This week's North East appointments

Jean Davidson, Northumberland National Park Authority Board

Jean Davidson has been appointed chair of members for the Northumberland National Park Authority Board.

Jean, who lives in Kirknewton near Wooler, has been a member of the Park Authority board since 2014 and previously served as deputy chair.

She is currently estate manager for the Westnewton Estate in the north of the National Park.

She commented: “I am greatly honoured to have been elected as the chair of Northumberland National Park Authority. 7

“It has been my privilege to be deputy to Glen Sanderson for the last five years.

2Glen has been an excellent chair and raised the profile of Northumberland National Park both locally in the North East and at a national level.

“I am proud of all that has been achieved since I joined the Northumberland National Park family – from seeing The Sill grow from muddy foundations to an award-winning, truly unique venue for education, engagement and outdoor activities, to seeing our staff and officers thrive and deliver exceptional service.

“I look forward to working with our dedicated staff and board members, who all play a vital part in the success of Northumberland National Park.

“While we have challenging times ahead, I am confident we will get through them with ambition and bravery. Northumberland National Park Authority, together with all the UK National Parks, will play a significant part in the nation’s Green Recovery Plan.”

Tony Gates, CEO of Northumberland National Park, said: “I’m excited to welcome Jean at the helm as chairman of the Authority.

“For the past six years, Jean has worked tirelessly to support the Park during a truly transformative time, and I’m grateful to the work she has done for us so far, and the vision she is now bringing to the role of chairman.”

Natalie Sykes, Institute of Directors

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has appointed Natalie Sykes as its new head of English branches.

Natalie takes up the role after being regional director of the IoD’s Yorkshire and North East and East Midlands regions.

The role is part of a new structure for the IoD which has been developed to create a more member-led organisation. As head of branches, Natalie will be responsible for ensuring the success and growth of the IoD’s membership and professional development across England.

Jon Geldart, IoD’s director general, commented: “Our new structure is a true reflection of ‘OneIoD’, combining the qualities, expertise and professionalism of our members and colleagues.

“It is structured to create a future membership experience which is better than ever before and which delivers on our three pillars of Connect, Develop and Influence and our Royal Charter.”

Natalie said: “The IoD is one of the leading business institutes in the UK and beyond. Our Royal Charter not only is to represent individual directors, it is to encourage entrepreneurial activity and promote responsible business practice for the benefit of our members, and in turn, our society as a whole.

“We believe that better directors build a better world. As such, we encourage directors and future directors along the journey of our world class director development programme.

“This is a fantastic chapter in our long history as we transform the IoD’s relevance for today’s and tomorrow’s directors.”

Chris Fay, Mobile Mini UK

Mobile Mini UK, which has its headquarters in Stockton, has promoted Chris Fay to lead the sales and marketing teams from its Teesside base.

He joined the company in 2019 as regional sales manager, before being promoted to head of sales development later that year.

Chris, who has worked in sales management since leaving university in 2002, commented: “I am so honoured to have been given this opportunity.

“I’ve been promoted twice since I joined the company, which just goes to show the level of investment in people and how the team are encouraged in their professional development.

“The creation of this role really highlights the amazing collaboration between departments, and I plan to keep harnessing that synergy to continue to build a strong brand for the business.

“I’m really looking forward to driving Mobile Mini forward, developing and stretching my team to be the best they can be.”

A leading Newcastle creative agency has appointed an award-winning senior strategist to drive its ambitious plans for growth.

Mark Hadfield, Cravens

Mark Hadfield has joined Cravens as strategy partner, where he will play a key role in business development and delivering results for the firm’s regional, national, and international clients.

An expert in his field, Mark brings with him a wealth of experience in creating innovative growth strategies for global brands including Samsung, Shell, Philips, Suzuki, Bacardi, IHG and Guinness.

His recent work includes the multi-award-winning 2019 “All Hail Patricks” St Patrick’s Day campaign for Guinness, which invited all the Pats and Patricks of Singapore to get together and join in the traditional Irish celebration.

Mark commented: “Cravens is a world-class agency in a world-class city and I am delighted to be joining the very talented team at this exciting stage in their journey as a business.

“From our first meeting, I felt we were a perfect fit - sharing the same ambitions. Newcastle has always felt like home to me and I am looking forward to what the future holds.

“I’m hoping that my passion for proving effectiveness and combining creativity and strategy will help Cravens and its clients go from strength to strength.”

Craig Thomas Boyle, Content By The Sea

Content By The Sea has announced that it has appointed a new creative director.

The independent copywriting and web design business has appointed Craig Thomas Boyle, a copywriter and content marketing with more than 8 years’ experience in the field.

Craig will work with Ellen to expand and refine the business’ content creation offering - including web copywriting, lead-generation, email marketing and content marketing strategy.

Ellen Forster, founder of the business and Craig’s partner, commented: “I’ve always wanted to work with Craig but we originally planned to use his full time salary as security whilst I grew the business.

“Luckily I’ve been successful from the start so it was just a matter of time.”

Craig commented: “Working together and from home is fantastic and it’s what I’ve wanted for a long time - but the coronavirus pandemic really hit my mental health hard and made me realise I don’t want to go back to a standard office job.

“I’m delighted to bring my experience to the business and help grow it together to support our future.”

Catherine Jordan, hedgehog lab

Digital product consultancy hedgehog lab has appointed a new head of client engagement following a string of new partnerships and client wins in 2020.

Catherine Jordan joins the Newcastle-headquartered business where she will head up the client services team and be responsible for developing hedgehog lab’s client engagement strategy.

She brings over a decade’s worth of experience in IT and digital, most recently at award-winning digital product and experience development agency, Mubaloo, where she held the position of commercial director.

Catherine commented: “With demand for digital products from the biggest brands and enterprise organisations accelerating in the last year, I couldn’t be joining hedgehog lab at a more exciting time.

“As we approach the end of 2020 and beyond, I can’t wait to support our clients and the company on its growth journey as hedgehog lab continues to grow our reputation as one of the world’s most respected digital product consultancies.”

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