Karen Wheatley has joined Barratt Developments North East’s board as the region’s new commercial director, becoming the first ever female on the board of directors.
Her role will cover the growth and development of the business, while helping to identify new commercial opportunities.
Ms Wheatley began her career in construction in 1987 as a surveyor within the local government and after 16 years she joined a private construction company, Frank Haslam Milan, where she worked for 19 years and worked her way up to head of commercial for new build construction.
She said: “I’m extremely excited not only to be the new commercial director for Barratt Developments North East, but also to be the first female on the board. As the largest housebuilder in the UK, I’m extremely keen to contribute to the great results that the company is already achieving, by strengthening and extending the supply chain and working in partnership with existing and new providers.”
The North East and Scotland team of private equity firm LDC has made two appointments.
Aaron Lawson-Clark joins as an investment director and Emma Borrie joins as an investment manager. Mr Lawson-Clark has spent his career supporting the growth of scale-up to mid-sized businesses across all sectors of the economy and joins from Mercia Asset Management and was formerly at NVM Private Equity.
Ms Borrie joins from family office investment firm Middleton Enterprises and previously spent six years as an audit specialist at KPMG, working with listed businesses and large enterprises across sectors including industrials, healthcare and retail and consumer. Gareth Marshall, partner and head of LDC in the North East and Scotland, said: “As we look to ramp up our support for management teams across the region, we’re pleased to welcome Aaron and Emma to the team – they know the local business community inside out and I have no doubt they’ll bring a lot to the table in terms of the support we can provide to those looking to grow.”
Property regeneration consultants AspinallVerdi have appointed Ian Ramsay as a consultant in the firm’s Newcastle office.
Mr Ramsay joins the growing practice having completed his MSc in property development and planning at Nottingham Trent University. His appointment coincides with the first anniversary of the opening of the Newcastle office of AspinallVerdi at The Core, Bath Lane, Newcastle Helix.
Led by director Brett Devenish and consultant Alasdair Ritchie, the expanding team serving the North East has secured clients throughout the region including Gateshead Council, Advance Northumberland, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Scarborough Borough Council, and Homes England.
Mr Devenish said: “After a great first year in the Newcastle office, it’s exciting to welcome Ian to the team and I look forward to seeing him progress on his journey towards chartership. The office has been taking on more and more work since opening a year ago, so it was essential that we expanded and found someone who shared AspinallVerdi’s values. Ian will bring an analytical and grounded perspective to the role.”
NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau has appointed Jen Rea as head of business events and travel trade, a newly created role for the organisation.
Ms Rea, who took up the position earlier this month, will be looking at a refreshed strategy for the bureau, which forms part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), attracting and maximising new opportunities for the North East in the business events sector and travel trade industry.
She said: “The business events sector in Newcastle and Gateshead is worth approximately £149m to the regional economy and we are now looking ahead to how we can grow this figure and continue to support our longstanding business events community. As a destination and already award-winning convention bureau, we have a world-class offer to delegates and event organisers which will only be enhanced by investments such as The Sage International Conference Centre.”
Further appointments include a promotion for team member Caroline Reed, who is now senior manager of business events, as well as Allison Curry, accommodation and events coordinator, moving to full-time employment to support the ambitions of the team.
The Materials Processing Institute has appointed Professor John Fernie to the newly created role of chief materials scientist to support the delivery of multimillion-pound decarbonisation projects, including the development of new materials and processes required for future technologies.
With more than 30 years’ experience of managing research and development teams, Prof Fernie joined the Teesside-based Materials Processing Institute in March 2020 having previously worked at TWI (The Welding Institute) in Cambridge, the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, and has acted as a freelance technical consultant.
Meanwhile Dr Richard Birley takes up the role as group manager, advanced materials, whilst Dr Lucy Smith takes up the role of group manager, circular economy at the Teesside based institute.
Property specialist George F White has appointed William Marshall as its first sustainability consultant.
The appointment comes at a key time in response to the changing needs of businesses, as demand for renewable energy solutions became more prevalent and more important.
Mr Marshall, who has worked in the sector for 30 years, will support businesses in pursuit of net zero, helping them improve their sustainability credentials while identifying renewable energy solutions.
He said: “The expectation for all businesses to improve their sustainability efforts can feel daunting, and the current energy crisis has fast-tracked the need for a lot of businesses to consider switching to renewable energy generation sooner than anyone could have anticipated. This is why we have launched this new service to provide bespoke solutions to businesses that will have real impact.”
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