This week's Yorkshire appointments

This week’s round up of Yorkshire appointments includes RWO, Stephenson, Vertu Motors, and The Rolawn Group. Read on to find out more.

Ganesh Thapa, RWO

A Leeds firm of engineers has appointed a senior executive to oversee the continued development and expansion of its structural engineering operations.

Ganesh Thapa joins RWO as head of the structures team in Leedsin a move that will see him working alongside the senior management team at the Park Place-based firm on planned strategic growth, new business development, account management, and developing a team of engineers and technical specialists.

A chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a lecturer for the IStructEMember Examination course (Yorkshire Branch), he will also be involved closely in stafftraining, technical compliance for designs and pushing forward with workflows acrossfrontline operations.

Bringing more than 30 years’ experience working on a variety of engineering projects to the role, Ganesh Thapa has expertise in managing, leading and delivering multi-million pound construction schemes in the commercial, industrial and education and sports and leisure sectors.

His appointment comes as RWO has more than doubled capacity in 2021 following investment in resources and infrastructure to meet strong demand for its services.

Andrew Fairburn, head of RWO’s Leeds office, said Ganesh Thapa is a senior appointment and added: “We are committed to hiring the best industry talent to support our growth and ambitions, so with his, leadership and project management skills, it’s great to have Ganesh on board.

“He will be a key addition to the leadership team as we continue to expand our presence across the north of England and nationally this year, while also delivering the highest standards of service and engineering solutions to current clients.”

Marie Maisonnette, Stephenson

Leading natural ingredients manufacturer, Stephenson, has appointed its first-ever dedicated sustainability manager.

The appointment of Marie Maisonnette in the specially created role further illustrates the Leeds-based business’s ongoing commitment to sustainability in the personal care market.

Ms Maisonnette’s new role will be predominantly based at Stephenson’s manufacturing plant in Horsforth. She joins from Stephenson’s successful offshoot business CO2Sustain, where she was previously a business development specialist, covering Europe and South America.

Prior to this, Ms Maisonnette was a raw materials buyer for Stephenson, sourcing eco-friendly ingredients from across the world which has helped to build a specialist knowledge of product and technological innovations and ingredients including responsibly sourcing palm oil for product formulation.

Her direct work with plantation managers and refiners has led to a deep understanding of the issues surrounding palm oil and its widespread usage.

Ms Maisonnette brings all of her experience from raw materials purchasing and innovation capture to focus on a number of core areas including palm oil sustainability, eco ingredients, packaging and overall production site efficiency.

The role also involves working closely with other specialists across the business such as the packaging buyer to ensure the most eco-friendly production, containment and distribution methods are being employed. The role will also involve working with department heads including health and safety management, engineering and marketing.

Marie Maisonnette commented: “I am looking forward to implementing what I’ve learned over the years in a positive and productive way that will benefit the business overall, its customers and ultimately the planet. The primary focus is threefold - raw materials, packaging and net zero targets.

“As a responsible manufacturing business, we have a duty to act in the most eco-friendly way possible in order to effect change.

“Stephenson has always been at the forefront of innovation and sustainability but it’s important to recognise that more can always be done and that we are in a strong position of authority to work closely with our customers and partners to inform and educate as well as lead by example.

“Marie continued: “Two of the main concerns that personal care product consumers have are deforestation and packaging and these are important issues that we are helping many of our customers and partners to address in the way they source and formulate their products, what they add to them and how they package and present them to the market.”

“This is a huge undertaking but one that we are fully committed to on an ongoing basis. This cannot just be a short term fix in response to the latest market trends.”

Issey Gill, Corporate Trade Supplies UK

Corporate Trade Supplies UK (CTS UK), the flourishing North Yorkshire-based business supply chain specialists, have appointed Issey Gill as Marketing Assistant.

Issey, who lives in Crakehall, near Bedale, joins CTS UK at a pivotal stage in the Northallerton company’s development.

Issey commented: “This is a tremendously exciting opportunity for me. CTS UK are one of the most respected companies in the PPE and workwear sector in the UK and I am proud to be joining a close-knit and talented team.

“My main responsibility will be to support Marketing Manager Amy Grimston and to build on the substantial progress and expansion that CTS UK has made since moving into our new premises in Darlington Road, Northallerton last year.

“I will also be strengthening CTS UK’s social media presence and promoting our new Prints To Make You Smile range of shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and aprons, which are now available from Amazon and Etsy.

Issey continued: “These are high-quality clothes which celebrate important landmarks in the year, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter Day and Father’s Day, with amusing and attractive designs.

“We have such a great story to tell, with increased growth, turnover and new job opportunities, and I look forward to telling it. It is especially rewarding to have good news to report during these challenging times.”

Amy Grimston added: “I am delighted to welcome such a hard-working and charismatic colleague like Issey to our team. She arrives at CTS UK at a significant time in our development, as we look to build on our success of the past year, enhance our relationship with clients old and new and raise our profile across the UK.”

Lee Burns, Vertu Motors

Vertu Motors has promoted Lee Burns to Head of Business at its Vertu Bradford Land Rover retail site.

Holding experience in the sector, Lee was previously the Brand Manager at Vertu Bolton Jaguar Land Rover.

Lee first joined Vertu Motors when he left college in 2009, becoming a Sales Executive at the brand’s Bolton dealership when Vertu Motors acquired the location in 2014.

Robert Forrester, chief executive of Vertu Motors, said: “Lee’s promotion is very well-deserved. He has made a significant contribution to the success at Bolton with a level of maturity, attention to detail and commitment that is exemplary.

“He has demonstrated an ability to build, motivate and grow high performing sales teams, whilst also nurturing top talent to become tomorrow’s leaders.

“These qualities will play an integral part in the future growth and development of our Jaguar Land Rover division, as well as the wider Group.”

Lee said: “It is really gratifying that my experience and skills have been recognised with this promotion, especially within a company that has such solid values at its core.

“I am excited to be taking my career at Vertu Motors to the next level and am eager to support the development of the business, including supporting my colleagues to chalk up their future successes.”

Ken Brewster, Clive Barstow, Terry Smithson, The Rolawn Group

A UK producer of turf and topsoil, The Rolawn Group, has expanded its team with three new senior appointments to support its growth plans.

Ken Brewster joins the Yorkshire based company as in the new role of Group Marketing Director, with Clive Barstow joining the business as Head of Sales for Rolawn’s new sub-brand BioScapes®. As part of the BioScapes® brand, which has recently launched, Terry Smithson has been appointed as Biodiversity Manager.

Brewster joins Rolawn from Husqvarna Group and brings with him a wealth of expertise in the marketing industry. With over 15 years’ experience at Marketing Director level, he has developed an invaluable insight across various marketing sectors, including outdoor power equipment, DIY, and outdoor leisure.

Throughout his career, Brewster has worked to understand the needs of clients and consumers in developing successful business strategies that achieved high levels of growth and market share.

A qualified ecologist, Smithson boasts extensive experience in nature conservation and has helped to develop the BioScapes® sub brand and subsequent products.

Smithson has spent a career of more than 30 years guiding various stakeholders in ecology and environmental management to achieve biodiversity net gain. With over 15 years in Director level roles within Wildlife Trusts, he has led significant programmes of work to deliver economic regeneration and landscape restoration.

All three acquisitions add further knowledge and experience to the Rolawn team.

Jonathan Hill continues in his role as Sales Director for the group, with specific focus on growing sales and market share in the core turf and topsoil business with the Rolawn and Hallstone brands.

Managing Director of Rolawn, Paul Dawson, said: “At Rolawn we pride ourselves on maintaining exceptionally high standards in every product and service we offer, so it is important to us to bring people into the organisation who can not only align with those, but also push them up. There is no doubt that Ken, Clive, and Terry fit this mould.

“It’s tremendous to have them involved in our organisation. They have joined at an important time, with all three hitting the ground running to help prepare the launch of our new BioScapes brand, championing an important message about biodiversity.”

Would you like to see your businesses new hires or promotions featured in the Bdaily appointments news?

Send your submissions to: editor@bdaily.co.uk with ‘APPOINTMENT:’ In the subject.

Submissions should:

• include the name and job title of the appointee and the business name
• be no longer than six paragraphs/250 words
• include a landscape photograph of the appointee
• include a quote
• detail the respective businesses social media handles.

Appointments are published entirely at the discretion of the Bdaily team. Submission does not guarantee publication.

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →