People: Essar Oil UK; LSH; thirst; Stärka; RED Sytems; Public Practice
Cheshire-based Essar Oil UK has announced the appointment of Mark Palios, chairman and co-owner of Tranmere Rovers FC, as an independent non-executive board director, effective from October 1, 2022.
The appointment comes at a key juncture for Essar as it delivers on its investment plans of transitioning to become the UK’s first low carbon energy provider.
Mark has co-owned Tranmere Rovers with his wife Nicola Palios since 2014 and brings more than 40 years of commercial and senior leadership experience to Essar.
Mark started his career as a professional footballer, playing for Tranmere Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. After retiring from the professional game in 1986, he became a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and latterly as a senior partner at PwC, specialising in business turnaround.
In 2003, he was appointed as chief executive of the Football Association, carving out a specialism and expertise in business and sports governance. He has extensive non-executive and executive board experience, sitting on the boards of a number of organisations and businesses.
The appointment by Essar marks another step in strengthening its corporate governance framework. Essar says it is committed to operating the highest level of governance standards across its business and committed last year to the Wates Principles – the corporate governance framework for large privately-owned businesses in the UK. Mark’s addition to the board follows Essar’s appointment of Tim Bullock as an independent non-executive director in June 2021.
As well as supporting the board and business in corporate governance and community relations, Mark will support in Essar’s continued commercial growth strategy and its long-term decarbonisation and energy transition plans.
Essar has a long term relationship with Tranmere Rovers. The partnership includes shirt and commercial sponsorship.
Essar’s executive board members are: Deepak Maheshwari (chief executive) and S. Thangapandian (director). Its non-executive board members are: Kuthoore Natarajan Venkatasubramanian (independent non-executive director), Tim Bullock (independent non-executive director), Andrew Wright (non-executive director), and Mark Palios (independent non-executive director). The board is chaired by Prashant Ruia as non-executive chair.
Prashant Ruia said: “We would like to welcome Mark to Essar Oil UK’s board. He brings over 40 years’ commercial experience combined with an invaluable connection to our local community. As chairman of Tranmere Rovers, we have got to know Mark and worked with him in supporting the activities of this leading community club. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance, and this appointment forms a central part of that.”
Mark Palios said: “This is an exciting time in the company’s continued growth plans, as it delivers on its commitment for transforming for tomorrow by becoming a leader in the energy transition. I’ve seen first-hand the importance Essar gives to the local community, not just in its sponsorship of Tranmere Rovers, but across its operations.”
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Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has appointed a new director in its Manchester agency team. Adam Robson joins from a client-side role at car park operator, ParkBee, having previously held senior positions at NCP and Deloitte.
With experience of both landlord and tenant work across the office and industrial sectors, Adam will play a key role within LSH’s Manchester office agency team.
LSH’s Manchester office has experienced significant growth in the past 12 months and is instructed on both national and regional projects for clients including DNATA, Homes England and Plusnet.
Adam Robson
Christiaan Flatley, head of LSH’s Manchester office, said: “Adam is a key hire for us and a welcome addition to our existing agency offer. With a growing pipeline of instructions from both landlords and occupiers, we are adding vital strength in depth to our agency capabilities.”
Ryan Dean, head of transactional services at LSH, said: “As a UK-focused advisory business with a growing number of national mandates, it’s increasingly important to have senior resource throughout our entire regional network. Adam brings with him a wealth of industry contacts and agency experience that will add significant value to both clients and colleagues alike and I’m really looking forward to growing the North West team.”
Adam Robson said: “I’m excited to get started and to work closely with the wider team nationally and to work with our wide range of clients covering numerous sectors across the North West. The North West has enormous potential with LSH already involved in a number of exciting projects across the region and I aim to continue to provide our clients with a best in class service that they have come to expect from us over the years.”
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Manchester-based learning experience platform, thirst, built with advanced AI that, similarly to Netflix, will recommend personalised learning content to its users based on their interests and skills, has appointed Barry Ryan as marketing manager.
Ryan will take the lead in transforming the company’s marketing strategy to drive awareness of thirst’s e-learning platform and the value the product delivers to learning and development leaders and their teams.
The company was founded by Fred Thompson to put learners in the driving seat and empower each user to undertake and control their own learning journey. It uses advanced machine learning technologies to present items of learning content specific to their interests and skills.
Barry Ryan
Prior to joining thirst, Ryan held a variety of strategic marketing leadership roles across the technology and B2B sector including consumer technology, gaming, and computing company Tactus Group, e-commerce fulfilment specialists 3PL, and B2B marketing agency The Snap Agency.
Fred Thompson said: “Barry brings outstanding experience in delivering engaging stories that appeal across industries. I’m looking forward to him bringing his knowledge and expertise to inform our customers about how thirst solves complicated L&D problems with modern elegance and delight.”
Barry Ryan said: “I’m super excited to join the team. When I learned about the amazing capabilities of thirst, my reaction was ‘this has got to be one of the L&D industry’s best-kept secrets’.
”Companies are seeking next-generation solutions to help them transform their learning culture through increased engagement, knowledge sharing, and community building. My goal is to make these companies aware of thirst.”
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Stärka, the leisure real estate advisory business founded by Sammy Jones and David Bell, has doubled in size with two new appointments as the business celebrates deals totalling more than 400,000 sq ft so far this year.
With 20 years’ experience in the UK and Australia, Richi Peters joins as a consultant after eight years running his own business. Richi brings with him a deep understanding of the leisure sector, and has previously worked at Savills and GVA. In his new role at Stärka, Richi’s specialist knowledge in tenant representation and acquisitions will provide creative property advice to new and existing clients.
Alongside Richi Peters, Kate Buswell has joined Stärka as an apprentice. Kate will work closely with the team to develop her experience within the F&B and leisure industry, benefitting from the founders’ combined 40-years’ experience.
The Stärka team
Richi Peters said: “The time was right for a new challenge, one that would give me the opportunity to help grow a business, and there is no better place to do that than Stärka. I have joined a very exciting agency with very forward-thinking clients. I look forward to bringing my expertise and experience to Stärka and its clients.”
Since launching in January, Stärka, with offices in Cheshire and London, has been instrumental in a large number of significant transactions and re-gears this year.
Sammy Jones said: “We are innovators and, with Richi and Kate joining us, we are in a great position to expand further in the leisure, restaurant and lifestyle sectors to deliver our vision.”
Stärka has secured new clients including Everyman Cinema, Blacklock, Chotto Matte, 92 Degrees, Parthian Climbing and Oxygen FreeJumping, and is also retained by Hickory’s Smokehouse. The number of landlord mandates has grown to include Grosvenor, DTZ IM, Schroders and DS Properties. Stärka covers the UK, and also the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
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Wirral-based architectural glazing firm boss, Michael Green, has been appointed to the board of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
CITB board trustees are responsible for the governance, strategic direction and monitoring of business performance.
Michael, who started his career in the construction industry by completing the CITB Technicians residential YTS course at Bircham Newton with Alfred McAlpine, is a passionate advocate for training and development within the industry.
Michael Green
He said: “The invaluable foundations I gained via my very first training and development opportunity have underpinned my entire career. Now, with 33 years’ experience in the industry, I feel that this connection, combined with my overall experience and passion for upskilling and development, means I can continue to drive advancements and encourage more talent into construction.”
Following the completion of his ONC and HNC, once again through the CITB at Bircham and Alfred McAlpine, Michael has since worked on some of the UK’s most prestigious developments. He said: “Being able to ‘earn and learn’ within my formative years whilst gaining invaluable ‘on the job’ experience rather than following the traditional university route has been hugely instrumental in my career trajectory and shaped the professional I have become.”
In 2003 Michael founded RED Systems, and the company has grown to become a £14m-turnover operation, alongside a number of specialist subsidiary companies within the overall group structure.
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Public Practice, a national not-for-profit organisation focused on the public sector, has achieved seven appointments in its first expansion into the North West.
Public Practice Northern cohort
These include: Daniel Davis, as a strategic programme manager with Greater Manchester Combinrd Authority; Kelly-Marie Rodgers, strategic lead for healthy placemaking with Greater Manchester Sports Partnership; Thomas Tzortzi, historic places adviser (levelling up) with Historic England; Abigail Patel, strategy planner – Windermere Gateway Project, with Lake District National Park Authority; Oliver Boaler, economic development manager with Rochdale Development Agency; Jack Richards, urban designer with St Helens; and Mark Stancombe, urban designer with Warrington.
Pooja Agrawal, CEO of Public Practice, said: “We are proud to welcome our largest ever cohort of built environment professionals to new placements in local government. Our expansion into the North West comes at a very exciting time.”
