People: New CEO for Leeds headhunter; Nisa adds to board; and more

Leeds-based headhunter HW has announced the appointment of CEO Spencer Jinks while also revealing it is pursuing potential merger and acquisition opportunities as part of its ambitious growth strategy

He takes over from founding director John Wakeford, who had headed the business for six years and will now concentrate on growing the firm’s financial services and chair and NED practices.

Mr Jinks has been with the executive search consultancy for almost a decade, having joined as a director in 2007 after six years as executive recruitment director at the Caudwell Group.

He will continue to lead HW’s consumer division, which operates in more than 70 countries throughout Europe, Latin and North America, South Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, and boasts global relationships including Mars, Kellogg’s and GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Mr Jinks said: “Over the past decade we have developed a broad range of both local and global clients across various industry sectors and specialisms, and thanks to John’s leadership we are on a firm financial footing, with the business well positioned to further invest and push on.

“We are now moving in to a new phase with an emphasis more on brand communication, nurturing global client relationships, building deeper knowledge in the digital and big data arena, whilst investing heavily in systems and developing core talent within the business. We are also pursuing potential merger and acquisition opportunities to help us achieve our ambitious growth strategy.”

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THE board of Nisa Retail has appointed Neil Ashworth and Arnu Misra as independent non-executive directors.

Both have extensive retail and distribution experience that is expected to be of significant value to Nisa as it continues to grow and become the partner of choice for wholesalers and independent retailers.

Mr Ashworth is CEO of Collect+, the largest independent store-based parcel services in the UK. He also has his own consultancy, specialising in the retail and logistics sectors.

Mr Ashworth, the immediate past chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, brings to Nisa a wealth of both retail and logistics experience. He has held executive positions at Tesco, the Co-op and Woolworths in a variety of senior retail and logistics roles.  

Mr Misra is an experienced retail executive, having held significant senior executive roles at Matalan, Asda, and Loblaw’s in Canada. He also spent six years as CEO of private equity backed Cannons Health, doubling its membership base before selling to Nuffield Health. He has strong track record developing value for stakeholders and is experienced working with low cost business operating models.

Nisa chairman Peter Hartley said: “All of Nisa’s board members welcome Neil and Arnu and look forward to working with them during an exciting time for the company. The management team has done an excellent job stabilising the business in the last financial year and we are now building on this.”

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GREY MATTER, the Sheffield-based full service creative agency, has welcomed Alan Lyons on board as business development manager.

Mr Lyons will be responsible for contributing to Grey Matter’s overall strategy and increasing offerings to both existing and new clients. He will oversee strategic business partnerships and sales and will report into Sean Hampsey, Grey Matter’s MD.

Mr Lyons joins from Creative Sheffield (Sheffield City Council’s economic development team), His role there, which he held for 13 years, saw him responsible for key account management and inward investment across the city.

Prior to this he was at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce as representation and policy manager for six years.

Mr Hampsey said: “Alan brings extremely valuable know-how to Grey Matter and will be a huge asset to the management team. His knowledge of industry and commerce and his local experience will be invaluable as we look to develop more innovative, marketing and digital solutions for our clients and to grow our presence throughout the region.”