People on the move: Carat; Character World; Burton Knowles

DIGITAL media agency Carat Manchester has appointeda new group business director to its senior leadership team to support its growth aspirations.

Dani Briers, will join the Dentsu Aegis Network owned agency from his role as managing director at PHD Manchester in the New Year.

Carat says Briers’ track record and expertise in developing key client and agency relationships demonstrates the company’s continued focus on delivering outstanding experience and results for its clients.

Briers, who also held senior roles at TBWAManchester, will be responsible for further developing partner relationships and driving performance across some of Carat Manchester’s key clients.

Reporting to Carat Manchester’s managing director Rachel McDonald Briers appointment sees him join the current leadership team of James Reddington, Charles Reid and Jill Thomas. 

McDonald said: “Dani’s appointment reflects our continued ambition to be pioneering in our industry by recruiting from diverse backgrounds.

“It is imperative for us as an agency to continue to deliver first-class service to our clients and I believe Dani’s depth of experience will help us further develop our client centred ways of working, demonstrating Carat’s commitment to setting industry standards for our clients.”

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INTERNATIONAL licensing business Character World has appointed Tony Lewis as UK sales director, based at its Manchester headquarters.
Lewis joins the international textiles business after 16 years as sales director at The Christy Group, a producer of branded clothing and accessories. The Christy Group was sold to Amscan in September 2010.
At Character World Lewis will work with the brand and creative teams to ensure maximum penetration across different retail sectors in the UK, including developing bespoke lines for major retailers.
Character World manufacturers licensed bedding and bedroom accessories and has secured a number of lucrative UK and European contracts with global licensors over the last two years including Disney, Marvel, Lego, Universal, Lucas and Nintendo.
Danny Schweiger, joint managing director at Character World, said: “We’re pleased to welcome Tony to the team. In his previous role Tony worked closely with licensors like Disney to produce and sell licensed fancy dress costumes. This wealth of experience in both the textiles and licensing world will be an asset to our business.
Character World distributes its products to retailers across the UK, including Argos, Next, Toys ‘R’ Us, Tesco, Asda and John Lewis.
Palatine Private Equity backed Character World in a secondary management buyout in December 2014.
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COMMERCIAL property consultants Bruton Knowles has strengthened its Manchester office with the appointment of surveyor Nicholas Broadway.
Broadway joins the Lowry House team from the firm’s North Yorkshire office.
Manchester office partner James Bailey said: “Nicholas’s appointment is timely given the Manchester office’s fast expanding workload, especially valuations.
“Manchester is the biggest city economy outside London and our market share in the commercial sector is growing so we have had to make new appointments to keep pace – especially with valuations of property for development and investment.”
Broadway joined Bruton Knowles from DTZ in 2013.
His key clients include HSBC Bank plc, Loyds Bank plc, Shawbrook Bank, Unity Trust Bank plc, Lancashire Mortgage Corporation, Network Rail and Cambridge and Counties Bank.