Member Article

This week’s North East appointments

To start the week, we bring you a roundup of the latest appointments from across the region.

Charlotte Staerck, Handbag Clinic

Handbag Clinic, a service to clean, restore and repair designer handbags, has taken on a new buyer to source pre-loved and vintage accessories from the world’s most renowned designers.

Charlotte Staerck is responsible for tracking down rare and second-hand finds from the likes of Chanel and Hermes to stock in the firm’s new store on Newcastle’s Mosely Street.

Former procurement specialist Charlotte, MD Ben Staerck’s wife, said: “We felt the time was right for me to join the firm as part of a period of significant expansion.

“There’s a huge demand in Newcastle and the wider North East from women who would previously have had to travel outside the region to buy the bag they wanted or would have had to source it online, which can prove risky as there are lots of fakes out there. We give them complete peace of mind that they are buying the genuine article.”

Dunlop Heywood

Newcastle-based property consultants Dunlop Heywood has promoted surveyor Andrew Chandler to Associate Director following a successful year for the company.

Andrew, 33, has been with Dunlop Heywood since 2013 and has a wide portfolio of clients with responsibilityfor property management, valuation, commercial agency and lease advisory services. His geographical reach extends from the Scottish borders down to North Yorkshire and over to Cumbria in the West.

Andrew started his career at Lambert Smith Hampton in 2006 where he gained membership of the RICS in 2008. He then joined Newcastle-based Bissett Kenning & Newiss two years later and was part of the team which merged with Dunlop Heywood during 2013.

Andrew reports to Office Head and Director, Darron Barker who said: “Andrew is responsible for looking after the property interests of national clients as well as North East of England based, high net worth individuals. He has proved his expertise to both the Newcastle team and across Dunlop Heywood nationally to earn this well-deserved promotion.

Nicholson’s Transport

Haulage firm Nicholson’s Transport is preparing for further growth after making seven key staff appointments.

The Billingham-based business, which opened an additional warehouse near Darlington in January, has recruited and promoted across its operations and sales teams.

Former RAF serviceman Darren Lanceley has joined the business as general manager while Oliver James and Daniel Wilson, take the roles of traffic desk co-ordinator and shift controller. Johnny Dees has been recruited as Nicholson’s Transport’s administrator for HazChem Network (THN) customers while Jane Khalil and Evonne Walker-Closs, strengthen the sales team as sales executive and customer service and sales co-ordinator respectively.

Nicholson’s has also continued its successful strategy of nurturing young talent by promoting apprentice Seb Luder to the role to compliance administrator. Seb is currently working towards a Business Administration apprenticeship with Hartlepool College of Further Education.

The appointments come at a time of steady growth for Nicholson’s which recruited several new drivers last year and opened a 15,000 sq. ft. warehouse at the Durham Lane Industrial Estate in Eaglescliffe.

Managing Director David Nicholson said: “It is always encouraging to bring new people into the business as it is a clear indicator of growth.

“The new appointments strengthen our offer as a transport and logistics business across the North East and continue our ethos that hard work and commitment will be rewarded through progression and promotion.”

Perfect Image

North East IT company Perfect Image has announced a number of new appointments and four internal promotions at its head office in North Tyneside.

The firmhas welcomed Adam Hall, Amber Thompson, Christopher Allison, Craig Pattison, David Bruce, Jamie Haras, Jason Mcgorrell and Scott Neve to its head office on Cobalt Business Park.

The new additions take the headcount to over 80 members of staff, with the number of people employed by the IT consultancy set to grow over the coming year to further meet client demand.

Andrew Robson, CEO of Perfect Image, said: “We’d like to extend a very warm welcome to the newest members of our team. It is an exciting time for everyone at Perfect Image as we go into 2016 with strong sales figures, solid financials and a lot of new projects on the horizon too. There’s no doubt our raft of recent appointments is as a result of winning more new business and further growth for the company.”

SCA

Hygiene and forest products company SCA has announced six new strategic appointments to its leadership team at Prudhoe Mill, the home of its popular Velvet tissue brand.

George Placogiannakis has moved to the North East from Manchester to take on the role of site manager. He is a chemical engineer with 25 years of multinational manufacturing experience. He started his career as an SCA process engineer in Greece, covering different roles in converting, papermaking and continuous improvement, before moving to the UK two years ago to lead SCA sites in Oakenholt and Chesterfield.

Marco Paternesi has moved from Italy to lead recruitment and HR at Prudhoe. He joined SCA in 2009 and has worked in a number of HR roles mainly dedicated to product supply across all three SCA Italian manufacturing sites.

Simon Miller, SCA converting operations manager, joins the team and brings 30 years of manufacturing experience to his new role following a career in the Global Defence & Aerospace industry working in a variety of areas from production and quality to business development.

Anne Krey has moved from SCA’s mill in Neuss, Germany, to take on the role of RST operations leader in converting. Meanwhile Dan Henderson, a former maintenance engineer in the Royal Navy, has joined the team as a senior technician and Nick Hay has been appointed as site infrastructure & technical manager. He also brings over 30 years’ of international manufacturing experience to the role.

Jim Lang, SCA’s UK consumer goods operations director, said: “Paper making is a very competitive industry and Prudhoe Mill is a key strategic asset for the UK business. These appointments will help give Prudhoe even more strength in depth and George Placogiannakis’s appointment as mill manager reflects our policy of developing, utilising and growing our internal skill base, while the external appointments will help to bring in new skills for the organisation.”

Kirsten Hurley, Scott Logic

Software development consultancy Scott Logic has appointed a new Business Development Manager, Kirsten Hurley.

Kirsten joins the firm in a newly created role from a similar position at IT consultancy Company85, having enjoyed a 12-year career in professional services in IT that began in a boutique capital markets firm.

Kirsten explained: “I started out selling trade floor consultancy to banks, with quite a diverse portfolio, so it was Scott Logic’s involvement in providing software solutions to capital markets that was this role’s real appeal.”

Kirsten, who is a communications graduate, will spend much of her time at Scott Logic’s London office and is also due to represent the firm at next week’s Retail Banking Innovation conference at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms.

She added: “I’m keen to understand innovation in retail banking that may also be transferable to capital markets technology.”

Rebecca Cairney, Duncan Edward and Joseph Letras, Great Annual Savings

Cost reduction firm Great Annual Savings, based in Seaham, has announced three new appointments.

Joseph Letras has been hired as head of corporate to drive forward the strategic growth of the company’s corporate customer base across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Previously he spent several years in account management for EDF and NUS Consulting Group before moving into a series of key commercial roles at oil giant Shell and Dong Energy.

Duncan Edward has joined GAS as head of partner channel. He brings to the role more than 30 years of senior-level sales experience at digital camera provider Canon, Newcastle Falcons and Vodafone, winning significant blue-chip contracts with the likes of construction equipment maker JCB and the West Midlands Police. At GAS he will be responsible for the launch of the firm’s partner channel division across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Cairney has joined GAS as head of e-commerce. In her new role she will be responsible for the design and launch of the firm’s e-commerce function and will oversee marketing and communications. Previously she spent almost five years at clothes maker J Barbour & Sons, where she developed a digital strategy for the firm and implemented a series of online communication campaigns. She has also worked in digital marketing roles at Swinton Insurance, healthcare provider Bupa and baby product retailer Mamas & Papas.

Bradley Groves, chief executive and chairman of Great Annual Savings Group, said: “We’re thrilled to have reached the century milestone by hiring three high-calibre staff in Joseph, Duncan and Rebecca. These strategically important appointments will help us to develop new markets and win new customers as we embark on the next chapter in our growth story.”

Join us next monday for our next roundup. Got a story? Contact Jamie at jamie.hardesty@bdaily.co.uk.