This week's North East appointments

Christian Cerisola, Mediaworks

Communications specialist Mediaworks has appointed Christian Cerisola as public relations director.

Christian, who has a professional background in both the media and communications industries, most recently headed up the Northern operations of a London-headquartered PR agency.

Mediaworks CEO and founder, Brett Jacobson, continued: “We believe the future of the PR industry is helping clients strategically adapt their messaging to better influence their target audience and create a competitive advantage.

“We’ve been looking for the right person to lead our disruption of the PR market, and the appointment of Christian is the start of that journey. His reputation as one of the North’s foremost PR professionals is second to none.

“He has a huge amount of high-level PR experience, and I’m hugely excited about what can be achieved with him leading the charge on Mediaworks’ ground-breaking PR approach.”

Commenting on his appointment, Christian added: “We’re developing a far more intelligent PR and communications offering that’s based on an extraordinary level of insight and an unrivalled ability to accurately measure outcomes.

“When I originally met with Brett and understood Mediaworks’ deep understanding of client audiences, the opportunity to match that with clever, creative thinking and accurate outcomes was enormously enticing. We are sitting on something enormously potent here.”

Brenda Naisby, Gentoo

Housing specialist Gentoo has appointed Brenda Naisby to its board of directors.

Brenda Naisby, an inspirational Gentoo tenant from Sunderland has been appointed to the Group’s board of directors.

Brenda brings a range of experience as both a tenant and local volunteer to the Gentoo Board. Having been actively involved with the group for more than five years, she was most recently chair of one of Gentoo’s Community Engagement Forum in Washington.

Earlier this year, Brenda was also named as tenant of the year by housing charity, TPAS, for the role she played in helping other residents in her community suffering domestic abuse, after she escaped an abusive marriage herself at the age of 74.

Brenda commented: “I will always be thankful to Gentoo for their support. They rehomed me to a place of safety and worked with me rebuild my life.

“It’s truly an honour to become part of their board and give something back for all the help they have given me. I’m looking forward to representing tenants in my new role and ensuring the issues that matter most to them are heard.”

Nigel Wilson, chief executive officer at Gentoo, added: “We are delighted that Brenda has accepted our offer to join Gentoo’s group board.

“Her experience as a tenant and an involved resident will be invaluable, bringing a new dynamic to our already diverse and experienced board. Brenda will play a vital role in ensuring the voice of our tenants is heard throughout our organisation.”

Sam Gilbert and Emily Armstrong, Avison Young

Commercial real estate firm Avison Young has made two senior appointments in its building and real estate management teams.

Sam Gilbert joins from Faithful and Gould, bringing a range of project management, and employer’s agent experience within the hospitality, education and health sectors.

Sam commented: “Avison Young is involved in some of the largest, most high-profile developments in the region. The opportunity to leverage my knowledge and expertise on projects of this nature is extremely appealing.”

Gordon Hewling, principal and managing director at Avison Young, Newcastle added: “This is a further key appointment for the expanding office and within our extremely busy Building team. The office holds a strong position in the market, providing strategic real estate advice to both the public and private sectors.

“Sam brings a great deal of experience which will strengthen our offer in the region and beyond. We have a very healthy confirmed pipeline and Sam’s appointment represents a positive move to increase our resource to meet the demand going forward for a strong client base.”

In addition, Emily Armstrong joins from Naylors Gavin Black bringing a range of property management, asset management and landlord and tenant experience within the North East commercial property sector.

Emily commented: “I’m really excited to join Avison Young, I am looking forward to the varied challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and to be able to both use and grow my expertise with Avison Young.”

Derick Jackson, principal and head of REM, Newcastle added: “We are always on the lookout for the best people to help us deliver to our clients.

“Emily’s appointment comes during a time when all stakeholders in a development are relying more and more on property managers and she is a great addition to our Newcastle team.”

Martin Stout, Tier One Capital

Wealth management and property lending specialist Tier One Capital has appointed Martin Stout as consultant.

A well-known figure with industry leaders, business owners, senior partners and entrepreneurs in the private and public sectors across the region, Martin will lead the ongoing development and expansion of the wealth management and property lending specialist’s portfolio of clients.

Martin said: “I’m delighted to take this opportunity to join Tier One. The financial services and property development sectors in the North East are evolving rapidly and this is a great opportunity for me to embrace a new environment with a highly professional, driven and successful team.

“Tier One’s reputation across the North East as wealth management experts and property lending specialists is growing fast and I’m looking forward to building new relationships and creating further awareness of the experienced team and the products and services they provide to their target markets.”

Chief executive of Tier One, Ian McElroy, added: “Martin’s profile, credentials, people skills, relationship building experience and track record driving revenue and client growth is exactly what we are looking for at this stage in our business development.

“It is increasingly difficult to identify and recruit individuals with the levels of professionalism, credibility and expertise that we demand as a company. Martin is an ideal fit for our business, and we are delighted to welcome him on board as a key member of our team.

“We have no doubt that Martin will be a huge asset to Tier One over the coming years and will contribute to building on the successes we have achieved to date. His appointment also showcases the clear strategy at Tier One of building a team of successful, experienced and credible professionals.”

Rob Gwyther, Dynamo

Digital collective Dynamo has appointed Rob Gwyther to its board.

Rob, who joined tech firm Saggezza in July as operations director, has worked in a range of senior IT and technology roles for more than 15 years.

A specialist in healthcare innovation, Rob has worked in public and private sectors both in the UK and internationally, with experience ranging from complex programme delivery to developing new business services.

Rob commented: “My background in consulting, working with a broad range of clients, means I can bring a different perspective to the board and I am really excited to be able to represent such an innovative, agile business that I know can be a real driving force in the growth of the North East tech sector.

“Dynamo is a real force for good, with many of the organisations we work with and partner with represented on it. It’s fantastic to be able to support the development of this vital sector in the North East with a group of people and organisations that are so passionate about the same collective ambition.”

Ian Beaumont, KPMG

KPMG has appointed Ian Beaumont as the new office senior partner of its Newcastle office.

Ian has more than 20 years partner experience, supporting regional, plc and global businesses. He joined KPMG in 2014 and has led the firm’s Private Enterprise and Family Business teams across the North.

In his new role, Ian will continue KPMG’s almost 150-year heritage in the region, supporting corporate and not-for-profit communities.

Commenting on his appointment, Ian said: “I’m privileged to be joining a talented team here at KPMG in the North East who are passionately supporting this region’s organisations when they most need it, during this intensely challenging time.

“With the vaccination programme underway, the Brexit deal done, the government’s levelling-up agenda on the table and investment going into the low carbon sector, in which the North East has valuable credentials and assets, there’s huge potential for this region to continue to thrive on the global stage.

“As businesses increasingly compete in a global marketplace I’m excited to be representing an advisory team of dedicated, highly skilled professionals absolutely grounded in the North East, but for whom it is also second nature to call on subject, sector and trading expertise from within KPMG’s presence around the world.”

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