People: Vibrant Accountancy; MPQC; Leicestershire Business Voice

Vibrant Accountancy has appointed a new head of operations and management accounts.

Amie Fellows joins the Derby-based accountancy firm from KPMG in Birmingham, where she spent seven years in a variety of leadership roles.

Vibrant owner Bev Wakefield said: “We are absolutely delighted that Amie has joined Vibrant Accountancy and, with her, she brings knowledge of managing various-sized corporate management accounts.

“She has bags of experience which will benefit our clients and she compliments our team perfectly.”

Fellows said: “I enjoyed my time with KPMG but wanted a new challenge and something that was a little closer to home.

She added: “I value the work/life balance that Vibrant Accountancy offer, and I admire their ethos; I didn’t want to work for ‘traditional’ management accountants after leaving KPMG. I wanted to work for a company where my views are valued and I feel appreciated, and Vibrant Accountancy ticks all those boxes.”

The Mineral Products Qualifications Council (MPQC) has appointed a new future careers manager at its offices in Eastwood.

Emily Noble will help the sector connect with younger audiences by championing the diverse career opportunities within the quarrying and mineral products industry.

The qualified development practitioner and careers advisor previously held roles with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Derby College and Derby City Council.

MPQC CEO Viv Russell said: “Emily has a great deal of experience from her previous job roles and qualifications; it’s clear that she is passionate about raising the aspirations of young people.

Emily Noble

“MPQC is looking forward to benefiting from Emily’s experience, expertise and enthusiasm as she champions our sector. We wish her luck and are delighted to welcome her to our team.”

Noble said: “I grew up in Derbyshire with family employed locally within the mineral products industry and saw first-hand some of the challenges faced by SMEs in the area. I’m looking forward to supporting industry and education to collaborate more meaningfully, and create impactful opportunities for young people, particularly from an earlier age if we are to create lasting change for the sector when it comes to future recruitment.”

Leicestershire Business Voice (LBV) has appointed Loughborough University’s director of research and innovation to its board.

Dr Jen Fensome has joined the not-for-profit organisation following the departure of Dafydd Prichard, co-founder and joint managing director of Leicester-based creative communications agency, Cite.

Prior to her arrival at Loughborough Fensome held senior roles at Cranfield University, the University of Birmingham and the University of Bedfordshire.

Dr Jen Fensome

She said: “Our engagement with LBV is a way of understanding the local community in our role as a regional academic anchor. We’re always looking for ways in which we can make a meaningful imprint and demonstrate how we can make a real difference, such as the new Civic University agreement with the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.

“By joining the board of LBV, I’m looking to directly engage with the local business community to understand how effective our relationships are, as well as bringing my research and academic background to further enrich the expertise and experience of the LBV board as it continues to provide the voice of the city and county’s business community.”

LBV chair Robin Pointon added: “We’re delighted to welcome Jen to the LBV board. We count SMEs, regional offices of multinationals and other academic institutions amongst our member organisations so we have a broad reach across the local community. Jen’s appointment will bring a new voice to help us to continue to amplify the collective voice of our members.”