This week's Yorkshire appointments

James Page and Tom Dibble-Burge, Answer

Digital and IT consultancy Answer has appointed James Page and Tom Dibble-Burge join the business as commercial and sales directors.

Tom joins Answer from consultancy firm BJSS and has a long career in financial services. In his new role he will lead business development in the financial services and commercial sectors.

James spearhead the continued growth of its health sector business. He joins from medical software company EMIS, where he was the commercial director. He has also worked at clinical software firm TPP.

Gary Parlett, founder and managing director of Answer, commented: “Tom and James bring a wealth of experience in their respective sectors and will lead a business development programme based on our expertise in digital transformation, AI and emerging technologies.”

Tom explained: “As an employee-owned business, Answer has a unique culture that underpins great people doing great work. It’s an approach that has driven rapid growth over the last two years, whilst delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients and we look forward to taking it to the next level.”

James added: “Answer is undertaking world-leading work with the NHS ranging from AI to genomics and transformative data projects. I’m joining the business at a transformative time, and I look forward to supporting the team and its continued growth.”

Dave Helm, virtualDCS

Cloud computing and disaster recovery specialist virtualDCS, has appointed Dave Helm as a non-executive director.

Dave co-founded Leeds-based IT services business, Blue Logic, which supplied leading edge technology, cloud solutions and IT security.

Dave now holds non-executive director roles at a number of technology companies including Leeds firms, Rabb-IT and Cindercone.

Dave commented: “Over the last decade virtualDCS has made a big impact in the IT industry, establishing a market leading range of products including its CloudCover Disaster Recovery suite and its market leading Microsoft 365 backup solution, CloudCover 365. These products are now widely used by clients across the public and private sectors.

“When this is combined with the high level of talent within the business, it means virtualDCS has a very compelling offering, with significant growth potential. I’m really looking forward to the challenges this role offers and helping to guide virtualDCS on its next phase of expansion.”

Richard May, managing director at virtualDCS, added: “I’ve known Dave for a long time, and he has a wealth of experience in the IT industry, a thorough understanding of how to grow successful technology companies and a forthright approach to business.

“This will all prove invaluable to virtualDCS. There is no doubt that bringing Dave on board is a major coup for virtualDCS.”

Lucy Harbron, McCormicks Solicitors

McCormicks Solicitors of Harrogate has appointed Lucy Harbron as trainee.

Lucy graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in History. She completed the Graduate Diploma Law and Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Leeds in June before joining the practice.

In her new role Lucy will assist the head of family, Stephen Hopwood, in acting for a range of clients, dealing primarily with finance and children. She will also assist the Criminal and Private Client department with all aspects of their work as part of her training, but her long-term aim is to be a family lawyer.

Stephen commented: “Lucy is already proving a great asset to the team and I look forward to seeing her progress.”

Shannon Liu and Carol Mosby, Red Diamond Executive Headhunters

Global agency Red Diamond Executive Headhunters has appointed Shannon Liu as marketing lead and Carol Mosby as general manager of the firm’s recruitment division.

Shannon joins the Huddersfield-based team from the Roxor Group. Her remit includes co-ordinating digital marketing and social media activities.

Carol will use her 20 years’ experience of recruiting and executive search to bridge the gap between recruitment and headhunting.

Red Diamond founder and director Emma Robinson commented: “This quarter, we have experienced a notable increase in demand for our services. Where clients may have asked us to look at one position, in some cases we are now being asked to recruit whole teams.

“Lockdown has given people a chance to reflect on their work life balance and this has resulted in some deciding they want a change in direction, start a lifestyle business or simply to retire and spend more time with their family.

“This in turn is prompting chief executives to consider how they will future-proof their businesses, to think about type of candidates they will need going forward, to identify potential skills gaps – and whether or not some roles will even be relevant in the future.”

Jonathan Cass and Gayle Roberts, Bridge Law Solicitors

Bridge Law Solicitors has appointed solicitors Jonathan Cass and Gayle Roberts to its specialist teams.

Commercial property and litigation solicitor Jonathan has a range of experience in commercial property, commercial litigation and agriculture.

Jonathan commented: “I’m delighted to have joined the team at Bridge Law and help to establish the firm’s dispute resolution and property team as a full-time, permanent feature to the Holmfirth office.

“Previously this has been managed by our Director, Claire Stewart who has worked between Marple Bridge and Holmfirth so it’s an honour to take this on”.

Consultant litigation solicitor Gayle previously worked in city-centre firms and at the CPS as a Senior Crown Prosecutor. Gayle’s specialisms span across commercial litigation, injunctions, contentious probate, property adjudications and defamation cases.

Claire Stewart, Founder and Director at Bridge Law added: “The team and I are thrilled to welcome highly talented solicitors, Jonathan and Gayle to the team.

“Both share our dedication to excellent client care and each brings with them an exceptional level of skills and passion for their specialist areas, helping to extend our already comprehensive offering to clients.”

James Crosbie, Ruth Birkby and Claire Moxon, Colenso Property

Commercial property and asset management specialist Colenso Property has announced the appointment of three new team members.

James Crosbie joins as property manager, Ruth Birkby has been appointed as facilities coordinator and Claire Moxon has come onboard as accounts assistant.

James joins the firm from Morses Club PLC, bringing 18 years of experience to the role. His responsibilities will include ensuring that tenants fulfil their lease obligations and driving asset improvements across the portfolio as a whole.

With 11 years of experience, Ruth will support Colenso’s facilities management department with contract tendering, contractor management and implementing both reactive and planned works.

Joining from Read Independent School in Selby, Claire has five years of financial experience, together with a further 11 years as operation manager at Web Adventure Park.

Charles Harrison, head of property management at Colenso, commented: “While the last 15 months have definitely presented their challenges, we have been busier than ever.

“During the first lockdown, we prioritised streamlining our remittance system and processes by investing heavily in cloud-based software, ensuring much greater efficiency across the business.

“Now that restrictions are lifted, we are confident that the appointments of James, Ruth and Claire will enable us to continue providing an exceptional service to our landlords and tenants, as well as paving the way for our future growth.”

Nicola McMullen and John Cunliffe, Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA)

Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has appointed Nicola McMullen as aviation director and John Cunliffe as commercial and strategy director.

Nicola joins LBA with over 18 years’ experience in the aviation industry. She has spent the last nine years working for Manchester Airport Group, holding roles in Strategy, Aviation Development and as Commercial Director.

A graduate from Manchester Alliance Business School, with a master’s degree in Airport Operations and Service Delivery, Nicola will drive the growth of the airport.

Nicola commented: “I am pleased to play a part in the growth of LBA as a crucial hub for connecting the world to the North of England and the economic benefit that brings across Yorkshire.

“This is an exciting opportunity and I’m looking forward to moving ahead with developing sustainable growth and an exciting future travel proposition for passengers, following what was a difficult period for the whole aviation industry.”

John Cunliffe joined LBA in 2018 as commercial director, bringing a strong commercial and aviation background from previous roles at easyJet and Emirates. More recently, he looked after both the aviation and commercial aspects of the business on an interim basis.

Vincent Hodder, CEO of Leeds Bradford Airport, said: “LBA has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and as we start to see early shoots of recovery in the travel industry, now is the time to invest in the right team to make LBA a truly outstanding regional airport for the future.

“I’m delighted to welcome Nicola to the organisation and continue to work with John in a new capacity and I’m confident that their blend of skills and experience will enable us to deliver excellent passenger service, choice and new destinations for the future.”

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