Mediaworks has appointed Helen Whitfield as its group’s chief delivery officer.
She joins the digital agency with 30 years’ experience in leading transformational processes for successful global operators. Most recently, she was COO at NBS, which grew to become a pioneer and disruptor in the construction industry with its SAAS platform.
Ms Whitfield said: “I take immense pride in being part of any successful growth journey. I’m a firm believer in continuous improvement and innovation achieved through investment in colleagues, commitment to company values and ultimately to the customer.
“For me, Mediaworks ticks all those boxes, and the ability to work on digital transformation projects for some of the globe’s biggest brands was a hugely enticing draw.”
Helen has supported various business initiatives around talent and raising aspirations and is also a board member at The Common Room of the Great North and a former CBI regional council member.
Logistics firm Europa Road based at Silverlink Business Park in Wallsend has welcomed Andrew Darroch as its new branch manager.
Europa Road is the specialist European road transport division of independent logistics operator Europa Worldwide Group.
Mr Darroch has been in the freight industry for 12 years working for a number of other leading transport and logistics firms before joining Europa Road.
He said: “I’m delighted to have joined the team in Wallsend at an exciting time of growth. March was a record month; our shipments have increased 40% on this time last year. Europa invested £5m in preparing for Brexit to make sure it could support its customers and this is certainly paying off, customers across the North East are using us to export their goods to Europe.”
Middlesbrough games developer and publisher Double Eleven has tripled the size of its team having welcomed its 300th employee.
Katie Atkins joins the company as operations assistant from the bank Santander. Originally from London, she moved to Teesside a couple of years ago when the rest of her family relocated.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Double Eleven. My partner works here as a junior programmer, he’s been with the company for two years, and he’s often talking about how great it is, so I already knew it was an incredibly special place to work.
“Friends from London often ask me why I would want to move here, but I’m so glad I did. There are lots of opportunities, the scenery is fantastic, there is so much to do, and now I’m working for one of the world’s biggest games developers and publishers.”
It’s a significant milestone for the company, as it had already doubled its staff throughout the pandemic and opened an additional studio in Kuala Lumpur.
Lee Hutchinson, founder and CEO of Double Eleven, said: “The scale and complexity of the projects we have been working on have resulted in us tripling the size of our team in the past 18 months, which is phenomenal. We’ve achieved this growth because we actively recruit people who have the right capabilities and experience, regardless of their games sector experience.”
Ryecroft Glenton (RG) has demonstrated its commitment to employee personal development with nine internal promotions.
Seven of the staff started their careers as trainees with the firm, which specialises in corporate finance, tax, accounts, audit and wealth management.
Amanda Cooper has been promoted from manager to senior manager in the accounts division. Gordon Wilkinson, who has been promoted from manager to senior manager in the personal tax service line, joined RG in 2015. Both Tony Anderson and Will Spafford have progressed from audit seniors to managers.
Tom Cosby has been promoted within RG Corporate Finance from executive to manager having been recruited as a trainee chartered accountant in 2018. Karley Ritchie, who joined RG eight years ago, has been elevated from payroll service senior to manager, while Katie Mason and Roslyn Bell, previously trainees, are now seniors within the payroll services team.
Finally, Rachael Best has been promoted from trainee to executive within RG’s OutsourcedFD service line.
Partner Peter Glenton said: “We have a solid track record in developing ‘home grown’ talent within RG. Supporting staff to ensure they are able to progress their careers within the firm and achieve their full potential is an important part of our culture.”
Accountancy firm Haines Watts has bolstered its tax incentives and reliefs service line with a newly launched capital allowances offering.
The team will be headed up by David Holroyd who joins Haines Watts as a director with over 35 years’ experience exclusively providing capital allowances consulting services.
He will be joining Jonathan Scott, tax partner, and Mario Minchella and Sam Moore, tax incentives and reliefs managers.
Mr Scott said: “Our new multi-disciplinary team combines a deep knowledge of tax legislation with a proficient surveying process that captures costs that would generally go unnoticed. We’re looking forward to working alongside more clients to support them with their claims, from surveying assets through to claim submission.”
North housing association Karbon Homes has appointed Ian Johnson as its new executive director of customer services.
Mr Johnson is currently the director of pre-tenancy and property services at Karbon Homes and will be replacing Jo Ray who will be retiring following five years in the role.
He has a wealth of experience following a career in housing spanning 25 years. His CV includes senior positions at Blyth Valley Housing, Homes for Northumberland and was the CEO of Tyne Housing before joining Karbon Homes. He holds various non-executive roles as chair of Prosper and chair of the North-East Property Directors Forum, as well as being a member of the CIH Policy Advisory Committee.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge within Karbon and using my experience to continue the positive work Jo has already achieved. I hope to play a key role in helping deliver our mission of providing customers with a strong foundation for life.”
