People: KPMG appoints head of private equity in the North; Award-winning creative director joins Leeds agency; and more

KPMG has appointed Richard Stark, a director in the firm’s corporate finance practice, as its head of private equity in the North.

In his role, he will coordinate KPMG’s dealflow to private equity investors, in addition to advising on any transactions involving private equity. This will include leading buyside engagements, leveraging the firm’s national sector expertise and market leading multi-disciplinary Deal Advisory teams.

Stark joined KPMG’s audit practice as a graduate in 2006, before moving to the firm’s corporate finance team in 2010. He specialises in M&A lead advisory.

He said: “The North of England’s private equity market is thriving, with over 30 houses having on-the-ground presence and many more recognising the breadth of attractive investment opportunities in the region.

“Last year, deal volume in the North was hot on the heels of the numbers seen in London, making it one of the most buoyant markets in Europe. Our Northern M&A team worked on a host of private equity deals including the sales of Utiligroup, Clarke Energy, Lakelovers, Giacom, Eque2, ZyroFisher, Biocomposites and Metamark.

“I look forward to cementing our reputation as arguably the most active M&A practice in the region, and leveraging our unrivalled reach and expertise to support the North’s business community in capitalising on private equity’s appetite for high quality assets.”

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An award-winning creative director who counts Unilever, Coca-Cola and Microsoft among his previous clients has joined a growing Leeds marketing agency.

Banana Kick has appointed Dave Lambert as its first creative director, where he joins a senior management team led by Gary McCall and Richard Flaherty.

Lambert brings with him more than 20 years’ experience working for communications agencies in London, Leeds, and Manchester.

His global campaigns have seen him work on brands such as Sony, Tia Maria and Lynx – where his ‘Leave a man, come back a hero’ campaign won a global Unilever award.

Lambert said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked for a number of top UK agencies and can’t wait to get started with another exciting opportunity. I pride myself on work that makes an impact, connects with consumers and drives change.

“Banana Kick has carved out a real niche creating innovative events, campaigns and experiences that really hit home with sports, leisure and retail clients. It’s an exciting time and I’m delighted to be on board.”

Lambert has recently been working with the newly formed BBC Creative team in MediaCity UK where he created the TV, online and social campaign for the BBC Rugby League World Cup 2017, as well as a new TV Commercial for BBC 5Live.

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Oscrete Construction Products, a division of Christeyns, has announced the appointment of Scott Wilson as operations director.

Wilson has over 20 years experience in the construction industry and joins Bradford-based Oscrete to take over from Danny Kilgallon, who will be retire at the end of this month.

Oscrete is one of the UK’s leading specialist construction chemical suppliers, manufacturing a range of concrete admixtures for the pre-cast and ready-mix markets.

Wilson said: “There are exciting times ahead and I am delighted to have the opportunity to shape the company’s future development and growth.”

Kilgallon has been with the company for more than ten years and will remain with Oscrete as a non executive director for the next 18 months.