Midcounties Co-operative strengthens executive team

THE Midcounties Co-operative has strengthened its executive team, with the appointment of Mike Abbott and Pete Westall with immediate effect.

Westall takes up the role of Group General Manager, Co-operative Social Responsibility, with responsibility for the development of The Midcounties Co-operatives’ Community engagement programme, Membership, Environmental and Young People Engagement teams, which collectively drive the society’s Co-operative Social Responsibility commitment.

Abbott’s promotion to Group General Manager for The Co-operative Childcare follows a period of sustained growth for the society’s Childcare division, which is now The Midcounties’ second largest employer after its Food group.

Commenting on the promotions, Ben Reid, Chief Executive of The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “The further strengthening of our Executive Team demonstrates our continued commitment to strengthen the management capacity within the business and reward the dedication and commitment of our colleagues.”

The Midcounties Co-operative, which is based in Warwick, is the largest independent co-operative society in the UK.

New board appointments at housing group

THE Black Country Housing Group has bolstered its board with the appointment of two new board members, Surrinder Bains and Karen Battersby.
 
Ms Battersby is currently practice area director for LexisPSL, the online legal information provider where she is responsible for managing legal information products and training. An experienced commercial lawyer, she has worked in both private practice and in-house for a number of different organisations. She has previously worked at Eversheds where she was Head of commercial know-how and Tarmac where she was Head of legal.
 
Surrinder Bains is currently the community ambassador for fundraising at John Taylor Hospice. As director of Bains Mentoring and Consulting, he also provides business transformation and sustainability consultancy to third sector organisations. He is also a mentor supporting organisations within Birmingham through sports development and youth engagement.  He was previously policy and performance manager at the Sandwell Partnership and prior to this was capacity building manager for Birmingham City Council.
 
Commenting on the appointments Peter Bilson, Chair of BCHG’s board said: “I am delighted to welcome Surrinder and Karen to the board. As leaders in their respective fields they help to make sure that our board has the necessary skills in place to help BCHG continue to offer a wide range of services to meet the needs of the local community. Their appointment also ensures that we have a robust governance framework in place to deliver our strategic goals.”
 

ICC strengthens sales team

THE International Convention Centre has further expanded its pool of talent, by appointing three new personnel- Lucy Gibbons, Lisa Thompson and Anna-Louise Reynard (pictured from left), to its sales team.

Ms Gibbons, Senior Account Manager at the ICC has recently moved from Edgbaston Stadium, where she held the role of Business Development Manager.  Prior to this, she also held a business development position at Meet Birmingham, Marketing Birmingham’s business tourism programme.

Ms Thompson, Corporate Account Manager for the ICC, has more than 10 years experience in management and supervisory roles within the financial sector, including HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Halifax.  

Account Executive Ms Reynard recently qualified in Events Management at University College Birmingham.  In her new role she will work with associations and corporate sectors to support the corporate sales team.

ICC Sales Director, James Elston said: “I am pleased to announce that we have three new team members in the ICC sales team.  They bring a wealth of experience and fresh approaches on how to continue to improve the services we provide for all our clients here at the ICC.”