People: Alcedo Care; Meadow Foods; PMSI; Absurd; AO

Fast growing Alcedo Care Group has appointed Catherine Hill, from Chester, as head of quality and compliance.

Taking the lead on all areas of product and service quality including the rigorous auditing of internal systems and procedures, safeguarding and meeting Care Quality Commission (CQC) and local authority regulations, Cathy is responsible for ensuring the ambitious North West-based home care group continues to deliver exceptional care as it embarks on a concerted growth plan this year.

She has worked in the health and social care sector for more than 18 years, working for just two companies during that time, and working her way from support worker to senior manager registered with the CQC.

Cathy said: “I am delighted to join the team at this exciting time and look forward to supporting the business as it goes for growth ensuring Alcedo remains the number one provider for quality home care in the North West.”

Managing director, Andy Boardman, said: “We’re delighted to have Cathy on board and look forward to working with her to ensure that we meet our growth and expansion goals without compromising our established high standards and keeping firmly focused on the daily delivery of quality care.”

Cathy will be based at Alcedo Care’s Southport office on Hoghton Street.

Established in 2017, Alcedo Care continues to expand and currently has a 500-strong team working from offices in Southport, Blackpool, Wigan, Preston and Lancaster.

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Chester-based Meadow Foods, an independently owned dairy group supplying added value ingredients to the food industry, has appointed James Farrell as its new trading manager, managing the butter, butter oils and milk solutions division.

The purpose of the role is to lead, manage and plan key customer account activities, as well as maximising profit, delivering growth and strengthening long term business relationships.

Reporting to the commercial director, the trading manager position will also focus on identifying and developing new customer, market and product opportunities. James will also work closely with the milk trading director to gain a wider understanding of milk supply, logistics and trading.

He joins the company with more than 15 years’ experience of working in the food and drink industry. In his previous role James supplied dairy products across various sectors, including food manufacturing, wholesalers and food service.

An experienced trading manager, James has previously created extensive relationships in trade across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.

James Farrell

He said: “I’m excited to be joining Meadow Foods and to bring my current expertise to the role, contributing to the strategic direction of the business and making a positive impact on the butteroils and milk solutions.”

Jack Hancock, CCO, said: “We look forward to welcoming James. He has a wealth of experience that will complement and add depth to the team and our butter and milk solutions. His expertise will be invaluable for upholding customer relationships and developing UK and EU trade opportunities.”

Meadow Foods operates from four sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor and Dolgellau where it manufactures value added ingredients for some of the UK’s best known food manufacturers. It is also currently working on a new plant-based division for the Chester site. The company currently employs more than 430 people and handles in excess of 550 million litres of milk each year direct from its network of dedicated milk producers across the UK.

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Robert Neves, has joined commercial due diligence (CDD) and strategy firm PMSI to help expand its presence in the North.

Neves joins PMSI from Deloitte, with a particular focus in the industrial sector. Prior to Deloitte, he gained extensive experience in the energy sector working at a leading energy consultancy. In his new role, Neves will be based in Manchester and will focus on supporting PMSI’s regional growth plans across the North West and Yorkshire.

Robert Neves

Managing partner David Crout said: “I am delighted to welcome Rob to our growing team of commercial due diligence specialists. Rob brings a wealth of experience and expertise across both the energy and industrial sectors, which will be of invaluable support to our clients.

“We are also excited to further expand our North West and Yorkshire presence, with a long track record of successfully supporting transactions in the region.”

Robert Neves said: “This is an exciting time for PMSI Strategy to expand as the M&A market continues to bounce back in 2021, and I am looking forward to playing an integral part in driving our growth plans.”

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Manchester-based strategic design agency Absurd is making a number of new hires across strategic design and technology, as it reports 113% growth in its first quarter.

The appointments come on the back of Absurd being awarded a number of major new projects, three resulting from competitive pitches.

The agency, which specialises in digital products and service design, works as the design partner for large organisations through to scale-ups, with long standing clients including Umbro, Brother and LV=.

Oliver Bailey

On the back of the growth, Absurd has five vacancies currently being filled, with front end developer Ben Hirst joining the team this month as the first of these new positions.

Oliver Bailey, co-founder of Absurd, said: “Now is a critical time for many businesses to be ramping up their digital and design capabilities and all of our new business has come from ambitious, forward thinking companies looking to grow or accelerate digital services that will better meet the needs of their audiences, be that business customers or consumers.

“With a specialism in service design as well as a breadth of experience in technology solutions we’re managing to compete against some large and established global agencies to partner with some fantastic organisations. Our growth is testament to the hard work of our team and results from our agility to adapt our services to best meet client’s requirements.”

He added: “We have ambitious plans for 2021 and the calibre of the team, and growth, puts us in a strong position to continue on our trajectory in the coming months.”

Absurd also has offices in London and the US and employs 15 staff.

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Electricals retailer, AO has announced that Jasmin Allott has joined the business as director of enterprise platforms and ERP.

In the newly created role, Jasmin will work closely with the Bolton-based retailer’s 300-strong, in-house tech team to deliver digital transformation across the AO Group, including the implementation of a Global ERP.

Jasmin said: “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join a business at such a pivotal time in its journey. I’ve been impressed with AO’s journey to date, I am excited to help as we move forward into this next chapter.”

Jasmin Allott

The appointment comes as the retailer looks to cement the shift to online shopping it has experienced over the past year. Jasmin’s role showcases a step change for the business as it continues to invest, transform, and align its systems to set it up for future growth.

AO’s director of group IT, Carl Phillips, said: “We are thrilled Jasmin has agreed to join the AO team and at such an exciting time for the business. Over the last 12months, customers have experienced a better way to shop for electricals and with Jasmin’s wealth of experience, we look forward to continuing to drive innovation through our tech team.”

As AO seeks to continue the increased demand for buying electricals online, it is recruiting further roles across its business.