People on the Move: Blue Orange; Marketing Cheshire; KOMI Group; Native; Hurst
Expanding IT specialist Blue Orange is welcoming a string of new arrivals including operations manager Tristan Carter as part of a continuing £10m growth strategy.
Tristan boasts more than 25 years’ industry expertise and is the latest addition at the Adlington-based services and supply company that works with big name clients such as Nandos as well as many other businesses, schools and colleges.
He will help manage day-to-day operations as Blue Orange looks set to double turnover over the coming years, after a hugely successful 2020, despite the COVID crisis.
“Blue Orange is a company on the rise and I’m looking forward to playing a frontline role in helping develop further success. I see it as the natural next step for me,” said Tristan, who worked in a similar role at IT company Lantec as part of a 14-year career, following 12 years at Dabs. He joined the industry aged 17.
Managing director, David Silous-Holt, said Tristan is ideally placed to help propel the business further forward: “Tristan has a wealth of experience and really understands the industry inside out, from resellers to managed services. Ultimately the most important benefit is he really understands the exciting journey we are on, as we continue to grow month-on-month. He can help take us to the next level.”
Blue Orange specialise in remote and on-site IT services as well as hardware supplies to customers throughout Lancashire and beyond. The company was formed 13 years ago and has grown rapidly in recent times – set to hit £5m in turnover this financial year, up by around 25%.
David added: “We’ve made key appointments in November and December with more due to join in January, which are typically slower periods for many businesses. We continue to lay the foundations for further success having also invested in an expanded vehicle fleet. 2021 will be even bigger and better.”
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Trevor Brocklebank has been confirmed as the chair of Marketing Cheshire, taking over from Angie Robinson.
Cheshire entrepreneur Mr Brocklebank joins the board alongside his role as deputy chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) board.
Trevor is a renowned business leader, having founded Warrington-based Home Instead Senior Care, which is recognised as one of the UK’s leading home care specialists.
He joins the board at a critical time as Marketing Cheshire continues to support businesses in the visitor economy, leisure, hospitality, and tourism sector to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trevor’s appointment will continue the partnership between Cheshire and Warrington LEP and Marketing Cheshire and ensure that place-marketing is at the heart of plans for economic recovery.
Trevor said: “I was born in Warrington and am passionate about promoting the whole of the region. I will continue Angie’s legacy of working in partnership with the hospitality and visitor sectors, alongside focusing on place-marketing and economic strategy development.
Trevor Brocklebank
“I am committed to leading economic recovery over the coming months and want to ensure that Cheshire and Warrington is recognised as a great place to live, work and visit.”
Angie Robinson, outgoing chair, said: “I am very proud of my work at Marketing Cheshire. I wish to thank the team for all their hard work and dedication over the years and in particular their response to helping the tourism sector through COVID-19. I am delighted that Trevor has been chosen as my successor and am confident in his ability to lead the future direction of Marketing Cheshire. I wish him every success.”
Clare Hayward, chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP, added: “I would personally like to thank Angie for her dedicated term as chair and commitment to promoting Cheshire and Warrington.
“Appointing Trevor to this role shows how important the work of Marketing Cheshire is to the LEP’s vision for a sustainable, inclusive, healthy, and fast-growing economy. I look forward to working with Trevor and all Marketing Cheshire’s partners to build a better future together.”
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KOMI group, the Manchester-based social media marketing company, is continuing to grow after appointing three new members to its social and media teams.
Their arrivals follow the recent news that its turnover hit £1m for the first time and that it aims to double that figure over the next 12 months. It also announced that its headcount grew from seven to 30 people. The firm expects that number to jump by another 15 by mid-2021.
The first new starter is Vishnu Pamar who is the company’s new creative manager. Prior to joining KOMI, Vishnu worked as a successful self-employed creative designer.
His new role will see him lead on all creative work for the agency’s roster of clients. He will also manage the wider creative team and be central to the new business strategy.
Tuan Tran joins KOMI as its newest paid media executive. His work will focus on all internal and client-paid campaigns across Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Since graduating in 2017, Tuan has worked for various start-ups, SMEs and large enterprises on a freelance or interim basis helping them to boost their online presence and generate sales and/or leads using paid advertising channels.
The final new appointment is Zoe Laufer who joins as a junior community coordinator. This will see her finding content for the group’s It’s Gone Viral and Go Fetch pages, reaching out to creators to ask for permission to use their content or license their videos as well as editing content – primarily for Instagram and TikTok.
Vishnu Parma
Zoe is a recent graduate and she has also worked as a personal and production assistant for a content creator on YouTube.
Managing director, Andrew Trotman, said: “The last 12 months have been strong for the company and these new starters all bring with them a wealth of ideas and creative thinking which is what sets us apart.
“The early part of 2021 will see some more exciting new developments and arrivals so Vishnu, Tuan and Zoe will, I’m sure, play an integral role in our next phase of growth.”
Vishnu said: “I’m really pleased to be part of KOMI group as I’ve admired the company for a while now. My new role allows me the opportunity to really add my creative stamp to the clients we work with and be part of a growing and innovative agency.”
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, KOMI has won major contracts with brands including SWAN, Mars Pets and The Flava People. It has also committed to take out additional office space at its base in Beehive Mill, Ancoats.
Earlier this year it rebranded from It’s Gone Viral and restructured which saw it become a three divisional agency business consisting of dedicated social media, marketing and licensing teams.
On average the company delivers more than one billion views across its portfolio of pages each month.
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Mark Clinton has joined Native as food and beverage ops director for Ducie Street Warehouse in Manchester.
Clinton’s experience spans more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, with his career including 5-star hotels, brasserie & fine dining venues, contract catering, premium casual dining and a stint in consultancy.
A well-established character in Manchester’s hospitality scene, Mark spent eight years at Harvey Nichols, where he became hospitality general manager, transforming their hospitality offering from separate fine dining and brasserie restaurants into one premium casual all-day dining destination.
In 2016, Mark was appointed general manager at the highly anticipated Refuge by Volta, where he spent four years before taking the position at Ducie Street Warehouse. During the pandemic, Mark has been a panel member on the Greater Manchester Night Time Economy Taskforce with Sacha Lord to advise as a restaurant representative.
A Grade II-listed former Victorian Warehouse, Ducie Street Warehouse is home to Native Manchester, the UK’s largest aparthotel, with 166 apartments offering a variety of living spaces from studios and one-beds to two-bedroom penthouses, complete with private garden terraces.
Mark Clinton
Over the past year the ground floor has fast become a hub for those who like to eat, drink and work in the Northern Quarter, with a variety of different spaces available, including the Lounge, Restaurant, Bar, Mini Cini, Winter Garden and meeting/private dining rooms.
Mark said: “I’ve been a big fan of Ducie Street Warehouse and a regular visitor since it opened, so I’m delighted to have joined the team and become a part of it. There’s a lot to look forward to for the ground floor space at DSW in 2021, including a new food and drink offering, the long anticipated return of events and live performance and some internal and external improvements to make the most of the fabulous space we have.
“We know DSW has been a vital home to many this year, we plan to lay on some fun and create a real place for Manchester – God knows we all need it.”
Guy Nixon, Native CEO, said: “The ground floor has become a real force of nature in the last year, and we’ve been looking at ways to build on the momentum created – Mark’s appointment is pivotal to that and can help us evolve Ducie Street’s offering in 2021.
“He comes to us with a wealth of experience in the industry and in Manchester and is a fantastic addition to the team.
“The potential for the ground floor is unlimited and we’re confident 2021 will be the year that sees that come to fruition.”
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Accounting and business advisory firm Hurst has created five roles following a raft of new client wins.
It has added staff to its corporate finance, marketing and outsourced payroll teams as well as recruiting two graduates.
Amy Devereux has joined Hurst Corporate Finance as a research executive. She was previously a corporate business analyst at KBS Corporate, which is part of AIM-listed K3 Capital Group.
Cezara Glynn has been recruited as digital marketing manager. Before joining, Cezara was a newspaper reporter and over the past 10 years has held a variety of marketing roles on client and agency sides. She will be managing Hurst’s increasingly important digital presence and overseeing a rebranding project for the firm.
Hollie Freeman has joined as an executive in the expanding payroll team. She has moved from HR, employment law and health and safety consultancy Peninsula, and before that she worked in the client payroll division at BDO.
Hurst’s latest graduate recruits are Nathan Jones, who has a degree in accounting and finance and a Masters in financial technology, and Natasha Novakovic, who has a law degree.
Meanwhile, Samantha Tingey has been promoted to manager in Hurst’s business services team.
Hollie Freeman, left, and Cezara Glynn
Partner and director of practice development, Simon Brownbill, said: “We have experienced an exceptional run of new UK and international business wins in recent months across sectors including manufacturing, engineering and wholesaling.
“As a result, we have needed to strengthen our teams to support new clients, as well as to help us to meet the expectations of existing ones.
“We received a large number of applicants for all of the new roles, and so we were in a good position to choose the very best candidates.
“Our clients are sophisticated, and we need people with the right skillsets to work with them, combined with a positive, can-do approach that fits with our team ethos.”
He added: “We are delighted to welcome our five newcomers and are pleased to announce Samantha’s well-deserved promotion. It is gratifying to be in a position where we can support them all in developing their careers during such a period as we find ourselves in, which, in turn, comes from some of the region’s leading businesses seeking out Hurst for support.
“Our continuing growth means we are currently recruiting for more senior roles across all disciplines as well as graduate positions.”
