People on the Move: Park Group; AECOM; Bromleys; Jones Homes; Studio RBA; Fluid Digital
Transformation and change specialist Gill Taylor has joined the senior leadership team at Park Group, the Liverpool-based multi-retailer redemption product provider to corporate and consumer markets.
Gill joins as chief transformation officer from not-for-profit organisation Ombudsman Services in Warrington, Cheshire, and brings a wealth of experience of corporate strategy, change management, culture development and transformation in financial services, more recently with Bank of America in Chester.
The appointment comes as Park Group announces plans to move its core business from Birkenhead to new offices at 20 Chapel Street in the heart of Liverpool – the biggest city property deal so far in 2019 – as part of its ambitious plans for growth and expansion.
Under the company’s new strategic plan, it will separate its Birkenhead-based hampers business and drive product and customer innovation through digital technologies.
Gill will work horizontally across all of Park Group’s business lines, and lead the company’s strategic change team and report directly to CEO, Ian O’Doherty, who said: “We’re undergoing a period of significant change in order to create a dynamic and progressive financial services business anchored on digital.
“Critical to this is ensuring that everything fits together and we’re aligned, and Gill will be central to us achieving that.
“We’re delighted to have Gill on board at Park, not only because of her experience and class-leading knowledge around change, but also her ability to unify teams under a common set of values – a culture – that helps to drive it and bring people along on the journey.”
Gill Taylor said: “I’m inspired by the enthusiatic, loyal and driven team we have at Park, which not only cares about making this business a continued success, but is ambitious for the future and wants to realise all the opportunities we have.
“Under Ian’s leadership and the new strategic plan, we have a clear vision and direction, which makes the opportunity to deliver truly transformational change at Park incredibly engaging, exciting and rewarding.
“It feels like a seminal moment for the company. With the right focus and talent, and through the smart delivery of our change initiatives, we can build an organisation that is fit for the future creating and delivering value for all our stakeholders.”
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Global infrastructure services firm AECOM has hired Neil Lewin to lead its UK and Ireland North design practice.
Responsible for the company’s design team in the North of England, Neil will focus on growing AECOM’s integrated design service for clients across a wide range of sectors in the region. He will be based in Manchester.
AECOM’s design practice in Manchester is working on projects for clients including Dyson, Manchester Airport Group, Amazon and Homes England.
The team is also working on the development of town centre and neighbourhood plans and on a number of new government hubs in the North West.
With plans to grow the design practice in Manchester, Neil will work with AECOM’s other multidisciplinary teams to strengthen the company’s integrated offer in the region.
Neil Lewin
An architect with more than 30 years’ industry experience, Neil joins AECOM from IBI Group where he was deputy regional director for the UK and led the company’s Manchester office.
At IBI, Neil and his team worked on notable projects including Trafford Waters for Peel, the regeneration of Barnsley town centre, and masterplanning South Heywood for Russell Homes.
At AECOM, Neil will complete the principals group of the company’s UK & Ireland design practice, which is led by Jennifer Dixon and also includes Dale Sinclair, Trevor Leaker and Erik Behrens.
Jennifer Dixon, architecture leader, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “With major opportunities across the North of England, Neil takes on a critical role as we look to enhance our integrated design offer in the region. He brings both local insight and extensive design experience to our broad range of clients.”
Neil added: “AECOM’s scale and diversity provides the ability to deliver a truly integrated service. I look forward to working with AECOM’s multi-disciplinary teams to broaden our design offer for our clients in the region.”
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David Hilton, the head of law firm Bromleys’ Court of Protection department, has been promoted to partner.
He joined the Tameside practice in 2017 as a senior associate and became head of the department last year when he succeeded John Longworth.
John handed over the reins of the 11-strong team in line with Bromleys’ succession plan, but remains a key member of the team.
The Court of Protection team acts for clients who lack the mental capacity to manage their own property and financial affairs due to reasons such as injury, illness or old age.
David Hilton
David, who qualified as a solicitor in 2008, is a member of the national committee of the Court of Protection Practitioners Association.
He said: “I’m delighted to become a partner at Bromleys and look forward to working closely with the rest of the management team to build on our success and drive the business forward.”
Bromleys’ senior partner, Mark Hirst, said: “David is an extremely talented professional who has made a strong contribution to the department and the firm as a whole since joining us in 2017.
“He has enhanced the team’s skill-set and efficiency and under his stewardship it has enjoyed its most successful year in the firm’s history.
“As a partner, David will play an important role in helping us to achieve our ambitious growth plans and the continued delivery of legal services of the highest quality to all our clients.”
Mark added: “We are continuing to recruit to meet growing demand for our services, with new team members taking up key positions in the corporate and commercial services and care teams in the near future, and with further appointments in the pipeline.”
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Jones Homes has welcomed a new land director to lead the search for prime new housing locations across Lancashire and Cumbria.
Dan Bolton has been appointed divisional land director for Jones Homes’ Lancashire division, which recently expanded into Cumbria.
His key role is to identify land for sale, assess its suitability for development and bring the most desirable parcels of land through the planning and purchase processes.
A chartered town planner, Dan previously worked for commercial property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton, where one of his roles was selling land to housing developers.
He said: “I am thoroughly enjoying my new role. The time was right for a new challenge and I have effectively switched to the other side of the fence, buying rather than selling land.
Dan Bolton
“While there is plenty to learn, my previous experience is proving to be valuable. I understand land owners’ aspirations and what they are looking to achieve.
“The land director role is very technically orientated. I have been identifying sites, understanding their complexities, working through the planning process and meeting with local authorities and agents.”
He added: “Jones Homes has strong relationships with landowners and local authorities and is committed to sustainable, high quality development.
“This was a rare opportunity to join a privately-owned housebuilder with a 60-year heritage and I am delighted to be part of the team.”
Ralph Bacon, regional director for Jones Homes Lancashire, said: “Dan’s arrival has helped to create new opportunities for Jones Homes to build communities in sought-after locations.
“His commercial land background has brought a new perspective to the team. He is nurturing new and existing relationships and ensuring that Jones Homes is ahead of the curve in identifying land in areas where people aspire to live.”
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Merseyside architect’s practice Studio RBA is set to more than double its turnover to £400,000 in just its second year.
This comes alongside news of three appointments to the growing firm, with two directors and a technician bringing the team to 10 permanent staff.
Jack Johnson, 32, joins as an architect director, having worked previously for A2 Architects, while Kenny McNaughton, also 32, is Studio RBA’s new managing director, joining from Dutch firm Koole to take on a split design and business management role.
From left: Jack Johnson, Matthew Johnson and Kenny McNaughton
The third new recruit is architectural technologist Matthew Johnson, 22, who has gained a reputation as a rising star in the industry, joining from L7 Architects.
Adam Morgan, director of Studio RBA, said: “It’s been a great couple of years for us, one that has seen us carve our niche in the sector, punching above our weight to successfully compete for some huge North West developments.
“It’s important that a new business grows steadily and doesn’t sit still, so when the chance came to add vital skills and experience to the group, we didn’t hesitate.
“Recent project wins, like the 12-storey Eclipse development in Liverpool’s Baltic Village, have seen the firm’s stock rise in the North West, allowing us to bring in the best staff and work on more high-profile schemes.
“With our workload constantly increasing it feels like the right time to expand and make sure that the commissions our talented team are winning keep on coming.”
Liverpool-based Studio RBA was formed in July 2017 by founding director Adam Morgan and has since built a strong reputation for original design and efficiency, backed by a young team which has turned around more than 140 projects, across the region, worth more than £125m.
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Manchester digital agency Fluid Digital has appointed Carl Walker as an account director and Haroon Nadeem as a senior Magento developer.
Carl will be responsible for overseeing and leading existing client services for Fluid’s ecommerce clients which include Lakeland Leather, Trutex, Whispering Smith and handmade designer jewellery brand Chlobo.
He joins from software company MPP Global but worked as an account manager at Fluid between September 2016 and March 2018 when it was previously based in Bury.
Carl joined MPP to be closer to his Warrington home, but as Fluid is now based in Manchester city centre with improved transport links he felt the time was right to re-join the team he loved working with in a more senior role.
Haroon, who joins from national footwear retailer Footasylum, will develop Magento websites for existing and new clients that will enable them to achieve sales and revenue growth.
Carl Walker and Haroon Nadeem
He will be one of the lead developers in Fluid’s now 11-strong Magento development team and, as well as leading client projects, will help to train and develop more junior developers.
Haroon has also previously worked at Fluid for a short spell from May 2018 to August 2018, however, due to family reasons he wanted to be based in his home town of Rochdale so took up a position with Footasylum’s Rochdale-based web development team.
However, with Fluid continually adding to their Magento developer numbers he hoped one day to return and the time is now right for him.
Adam Hindle, managing director of Fluid Digital, said: “Both Carl and Haroon have the skills we need and the knowledge of our business to hit the ground running. I’m thrilled to welcome them back to the team as they are keen to take leading roles in growing the business through quality services.”
Carl said: “I’m delighted to come back to Fluid. I’d kept in touch and followed the company’s progress and when the opportunity came up to return in a position that would give me more control over the direction of client services I jumped at the chance.
“I’m excited to be part of helping Fluid create a best in-class offering and working with our clients to create growth-focused ecommerce strategies.”
