People on the move: Redrow Homes (Lancs); Key Retirement Group; Pickering Lifts; Glendale Civic Trees; evestor

Craig Ward

Craig Ward has been appointed to the role of technical director at Chorley-based Redrow Homes (Lancashire).

The qualified quantity surveyor, from Blackpool, previously worked as a commercial manager at Arley Homes and, prior to the company going into administration, took on a wide range of responsibilities across several departments, broadening his experience and skill set.

He said: “It was a challenging time but it helped with my career progression and I gained experience across all disciplines.

“After leaving Arley I set up my own business building large detached properties. I worked on site managing the entire project, from sourcing investment, to running the build programme, selling the homes and working with the NHBC to become a registered builder.”

He said it was only when the “fantastic opportunity” became available at Redrow he opted to turn his hand full time to a technical role.

In his new position, he will oversee Redrow’s technical team of designers and engineers, taking overall responsibility for the design element of Redrow’s developments, including layout and house types.

Steve Greenhalgh, managing director for Redrow Homes (Lancashire), said: “Craig’s breadth of experience makes him a real asset to the business.

“His experience in a variety of roles means he’s well placed to manage a team and co-ordinate with other directors.

“We’re delighted to have him on board to assist with our ambitious future development plans across Lancashire and parts of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside.”

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Key Retirement Group, a specialist provider of financial solutions to the over 55’s, has appointed Dave Johnson as chief digital officer.

Prior to joining Preston-based KR Group he was the group director for digital engineering at the Co-op Group where he led the creation of Co-op Digital Team and the delivery of the Co-op’s award-winning membership platform.

He has also held senior technology roles across Asda and Lloyds Banking Group, focused on the retirement, investment and wealth management business.

As part of his new role, both the IT and technology functions will report to Dave.

Working closely with his team, he will be responsible for building market-leading digital capabilities across the group which will help to enhance engagement with customers, advisers and partners.

Simon Thompson, Key Retirement Group chief executive, said: “At Key we are committed to ensuring that we can work with customers, advisers and partners in the most effective way possible.

“The appointment is an invaluable step forward as we look to enhance our digital capabilities to grow our market position in what is fast becoming a very technical agile environment.”

Dave Johnson added: “Following its sale to Partners Group in 2017, Key Retirement Group is at an extremely interesting and exciting point in its evolution as it focuses on growing its share of a rapidly developing market.

“I look forward to working closely with Simon and the rest of the team as we develop the company’s digital capabilities to ensure that it remains at the forefront of the sector.”

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Lift maintenance and repair company Pickerings Lifts, which has an office in Worsley, Manchester, has appointed Paul Dixon as assistant customer support manager for its North West branch.

Before joining Pickerings Lifts Paul worked as an installation and refurbishment engineer across the North West, as well as gaining experience working as an engineer on cruise ships.

Paul Dixon

Paul’s responsibilities will include programming repair work, liaising and reporting to clients and helping with the day-to-day management of the Manchester office.

North West customer support manager, Warren Griffin, said: “Paul comes to the role with a lot of experience and fresh ideas that will help grow the business in the months and years to come.”

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Glendale Civic Trees has announced the promotion of Deric Newman to the position of general manager.

Deric steps up from the role of director of sales at the Chorley-based national tree supply, planting and relocation specialist, a position he held for more than 20 years.

As general manager he will oversee all aspects of the business, including day-to-day operations, human resources, recruitment, sales and health and safety.

Deric said: “Like many organisations in the horticulture, landscaping and green space management industry, the main challenge is recruitment. As a result, I will be focusing on increasing the number of apprentices within the business and looking into more options for staff development and training.”

He added: “As part of the recent reorganisation of Glendale we are also looking to extend the current service offering to incorporate a full design, build and maintenance package in partnership with our sister company, Environment, Planning and Design. This will enable us to enhance our service provision to existing clients and target new sectors.”

Civic Trees has been supplying, planting and relocating mature and semi-mature trees since 1963. It was established by Deric’s father, Chris Newman, and was acquired by Glendale in 2006.

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Manchester-based online financial advice platform, evestor has appointed Andy Graham as lead agile project manager.

The firm says this is part of a wider recruitment drive that will see the team double from 25 to 50 in the next 12 months as the business nears its first anniversary in April.

Andy will step into his new role, bringing more than a decade of project management experience to his new post.

His last in post, at The Book People, an online discounted book retailer, was as senior project manager, where he managed the integration of gift business Qwerkity into the Book People.

Andy will work across all areas of the business, particularly supporting the software development teams as customer demand increases.

He said: “My forte is business analysis and implementing agile strategies to help teams and projects run smoothly

” I’m particularly interested in working within bold, ambitious start-up firms, so when the opportunity arose at evestor, I jumped at the chance.”

Anthony Morrow, evestor chief executive, said: “We always welcome new insight and fresh perspectives, and Andy’s contribution to the development of our software will play an enormous role in ensuring we can continue to meet increased traffic and volume of customers.

“Andy joins during a time of huge growth as we look to double our headcount by recruiting for roles across the board, allowing us to stay one step ahead of ever-increasing customer demand.”

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