On the move: the latest East Midlands hires

George Oliver and Amy Orton / Beth Walsh Photography

Corporate communications agency 1284 has appointed a journalist as its first full-time hire.

Amy Orton has spent over a decade writing for well-known news titles across the East Midlands. Most recently, she served as communications manager for University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

Loughborough-based 1284 was founded by former Leicester Mercury editor George Oliver in 2020.

He said: “Amy is a first-class journalist and communicator who will bring her knowledge and understanding of local authorities to provide real value to 1284 clients.

“Her work during the Pandemic was just one example of her talent for spotting and telling a story, as she was invited to summarise the Leicester Lockdown for various national media, including BBC Radio 4.

“Since then, Amy has strengthened her experience by working as a comms manager in one of the UK’s biggest hospital trusts. As account director at 1284, she will bring insight, speed and networks across the East Midlands.”

Orton said: “George last recruited me at the Mercury back in 2018 and I’m pleased to be teaming up with him again after what’s been a period of swift growth for 1284.

“I share George’s aim of matching Chartered PR quality with newsroom speed in providing effective comms strategy. I’ll be using my own news experience to support our public sector and SME clients.”

Nottingham-headquartered recruitment and retention consultancy Macildowie has bolstered its executive search team by reappointing a pair of former employees to senior roles.

Joanna Riley returns to the firm as business director of its CFO and Finance Director Practice, while Jo Garside has been made executive search associate after 14 years away from the company.

Jo Garside and Joanna Riley

Macildowie CEO James Taylor said: “The two Jos, Riley and Garside, have both seen how Macildowie has evolved and continued to grow whilst enhancing our strong and dynamic culture, a key aspect of what drew them back to us. It’s rare for any business to have employees return, so it’s a great privilege to welcome Jo and Jo back, helping us to develop the next stage of growth for our Executive Search business.”

“We are excited to see what they can achieve and wish them both the very best for the next chapter of their Macildowie careers”, he added.

Richard Haaker, managing director of Executive Search, said: “It can’t be overstated how important it is to find and retain strong, effective leadership. We know that businesses rely heavily on individual leaders who can devise, develop and deliver a vision – and we know the importance of getting it right the first time.

“With this in mind, we’re thrilled to welcome back Jo Riley and Jo Garside to the business, bringing a combined 25 years’ worth of knowledge and experience to the team. It’s fantastic to see Executive Search growing and we’ve got an exciting year ahead with some great projects in the pipeline.”

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