On the move: the latest East Midlands hires
The chair of East Midlands Chamber’s network for young professionals will remain in the role for 2024.
Daniel Nikolla, marketing manager at Hardy Signs, will continue to lead Generation Next, which supports professionals aged between 18 and 35 to build their soft skills and connections among the East Midlands business community.
Scarlett Canavan, business and marketing manager at ER Recruitment, was promoted to vice-chair and is set to take over Daniel’s duties in 2025.
Nikolla said: “I have loved being part of the Generation Next team ever since the early days of the network and believe we have done a brilliant job together in shaping our offer for the fantastic young talent that exists in our region’s businesses.
“It has been a great honour to be chair over the past 12 months and I am delighted to have the opportunity to remain in the role for another year, during which time we have some very exciting plans – beginning with the inaugural Generation Next Conference on 12 January.”
Members from the network’s ambassador programme, which support the champions’ ambitions, will also transition to the board in the new year. They include:
• Ella Sheppard, senior associate at Freeths
• Benjamin Wileman, leasing consultant at Select Car Leasing Burton-on-Trent
• Joshua Leach-Aslam, general manager at Ocean King
• Nicole Perkins, procurement officer at Futures Housing Group
• Preethi Kang, commercial manager at Qinesis
• Ruby Birks, project manager at Purpose Media.
Returning to the board are:
• Amber Siddall, student and graduate engagement manager at the University of Derby
• Byron Burghart, investment manager and assistant director at Brewin Dolphin
• Beth Bearder, legal director at Halborns
• Harsh Shah, data analytics manager at East Midlands Chamber
• Rikan Patel, director at Business 2 Business
Colin Tenwick
Colin Tenwick has been appointed as chairman of Nottingham-based Commify’s board of directors.
With an established background in the digital transformation space, Tenwick currently serves as chairman of Oxford International Education Group and data management business Intelligent Reach.
Previous roles included chairman of Auction Technology Group, Online ecommerce business Wowcher, Addison Lee Group, Bookatable, and non-executive director of AVG. A former CEO at StepStone, Tenwick also led international business at US tech giants, Red Hat and Sybase.
He said: “I am excited to be joining Commify at such a pivotal stage, and to working alongside Richard [Hanscott, CEO] and his senior management team. In a world that’s more engaged online than ever before, Commify is providing smarter solutions for businesses to reach their customers.
“With recent backing from ECI Partners and the ambitious growth targets set for the business, I look forward to using my experience to support Commify as it builds on over twenty years of expertise, to cement its position as one of the world’s leading business messaging providers.”
Richard Hanscott, CEO at Commify, added: “We are delighted to welcome Colin to the team and look forward to working closely with him to ensure that Commify continues to innovate to support our customers and our people, and to extend our reach in both new and established markets.”
A Derbyshire company making hard-wearing outdoor furniture has welcomed a young apprentice as the latest addition to the team.
Leah Barratt
Former Anthony Gell School student Leah Barratt is studying for a business administration apprenticeship with Wirksworth-based TDP, which makes a range of outdoor furniture and garden products from 100 per cent recycled plastic.
Gell said: “I’m more of a hands-on learner. I wanted to be involved in a business setting. I liked the fact the furniture was 100 per cent recycled and I liked the charity work the company gets involved in.”
Company commercial director Kym Barlow said: “I think one of the benefits for us as a business is Leah’s enthusiasm, new ideas and willingness to give everything a go. She came to a talk we gave at Derby University, and she has come with us to several networking events. One of the big things for me in bringing an apprentice into the businesses is that I want Leah to get as much out of this as we are getting as a business. For me, being part of Leah’s journey, if she goes on to bigger and better things in the future, I will be happy that I’ve been part of that.”
