People on the Move: Hotfoot Design; Simpson Judge; Make Events; HAN Communications; Morris & Spottiswood
Award-winning creative agency Hotfoot Design has appointed three new specialists to join its expanding team in Lancaster.
Young Digital Marketer of the Year winner Ellie Pritchard joins as marketing consultant.
Ellie, who studied English Language and Creative Writing at Lancaster University, will be charged with creating compelling content marketing campaigns for the agency’s clients.
Alex Tkacovs, a former Lancaster University master’s student, joins the team as marketing analyst. He specialises in digital marketing and will be working with Hotfoot’s hospitality clients to optimise their performance across the web.
Also joining Hotfoot is experienced developer Tom Johnson. An addition to the agency’s technical team, Tom will be helping to build its award-winning websites.
The three new hires now takes Hotfoot’s team of creative, digital and marketing specialists to 14, led by its three partners, Charlie Haywood, Aidan Watt and Guy Cookson.
Hotfoot founder Charlie Haywood said: “We are super excited to have these three hugely talented specialists join our growing team. We’ve had a fantastic 12 months with a raft of new clients, a big award win, and some work we are really proud to have delivered.
“We are so pleased to have Ellie, Alex and Tom on board as we embark on some fantastic new projects in the months ahead.”
Hotfoot has recently delivered a number of exciting projects, including a new website for the multi-award-winning Lancaster Brewery, a new brand and website for Dorothy’s Teas, and a marketing campaign for Keswick Tourism.
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A number of recent hires and changes to the structure of professional services recruitment company Simpson Judge has seen significant growth and an extremely positive outlook for the remainder of 2018, it says.
Oliver Underwood has been appointed director of the new ERP systems implementation division – SJ Systems.
The company, with offices in Manchester and Preston, says he has an outstanding background in the ERP Implementation arena and will be responsible for the offering nationwide.
He was previously managing director for a division of a well-known IT recruitment business.
Director Rob Simpson said: “Oliver brings over 10 years of experience to the group and allows us to offer a very niche and bespoke service for clients looking to hire ERP implementation consultants. Oliver has been responsible for a significant amount of growth in his previous position and we are delighted to be partnering with him to grow this new business.”
Pamela Isles has joined the Preston Office to head up the interim practice.
Ms Isles has a background in temporary and contract recruitment and a significant client base across the North West.
Director Ben James said: “This move gives us a dedicated focus to the temporary recruitment market and is set to deliver significant returns.
“We hope that the new areas of business we continue to pursue will allow us to provide businesses with a service at all levels and really develop deep client relationships.”
Simpson Judge has also experienced significant growth in its Manchester office, headed by associate director Suzanne Horford.
Emma Jenkins has joined from Hays to focus on the PA/secretarial offering nationwide and she will be looking to place top level executive support candidates with MDs and CEOs.
Steve Wade has also joined Simpson Judge, returning to accountancy and finance recruitment after a period of time in legal recruitment. He is responsible for qualified accounting recruitment across Manchester and Merseyside.
There has also been an internal promotion with Jessica Pennington becoming a senior consultant. She covers transactional and part qualified recruitment for the Manchester area.
These latest hires take headcount to 13 and Simpson Judge says it is looking to significantly grow that number over the coming months.
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Make Events has appointed Alex Morrisroe as commercial director, and he becomes the first member of the senior management team.
He moves from Smart Live, part of the Smart Group, where he held the position of sales and marketing director.
Prior to Smart, he spent 12 years at Concerto Group working with numerous divisions including Concerto Live, now Clive Agency, where he was their head of client services.
Alex Morrisroe
In his new role Alex will be responsible for expanding Make Events’ existing client based and driving the business growth.
Founder and managing director of Cheadle Hulme-based Make Events, Holly Moore, said: “We embarked on a rigorous talent search for this new team and we were blown away by the talent that applied. The appointment of commercial director is in line with our growth strategy and Alex’s knowledge of the industry blew us away.”
Mr Morrisroe said: “Make Events have been on my radar for some time because of the amazing work they have been delivering and the clients they work with, so when the opportunity came up to join the team it was an easy decision.”
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Marketing and PR consultancy, HAN Communications, has grown its network of marketing and PR experts with the addition of former journalist, Ruth Lawson.
She joins as a freelance PR consultant from a North East-based communications agency, where she was a senior PR account manager.
Specialising in PR, and with experience of working across a number of sectors, Ruth will work as part of a wider team of marketing freelancers made up of founder, Hannah McGivern, and marketing consultant, Anna Scott.
Having started her career as a journalist at Trinity Mirror working for regional titles in the North East, including The Chronicle, The Journal and Sunday Sun, Ruth brings with her more than nine years’ experience of working in the media industry.
During her four years working in-agency, she developed a number of regional and national PR and communications campaigns for clients in the healthcare, transport, higher education, professional services and public sectors.
Ms Lawson said: “It has long been an ambition of mine to become a freelance PR consultant and now felt like the perfect time to take that next step. I’m delighted to work with HAN Communications and Iook forward to developing my freelance career working under such a respected and established brand.”
Founder of HAN Communications, Hannah McGivern, added: “It’s a pleasure to have Ruth on board as a consultant. Her mix of journalistic and PR experience as well as her ability to develop content for a variety of different audiences will prove invaluable as we seek to continue to grow our client base across the UK.”
Specialising in marketing and PR for the professional services, property, transport, construction, higher education (HE) and healthcare sectors, HAN Communications comprises a network of experienced freelance marketing and PR professionals based across the North East and North West of England.
The company operates offices in Preston and Sunderland.
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Warrington-based construction fit out firm Morris & Spottiswood is unleashing a ‘north of England’ sales drive after appointing a new business development manager.
Former AECOM business development manager Martyn Howie joins the firm with extensive experience within multinational construction and engineering sectors.
His new role will involve targeting fit-out, housing, mechanical and electrical (M&E) and maintenance contracts around Morris & Spottiswood’s regional hubs in Warrington and Leeds.
Morris & Spottiswood chief executive Jon Dunwell said his new charge joins at an exciting time for the £80m turnover business which employs around 400 people.
He said Mr Howie will ‘fill a void’ in the firm’s sales arsenal providing greater reach across counties including Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland.
A key focus will involve maintaining momentum within the firm’s rapidly expanding M&E ‘services division’, which grew by 54% between 2016 and 2017, rising from around £6m to £9m.
“We are very pleased to welcome Martyn into the Morris & Spottiswood team,” said Mr Dunwell.
“Having worked for the likes of Fortune 500-listed AECOM, as well as local and national architectural practices, he has precisely the sort of background we require to achieve our growth targets.
“Martyn comes with in-depth understanding of engineering, design, consulting, construction, and management services for a wide range of clients. He will be playing an important role developing our business right across the north of England, reaching further and deeper than we have gone before.”
Mr Dunwell added: “There are growth opportunities in large conurbations such as Preston, Kendal, Carlisle, Hull, Middlesbrough, Durham and Newcastle.
“These have remained relatively untapped for us, until now. Our aim is to unlock this northern belt by combining our national delivery model with highly skilled local service providers.
“Morris & Spottiswood’s investment in people and recent acquisition of the Leeds city-centre office shows a firm commitment to the region. We are laying down strong foundations to drive turnover past the £150m barrier in the next 10 years.”
Mr Howie said: “One of the key factors which attracted me to Morris & Spottiswood is the ambition of the firm. It has a progressive and dynamic outlook with a solid vision for the future.
“It has all the ingredients to grow rapidly with experienced management, a large and versatile team, and a strong industry reputation.”
He added: “There are many areas I see potential to grow market share, from maintenance contracts to facilities management and technical services contracts.
“We also have specialist teams working within national framework, M&E and flooring divisions. We have a broad remit and will be targeting projects ranging from £10,000 to £30m.
“This includes new-build developments, multi-trade modernisation programmes, extensive external fabric upgrades and complex M&E services installations.”
