”

Daina Spedding, BGF

Business investment specialist BGF has appointed Daina Spedding as an investor in its London office.

Daina joins from the investment team at Blue Coast Capital, where she sourced and executed investment opportunities in global consumer and digital companies for eight years.

Prior to this, Daina spent five years in PwC’s transaction services team, specialising in company valuations and analysis.

In her new role, Daina will cover all aspects of the investment process, from initial meetings with business owners considering funding, to due diligence and actively working alongside portfolio companies after completion.

Commenting on her appointment, Daina said: “BGF has been impressively active in the market, no doubt due to its long-term outlook and the reputation of a fantastic team.

“I’m delighted to be joining the business here in London at such an exciting time, helping to further build a diverse portfolio and working with some of the UK’s most exciting and ambitious entrepreneurs.”

Grant Paul-Florence, head of BGF’s London office, added: “Daina’s track record of deal sourcing, relationship building with entrepreneurs and advisors, and portfolio management will be a real asset to the team.

“We’re excited to welcome her to the London office as we continue to expand our offering.”

Oren Peleg, Bricklane

Investment firm Bricklane has appointed Oren Peleg as chairman.

Previously managing director of equity investor Oaktree Capital Management, Oren also chaired UK property group Countrywide during its transformation ahead of its IPO. This transformation has subsequently become the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.

Prior to this, Oren spent five years as Chairman and then global CEO of fitness brand Fitness First.

Commenting on his appointment, Oren said: “I’m really excited to be joining Bricklane at this inflection point in the business’ and sector’s trajectory.

“Recent legislative changes have made it more challenging for individuals to be buy-to-let landlords but there is ongoing demand growth for quality rental stock by tenants, which makes it great timing for providing flexible, efficient investment solutions to both institutions and individuals.”

Nick Nesbitt and Mark Laughton, Vuealta

Planning specialist Vuealta has made two new appointments to its senior team.

Nick Nesbitt has joined the team as managing director of UK & Ireland, and Mark Laughton joins as group chief financial officer.

With more than 19 years of experience in corporate management performance (CPM), Nick’s career so far has seen him managing large CPM technology practices in independent software organisations, with a particular specialism in Cognos, Hyperion and Tagetik.

Mark joins the the firm with more than 15 years of experience in senior finance leadership roles in the UK and internationally, having previously worked at the likes of GE, Lloyds Bank, Visa, RSA Insurance and NewDay Cards.

Ian Stone, CEO of Vuealta, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Nick and Mark to our fast-growing team.

“We have an enormous opportunity to expand our customer footprint through the provision of Anaplan powered applications for business modelling and planning and related global support for Anaplan customers across the world.”

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