Appointments: Wax Lyrical; Davenham Asset Finance; Story Homes & more

CUMBRIA-based home fragrance manufacturer Wax Lyrical has strengthened its senior management team with two key appointments in sales and marketing.

Shane Crawford has been appointed as sales and marketing director with Nikki Garnett taking on the role of marketing and creative manager.

The duo have strong FMCG backgrounds which will be put to good use as Wax Lyrical looks to develop new markets and relationships with new retailers.

Prior to joining Wax Lyrical, Crawford was head of sales at Sports Direct International (Brands Division) and before that was senior sales manager with Adidas Group.

He  said: “My new role allows me to combine the two passions in my life – the cut and thrust of a business which is looking to grow and the fabulous Lake District.

“Wax Lyrical has a fantastic made in Great Britain message and very strong in-house capability in product development and I’m really excited in helping the team take the brand to the next level.”

Garnett spent nine years as a head of marketing at Selfridges and has also worked at Marks & Spencer where she worked where she worked closely with Stuart Rose on a project to turn around the company’s home shopping offering.

Wax Lyrical managing director Joanne Barber said, “We are very focused on developing our product offering and penetrating new markets. We will do this through product innovation and remaining at the forefront of developments in the home fragrance sector.

“Between them Shane and Nikki have a fantastic mix of retail experience paired with some really creative marketing know-how which will help us as we grow the business. It’s a real pleasure to have them both on board.”

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MANCHESTER-based Davenham Asset Finance is all set to venture into the trade finance market place following the appointment of Vince Tovey as head of commercial funding.

Having already established a nine-year relationship with the Davenham board, Tovey brings with him invaluable experience of providing funding to SME businesses through trade finance and asset based lending products.

He previously spent 12 years in mainstream banking with major players like NWB and HSBC, covering import and export transactions, as well as a further seven years at Cattles Invoice Finance/Aldermore Bank, with responsibility for relationship management and underwriting in the North West.

Davenham Trade Finance has been launched to help fill a gap in the market and provide alternative financing for small businesses, as borrowing through traditional methods has become increasingly difficult for the smaller SMEs.

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HOUSE builder Story Homes has appointed the experienced Paul Greenfield as production manager for the North West.

The Carlisle-based comppany has a number of residential schemes in Lancashire at different stages of development and Greenfield’s role will be to oversee these and future projects, ensuring targets for build, quality and health and safety are met.

The 49-year-old from Runcorn has more than 12 years’ experience as a construction director under his belt working mainly in the North West.

“Joining Story Homes at this stage of their growth is both exciting and challenging. The company has an ambitious programme of new house building but it is also committed to maintaining the quality standards that have helped make their name,” said Greenfield.

“The culture of the business is all about quality and that is something that really appealed to me when I learned about the opportunity.”

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LEGAL recruitment experts Douglas Scott, which has an office in Manchester, has boosted its headcount again with the appointment of three new apprentices and a consultant.
 
The new apprentices join the administration team, as the company promotes two of their current apprentices to the accounts and recruitment teams.

Nick Barrass joins the London desk as a recruitment consultant, taking with him a wealth of knowledge of the London business market gained in his previous roles.

Focusing on IP, corporate and commercial roles, Barrass’ experience will offer many opportunities to develop the offering of team.
 
Director Jon Nolan said: “We’ve now increased staff numbers by 43% since 2014, and we’re thrilled that we’ve seen so much success with our apprentices.

“They’re thriving in their new roles, and we’re really pleased to be able to offer even more apprentice opportunities.”

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MICHELE Somers is the new head of venue sales at Emirates Old Trafford and brings with her more than 25 years of experience in the hotel industry.

She will head up the 10-strong sales team while incumbent Angela Hodson takes maternity leave.

It is an interesting time for Michele and the rest of the sales team with work due to commence on the new Hilton Garden Inn.
 
Somers, who spent 14 years at Carlson Rezidor  heading up the hotel pre-opening  sales and marketing project team and later in hotel  general management, said: “I am very passionate about the meeting and events industry, and Emirates Old Trafford offers a very unique space for events from large scale conferences, training & midsize meetings as well as social events such as Christmas parties.”

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BOLTON-based online white goods retailer AO World has appointed Mark Higgins as its chief financial officer and as an executive director of the company.

Steve Caunce, who has held the combined role of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, will remain on the board as chief operating officer.

Higgins joined the company in July 2011 as group finance director from Enterprise Managed Services Ltd, where he was head of finance.

Before that, he held various senior roles within the Caudwell Group. He is a qualified accountant and a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

AO World chairman Richard Rose said: “With the financial reporting and corporate governance requirements of a public company and the increasing scale and complexity of AO’s operations, the board has decided it is now appropriate for the COO/CFO role to be separated.

“Following a thorough selection process, the board has determined that Mark has the relevant skills and experience for the role of CFO and his existing relationships with stakeholders and knowledge of the business will help strengthen the effectiveness of the board.”
 

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