People: Northern Gritstone; Blume; Autism Together; Hydes; Christopher Dee; Westgrove Group
Fiona Marston has joined as an independent member of Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee, bringing decades of experience as a biotechnology entrepreneur and expertise in building and scaling life sciences companies.
With a background in supporting start-ups and scale-ups, she is Royal Society’s Entrepreneur in Residence at Reading University, spearheading the commercial translation of research and the development of entrepreneurial skills and mentoring among research staff and students. She previously held the same role at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, as director of the Centre for Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research.
Having started her career in biotech, she founded the investment incubator Heathcare Ventures for Rothschild Bioscience Unit and J&J Development Corporation. Subsequently Fiona led Novacta Biosystems and Absynth Biologics in advancing anti-infective products to treat and prevent infections caused by S. aureus and C. difficile.
Alongside her other roles, Fiona Marston is non-executive chair and CEO of synthetic biology company Erebagen, non-executive director at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and an advisor to seed fund UKI2S, a £40m early-stage venture capital fund backed by UK Research and Innovation.
She holds a PhD in biochemistry, an MBA from London Business School and was awarded an OBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee reports directly to the company’s board as part of its corporate governance structures. It has delegated authority for making investment decisions. To date, Northern Gritstone has made 10 investments in science and technology firms in the North of England, including last month in Leeds-based chip designer Optalysys.
Duncan Johnson, Northern Gritstone CEO, said: “Fiona has unparalleled experience working with scaling businesses in biotech and life sciences. We are delighted that she is joining Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee as an independent member and she will play a vital role in shaping our approach as we look to back the most exciting businesses across the North of England.”
Fiona Marston said: “Northern Gritstone’s commitment to the philosophy of ‘profit with purpose’ closely reflects my experience and focus, so I’m very pleased to be joining its Investment Committee.
“Building on its historic research strengths, the North of England has incredibly exciting prospects in biotech and life sciences. Northern Gritstone is perfectly positioned to back high growth companies and support them on their path to scale. I am looking forward to working with Duncan and the team.”
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Dan Mitchell
Blume, a customer acquisition specialist for the legal sector, has appointed Dan Mitchell as product owner to deliver internal efficiencies and optimise the support the business provides to clients.
In his new role, Mitchell will be responsible for the development and growth of Blume’s product portfolio to keep up with ever-changing client needs. Mitchell will also play an active role in developing Blume’s product roadmap, working closely with Rob Gough, director of development. He will manage a growing product team including newly-appointed Eleanor Westwood as salesforce admin and James Golding as salesforce developer.
Most recently Mitchell was product manager at top 10 digital retailer N Brown, where he was instrumental in creating a flagship product squad. Prior to this, Mitchell spent six years at travel management company TAG, delivering and driving web-based applications and products into the business, and navigating some tough challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mitchell said: “I’ve watched the incredible growth Blume has experienced in the past 18 months and believe this is a fantastic opportunity to join at a time when we are investing significantly in our tech capabilities to deliver even higher quality data to our clients and improve internal processes.”
Rob Gough said: “Dan’s experience working across functional teams and senior stakeholders, and his track record in all areas of the product process will be invaluable to Blume.”
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Helen Bilton
Specialist support charity Autism Together has appointed Helen Bilton as its new director of people.
Helen replaces Jim Strain, who retired having led the charity’s human resources team for more than 27 years.
From its base in Wirral, Autism Together supports autistic people of all ages, with around 800 staff providing residential, supported living and day services to more than 400 autistic adults, and support to many more families across the region.
Helen joins the organisation following more than three years as regional HR director for a multi-national homecare provider.
With more than 18 years’ experience in human resources, Helen has excelled in senior HR roles within the public and private sector, allowing her to bring a wide range of expertise to support the entire staff team at Autism Together.
Helen said: “It is an absolute privilege to work for a charity dedicated to supporting and nurturing autistic people, putting these individuals at the heart of everything we do.”
Helen’s appointment follows a restructure of the executive team at Autism Together, with Jane Carolan becoming the director of operations and Chris Cullen stepping up to be the director of estates and facilities.
Richard Whitby, CEO, said: “With Helen in place, our new executive team can strive towards a bright future for the organisation as we strengthen our position as an employer of choice in the care sector, delivering fantastic services for the people we support and being an increasingly significant part of the communities we work in.”
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Roy Wilson
North West brewery and pub retailer, Hydes, has appointed an experienced general manager to run its newly-acquired premium dining pub in Heswall, on the Wirral.
Salford-based Hydes has appointed Roy Wilson to head up the team at The Harry Beswick which is due to open this autumn. The new pub restaurant will create up to 40 jobs.
With almost a decade of experience with Hydes at some of its most successful premium dining pubs, Roy previously managed The Hornsmill in Helsby, near Chester, since 2018. Prior to this, he was at The Jolly Thresher in Lymm.
Wilson said: “I know Heswall very well so the chance to establish and run The Harry Beswick from scratch is a major opportunity for me in terms of furthering my career with Hydes. Operating The Hornsmill for the past five years has been a great experience and to turn it into the successful operation that it has become, under the most challenging conditions the hospitality industry has ever faced, has been extremely rewarding. I’m hoping to replicate the success I had there to ensure that The Harry Beswick is equally successful.”
Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets, craft style bars and traditional community pubs. Hydes currently operates one other establishment on the Wirral, the Boat House in nearby Neston.
Managing director, Adam Mayers, said: “Roy is a first-class manager and has done an outstanding job at The Hornsmill over the past five years. His experience and commitment is second to none and he possesses all the key customer service attributes that Hydes looks for in its employees.”
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Simon Marshall
After three years as a director at CoStar, the commercial real estate analytics platform, Simon Marshall is joining property investment consultancy firm Christopher Dee.
Simon will be working alongside fellow partner Adam Wildig, who joined the partnership in 2021, as well as founding partners Chris Jones and Chris Bathurst.
Before working at CoStar, Simon spent 12 years with Savills, DTZ and Cushman & Wakefield in the regional capital markets, advising a range of UK institutions, regional propcos and HNWs. Simon’s expertise encompass acquisition, disposal and advisory across all commercial asset classes.
Chris Bathurst said: “Simon joins us with a significant breadth of experience and contacts across all the submarkets in which we operate. We look forward to welcoming him to the family and working closely with him as we continue to strengthen our business.”
Simon Marshall said: “Having further developed my knowledge of real estate analytics at CoStar, I am delighted to be re-joining the cut and thrust of the investment and development agency sector, and Christopher Dee are the perfect fit.”
Christopher Dee was established in 1999. The business, based in Altrincham, provides investment and development advice across all sectors and regions of the UK commercial market.
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Glenn Wilson and Claire McKinley-Smith
Facilities management company, The Westgrove Group, has appointed Glenn Wilson as group’s managing director.
Glenn joins the Warrington-based business with a wealth of industry experience, gained most notably with Incentive FM. This ultimately resulted in a senior board role as divisional director in the retail and distribution arenas.
He said: “I have admired the Westgrove brand from afar for a number of years. The colleague-centric DNA and the company’s true partnering ethos aligns perfectly with my own values and business objectives. It has huge appeal working within an ambitious independent business once again and I’m thrilled to be joining the company as its managing director.”
Co-chairman and founder, Steve Fives, said: “Simon (Whittle), Claire (McKinley-Smith) and I collectively feel that we can provide a real niche in the market as there aren’t many businesses of our experience and size now working in this specialised space. Glenn’s exciting appointment as our group managing director, with his undoubted pedigree, was our opportunity to make a real statement of intent about our future aspirations for the business.”
Glenn’s appointment sees Claire McKinley-Smith transition to a more strategic role as CEO for the group. Steve added: “This key strategic appointment has been richly deserved. Claire started her career with Westgrove in 2011 as our operations director. Within two years Claire was promoted to the role of managing director and subsequently group managing director in 2015.”
“Claire has been the company’s veritable dynamo over this time and has been instrumental in establishing the brand within the shopping centre sector, also successfully launching the brand into new complimentary sectors during her tenure as MD.”
