Appointments: DTZ; CBRE; NatWest; JD Sports & more

DTZ has appointed of Sophie Magee as senior surveyor in to its Manchester-based education, residential and investment team.

Previously with Bilfinger GVA working within its valuation consultancy department, Magee joins DTZ’s growing team to work with clients such as Southampton University, PwC, Maplegrove Developments and DTZ Investment Management.

Her recent clients at Bilfinger GVA have included Nationwide, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Santander, London and Continental Railways, Addleshaw Goddard, Catalyst, M7 and other local and national investment companies.

Mike Mitchell, senior director and head of the education, residential and development at DTZ in Manchester said: “I am delighted that Sophie has chosen to join us at DTZ.

“As activity levels and opportunities increase in the sector, Sophie’s appointment will add additional breadth to the existing team and help us with our ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional service to our growing client base.”

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IAIN Jenkinson has joined CBRE’s Manchester office as senior director for CBRE Planning.

His arrival follows on from a series of strategic appointments and promotions as part of an ambitious expansion which will result in the planning and development department doubling in size by the end of the year, with further growth planned.

The newly expanded team provides a comprehensive planning, development and funding service specialising in the delivery of large scale, complex, in-centre and mixed use schemes, for a variety of private and public sector clients.

Key clients include Schroders, CBRE Global Investors, Muse Developments, Maple Grove Developments, Dandara, Taylor Wimpey and United Utilities.

Jenkinson said: “I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic business. It is great to be part of an expanding Manchester office, which has a truly global reach. My focus is on growing a northern Planning and Development team focused on Manchester and Leeds, and continuing to advise on the delivery of some of the north’s most significant development projects.”

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NATWEST has appointed Rob Grace as Director of Business Banking Preston and Blackpool.
 
In his new role he will be leading a team of 12 experienced business managers looking after the needs of new start up and established SMEs based in Preston, Blackpool and the surrounding areas.

The team will look at investment in the region and ways to grow NatWest’s support to businesses across the marketplace. The team includes experts in Real Estate, healthcare and agriculture.
 
Grace has previously served as a senior lending manager supporting business banking, and has extensive experience supporting SMEs dating back to 1995. He also ran his own portfolio of customers in Liverpool, Chester and Manchester from 1999 to 2012.

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JD Sports Fashion, the Bury-based retailer of sports, fashion and outdoor, has appointed Karen Monks as PR & Communications manager for the group.

Monks will be working closely with the marketing team and the HR department on internal and external communications for the sports retail group, which has just announced an annual profit of more than £100m for the first time.  She brings a wealth of experience to the business having been director of PR at Manchester based PR firm Bird Consultancy where she worked for almost 18 years.

She said: “It’s an exciting time to be joining JD, the company continues to expand across the UK and Europe and there’s a passionate team of talented people behind it to support the growth.”

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IF – the Manchester based creative agency – is continuing to grow its account management team following the appointments of two new members of staff.

Amy Flynn has joined the company from McCann Birmingham as a senior account manager. She has worked in the creative industries for five and half years and will oversee the day-to-day running of the MBNA, Chef & Brewer and Paddy Power accounts.

She is joined by James Binding, IF’s newest account executive, who has arrived The Office Group. He will be working across several clients and will be supporting the senior team.

Christian James, managing director at The IF agency, said: “We know that our success is based on the abilities of our people. Amy and James both have an infectious enthusiasm for creativity and client service that I’m sure will inspire the best in all around them.”

“It is especially encouraging to see the north-west pulling away, contradicting the received wisdom that growth is most evident in London and the south-east. Almost a quarter of the firms on the list are based in either the north-west, Yorkshire or the north-east, supporting the new Government’s positive outlook for the “northern powerhouse” of the economy. We look forward to supporting it.”

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HOTEL PR and sales consultancy Preception Sales and Marketing has expanded its team with the appointment of Charlotte Drinkwater as Account Director.

Prior to joining Perception, based at Cheadle Hulme, near Manchester, she spent four and a half years as the regional sales manager at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland and was previously the international corporate sales manager at Kempinski Hotels and Resorts.

Drinkwater will be based in the South of England in a newly created role as account director, and will be responsible for driving forward event enquiries from clients in London and the South East.

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MELBOURNE, the Manchester data hosting company has boosted its business development team with the appointments of Doug Tracey and Stephen Hobson.

Tracey has a background in the IT reseller market having been most recently with Kelway, while Stephen Hobson joins from Salford-based IT and telecoms  provider Vaioni.

Matt Gardiner, sales and services director for Melbourne, said: “Doug and Stephen’s appointments are key to achieving our ambitious targets for this year. We’ve expanded our product range to include managed Amazon Web Services, Office 365, Connectivity and VDI Hosted Desktop, enabling us to support our customers as they grow and target larger new business wins.”

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DEBT management company The Debt Advisor has appointed a new marketing and business development manager to drive forward its online and digital marketing strategy.
 
Dylan Walsh, 34, has been appointed to the Manchester-based debt management company to oversee its marketing function and continue to develop its lead generation operation.
 
Walsh is a digital media strategist with over 10 years’ experience working in digital media agencies. Before joining The Debt Advisor, he was a freelance marketing consultant advising professional services firms on marketing and project strategy.
 
Managing director, Bev Budsworth added: “Dylan is a highly experienced business development and marketing manager. Not only does he have the commercial acumen, he also has the technical skills needed to help The Debt Advisor deliver its ambitious online and digital marketing strategy. He’s already proving to be a great asset to the business.”
 

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