This week's North East appointments

David Barker, Willow Burn

The team at Willow Burn has welcomed a new director to the hospice to head up the charity and develop its strategy for the future.

David Barker joins Willow Burn Hospice having previously held senior leadership roles at Springboard, Disability North, Percy Hedley Foundation and more recently, United Response. He is currently the Vice Chair of Voluntary Organisation Network North East (VONNE) and a Trustee of Difference, a north east disability rights charity. In 2000, David was awarded an MBE for services to the employment of disabled people.

David brings with him a wide range of experience in service strategy and delivery and will lead the hospice team of 44 staff and 76 volunteers.

David said: “I am very excited about joining such an impressive charity. The opportunity to support the amazing trustees, staff and volunteers of this great organisation and to enable them to treasure lives through the provision of high-quality care is both a privilege and an honour.

I’m joining Willow Burn at an important time in its history and look forward to developing and delivering a new strategic plan for the future“.

Paul Jackson, chairman of the charity’s board said: “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers I would like to welcome David to Willow Burn.

“David brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise from his many years as a senior leader in some of our region’s charities and this will be a great benefit to the hospice and our team. I look forward to seeing the hospice strategy and services develop under David’s leadership.”

Mark Wilson, Stonebridge Homes

Stonebridge Homes has announced the appointment of Mark Wilson to the role of land director for the North East region.

Mark joins with over 25 years’ experience of the residential market, working for both private and public sector organisations.

He is a RICS chartered surveyor and is North East-born and bred, and brings a wealth of experience across the North East and Yorkshire regions. His previous roles at director level include Avant Homes, Charles Church and Home Group.

Mark has most recently been growing his own consultancy business, which, along with his previous positions, will stand him in good stead for his new role at Stonebridge Homes.

He commented: “Stonebridge Homes has established itself as a high specification, quality house builder with a well-deserved reputation for delivering desirable, community-focused developments in sought after locations.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of that success and working regionally to realise new schemes and bring them to fruition. I have built up a good network of associates and consultants over the years and that offers many opportunities for Stonebridge Homes.

“I’m pleased to have been appointed to lead the growth in this region in what I am sure are exciting times ahead.”

Steve Errington, managing director of Stonebridge Homes, added “I’m delighted to welcome Mark to the team as he brings substantial skills and experience to Stonebridge Homes as we broaden our horizons into the North East.

“This significant appointment marks our ongoing commitment, investment, and strong track record of delivering quality developments, as we sustainably grow our business.

“Over the last ten years, we have successfully delivered over 25 developments in Yorkshire and it’s a great time to join our company as we commence our next chapter.”

Tracy Appleby, O Communications

Newcastle creative communications agency O has announced six new hires following a raft of client wins.

The appointments include Tracy Appleby as head of creative studio, appointed to lead O’s growing creative team which includes brand development, graphic design, animation and videography.

Other new faces include account managers Rachel Hodgson, Emma Roberts and Laura Watson and account executives Thomas Pearson and Andrea Dromard.

Tracy will be working across O’s full client portfolio delivering projects for consumer, lifestyle and corporate businesses. She’s well accustomed to fast-paced agency life, having worked in agencies and in-house over the last 15 years leading creative teams.

Laura joins O from the communications team within the North East Ambulance Service to support O’s public sector and lifestyle portfolio, with Rachel and Emma joining from agency and in-house backgrounds to work on tech, education and corporate accounts.

Founder of O Communications, Kari Owers said: “We have remained focused throughout the last year on supporting our clients in the best way possible as they have had to pivot or adapt their services, or indeed face growth challenges in some sectors.

“We have won several recent client accounts, including Attensi, a gamification tech firm expanding into the UK from Norway, and a range of new health campaign briefs for the NHS.

“We have adapted ourselves as a business so we rebranded this month with a new look and website O that represents the integrated creative services we offer now.

“Coming out of 2020 in a strong position being able to give the talent in our region an opportunity to join our team has allowed us to give several young people their first start on the career ladder.

“The pandemic has been particularly hard for those leaving education and has taken away a lot of the opportunities they would previously have had, so we’re excited to be welcoming new team members at graduate entry level, as well as hiring a new cohort of interns to put through our Opprentice Programme this year.”

Tracy Appleby said: “It’s such an exciting time to join O to lead the growth of our creative studio and I’m really enjoying my role so far; the team and clients are great to work with and there are some really exciting creative projects on the plan so I’m hitting the ground running with my new team.”

Vikki Park, Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education

A charity which works to promote the benefits of workforce professional development has welcomed a Northumbria University academic to its national board.

Dr Vikki Park, who teaches nursing, midwifery and health students in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, has been appointed as a board member at the prestigious, internationally recognised Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE).

The appointment will serve to strengthen a long-established partnership between Northumbria and CAIPE, which is an independent organisation focused on developing highly trained staff through interprofessional education (IPE), collaborative practice, research, and policy promoting the health and well-being of communities.

Dr Park is already a member of CAIPE’s research working group, but her new role will involve advising on government and professional policy. She will work on top-level collaborations, such as advising leading policy makers including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and work to forge closer links with other IPE providers across the globe.

On her appointment, Dr Park said: “I am passionate about the learning that occurs between health and social care staff and students and have been involved in interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) throughout my nursing and academic career.

“I currently have leadership responsibility within the Health and Life Sciences Faculty with Dr Laura Park, and IPE activities are organised for over 2,500 students from nine professional fields each year.”

After carrying out doctoral research which explored interprofessional learning within the clinical practice environment of adult critical care, Dr Park was invited to present her research findings at the CAIPE Research Symposium, which took place in London in December 2019.

She added; “Appointment to the CAIPE national board will enable international networking and partnership working with regional and emerging interprofessional global networks, which will enhance IPE provision at Northumbria University.

“In collaboration with the Northern IPE Integrated Care Systems Development Group, Northumbria University is hosting the March 2022 CAIPE Regional Forum, and this presents an exciting opportunity to network and learn more about IPE.”

Richard Pitt, Chair of CAIPE, said: “We are delighted to welcome Vikki to the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education board this year. She has worked with CAIPE as a student member, corporate member, and has played a key part in the research working group and we look forward to having her on our board and the contribution she will make to CAIPE from her wealth of interprofessional education and collaborative practice experience.

“Indeed, Northumbria University has had a long partnership with CAIPE having been a corporate member for over four years. Vikki will join an enthusiastic team helping to promote and develop interprofessional education and collaborative practice not only nationally, but globally, influencing regulatory and professional bodies of health and social care.”

Gary Swinburn, Excelpoint

North East based tech resident Excelpoint has announced further growth with the appointment of Gary Swinburn as partner development manager.

In accordance with Excelpoint’s overarching objectives, Gary is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic relationships.

He will drive the successful delivery of global business partnerships, formalise contractual agreements, and have responsibility for the day to day management of partnerships to ensure both parties achieve success.

He will unlock new potential growth to enable Excelpoint to deploy its no-code technology into a more diverse range of organisations, empowering them to take advantage of a digital transformation.

With a career in IT spanning over 30 years, Gary joins Excelpoint following five years at Redde Northgate plc, where he was head of IT operations. Local to the area, he and his wife Debra are volunteers at Spennymoor Town Football Club and the Solan Conner Fawcett Family Cancer Trust, a local charity supporting people in the area affected by cancer.

Gary said: “Excelpoint’s growth potential is extraordinary. It is fast establishing itself as a market leader in the UK for no-code technology and is in an excellent position to take on some big players in the global no-code marketplace.

“With no-code technology gaining momentum for replacing inefficient manual, paper and spreadsheet-based business processes, it is an exciting time to be joining the business. I’m looking forward to working with such a professional and energetic team.”

Ian Brown, managing director at Excelpoint, said: “His experience complements our requirement to develop strategic partners.

“As our no-code software evolves to offer more depth and functionality, partnerships are the natural area of focus for further growth, enabling us to expand rapidly and achieve a global reach.”

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