People on the Move: Countryside; GO!; GHP Legal; pro-manchester; Trak Global Group

Mark Hadfield

Homebuilder Countryside has appointed Mark Hadfield as managing director for its Merseyside and Cheshire West region, as the company launches a new wave of developments.

The move has seen Mark promoted from the role of regional operations director, which he has held since he joined the business in January 2018, responsible for overseeing Countryside’s development portfolio across Merseyside.

The team changes come as Countryside launches a number of new developments in Merseyside and Cheshire West, including Abbotsfield in St Helens, Hollystone Bank in Runcorn and Highfield Place in Kirkby.

Countryside is also preparing to commence work on a series of new developments for the end of this year into 2020, including new homes in Maghull, Deeside and Spectra Park in Warrington.

Bringing approximately 950 new homes to the region, these latest developments add to Countryside’s established presence in the region, which has seen the developer deliver a number of major mixed tenure schemes across Merseyside and Cheshire.

Ian Kelley, chief executive, Countryside Partnerships North and Midlands, said: “During Mark’s time with the business to-date he has been fundamental to the growth of our development portfolio and delivering, with our partners, high quality and affordable new homes that reflect our leading reputation in the North West.”

Mark added: “I’m delighted to be taking on this new role to help drive the region to even greater success. We have a solid team in place here at Countryside and a healthy development pipeline. There is always going to be demand for new build, quality homes in good locations, however, it is our exceptional design and specific standards that really sets us apart and I look forward to continuing to raise the bar.”

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Manchester-based intermediary consultancy business GO! has appointed Aimeé Howells, the former global partnerships manager at Manchester United.

The news follows the company’s recent expansion and office move to Spring Gardens in the heart of the city centre, as it continues to grow its talented team.

Aimeé joins the company as brand relationship manager, having previously worked with some of the world’s most renowned brands including the likes of Nike, Uber, Bentley, Very.co.uk, Aldi and C4.

“On meeting with co-founders Gareth and Russell there was an instant synergy and connection in how we viewed the wider brand–agency landscape, so it just felt the right fit to join them on their journey,” said Aimeé.

“GO! has seen impressive growth over the last 12-months and I’m excited to be part of their expanding business as we continue this upwards trajectory. We have an incredibly talented team here and this is such an exciting time for the company.”

Aimeé Howells

Aimeé brings more than 15 years’ experience working with agencies, brands and rightsholders and will be specifically working with brands in the sports, leisure and consumer markets who are looking to forge new agency relationships.

Co-founder and chief executive Gareth Oakley said: “We’re delighted to have Aimeé on board. Her in-depth knowledge and valuable experience within the sector ensure that she is best placed to understand the challenges facing the industry and to drive positive results.

“Aimeé’s appointment represents our key focus on finding the best possible talent to support our continued commitment to our clients.”

GO! has managed a number of high-profile appointments in these sectors this year and with Aimeé’s appointment it hopes to continue to strengthen its presence and build new relationships with leading brands.

“No longer can marketing leaders spend without full justification, accountability and proof of ROI or ROO. This means that it is increasingly important that brands have the right partners and agency ecosystem that can help deliver and showcase success in real and tangible ways,” Aimeé added.

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GHP Legal has strengthened its team once more, this time with the appointment of two new paralegals.

The firm, which claims to be one of the largest independent law firms in North Wales and Shropshire, has appointed Deon Hayward to support lawyers in the family department of both its Wrexham and Oswestry offices and Molly Drake, who will be based in the civil litigation, personal injury and dispute resolution department at Wrexham.

Molly Drake and Deon Haywar

Both new members of staff were born and brought up locally to the offices where they are now working, continuing an employment trend for the firm which employs almost 100 people across five offices in Wrexham, Oswestry, Chirk and Llangollen.

Group practice manager, Nicola Thomas, said: “Since the firm’s original inception 49 years ago there seems to have been an extraordinary number of staff members who have returned to their local roots.

“Despite being classed as one of the top 500 law firms in England and Wales and constantly striving to offer new and better services, GHP Legal has retained the down to earth approach that has earned it the loyalty of both clients and staff alike over many years. People feel comfortable dealing with us and that is important.”

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Business development group pro-manchester has appointed Electricity North West director, Steve Cox, to its board.

Cox, engineering and technical director for the region’s power network operator, was appointed to the pro-manchester board following a strong selection process.

The appointment comes after Electricity North West launched its ‘Leading the North West to zero carbon’ plan, with Manchester being a major focus in its future projects and investment plans.

Cox, who has 30 years’ industry experience, is leading the team which is pioneering the way electricity is distributed and managed, with demand expected to double over the next 20 years as the number of low carbon technologies connecting to the network rapidly increases.

As the region’s network operator, Electricity North West is the technical architect leading the change to a zero carbon future and has an extremely important role to play.

Cox joins the board, which includes chair Jenn Hazlehurst, who is a managing office partner at EY.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be appointed to the pro-manchester board. The North West’s journey in transitioning to a net-zero carbon future is under way and we at Electricity North West are at the forefront of that.

Steve Cox

“Greater Manchester has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2038. With businesses responsible for using two thirds of the carbon, we need them to lead the charge in order to reach this with Electricity North West investing £1m per day in the network to ensure the capacity is there to support this transition.”

He added: “In this role, I look forward to offering expertise and support as businesses across the region look at how they adopt low carbon technologies in order to meet the region’s decarbonisation targets.”

In March Electricity North West launched its ‘Leading the North West to zero carbon’ plan which sets out how it is investing £63.5m over the next four years, to drive down its own carbon emissions and help businesses and customers to do the same.

Cox added: “It is our responsibility, as the region’s power network operator, to lead the way in the North West’s zero carbon transformation.

“We’re investing heavily to ensure targets are met and I look forward to working with businesses from across the North West in the future.”

Sam Booth, pro-manchester chief executive, said: “It is great to have the representation of Steve on our board. Having a company as large as Electricity North West advocating what we are trying to achieve for the Greater Manchester business community is a great asset to us.

“Electricity North West are making an impact across multiple sectors that we support, and we are excited to be working closer together going forward.

“Steve’s inclusion on our board also reflects our strategy to move pro-manchester from a professional services organisation to an organisation that represents the key sectors of growth in our region.”

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Crewe-based Trak Global Group (TGG), one of the world’s leading telematics technology companies with operations in the UK, Europe, and North America, has appointed Nino Tarantino chief executive of IMS (Americas).

The hire is a key next step in TGG’s rapid-growth strategy in North America.

It follows the company’s December 2018 acquisition of IMS, a top-three telematics business in North America and, in September this year, investment into the group of more than $50m from Three Hills Capital Partners.

IMS, the insurance solutions arm of TGG, provides complete end-to-end solutions that enable insurers and their customers to benefit from usage-based insurance (UBI) and extract value from telematics data right across the value-chain – from customer acquisition and risk management through rewards, customer engagement and claims.

Tarantino will drive IMS’s growth in the North American market, while supporting its existing client base and seeking opportunities to innovate within the insurtech space.

Nino Tarantino

He brings more than two decades of experience in the global telecommunications industry, chiefly growing companies and developing strategic business operations and comes to TGG with a recent track record in insurance telematics.

Most recently, Tarantino was the CEO of Octo Telematics North America, where he led and grew the business from start-up to market leader, achieving consistent yearly growth exceeding in 2017 three million UBI telematics policies.

He has won numerous awards, including 2018 Influencer of the Year at TU Automotive Detroit.

Prior to Octo, Tarantino held leadership roles in the global telco and space industries with Telecom Italia, Iridium, the first satellite phone company, and others.

“We are in extremely good hands with Nino at the helm of our growth plans for North America,” said Nick Corrie, chief executive and founder of TGG.

“Nino’s appointment is a critical move in our plan to exponentially increase our global scale and, specifically, grow our North American presence.

“He brings unprecedented experience innovating and building connected, data-driven technology solutions for the insurance industry, and we know he is the right leader to deliver further success for our company and its customers.”

Nino Tarantino said: “I have been privileged to build a record of success in the insurtech space as it dynamically changes the landscape for insurance carriers and their policyholders.

“The opportunity to join TGG at such an exciting point in its growth story was one I was delighted to accept. The company has delivered outstanding results and built incredibly strong partnerships with its customer base. I look forward to putting my experience into practice as we embrace the next chapter.”

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