People: Re:volve Real Estate; JTAPE; HF; DWF; United Living Group; Big Red Construction; REPIC; FWP
Wilmslow-based property and asset management firm Re:volve Real Estate has announced the senior hire of Melanie Jones in the newly created role of Senior Operations Director.
Melanie will be responsible for supporting Managing Director, Anna Main in delivering the mobilisation and onboarding of new business and expanding the property and facilities management teams.
With more than 15 years of experience in facilities, asset management and operations, Melanie joins the team from Nikal Group, where she served as Operations Director. At Nikal she worked closely with Re:volve Real Estate delivering the retail and public realm space at Birmingham’s £350m Exchange Square development.
Melanie will retain her current property and asset management projects with Nikal, which include key city centre spaces in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as other prominent projects across the North West.
She said: “It’s a really exciting time to join such a dynamic and proactive firm. Having worked with Re:volve and Anna before in my previous role, I admired their approach and shared their vision for the industry and client delivery. I’m eager to build on our fantastic relationship and support Anna in growing the company.”
Anna Main said: “We’re so pleased to be welcoming Melanie to Re:volve. Melanie’s appointment is a key step in our growth plans. She brings invaluable experience that will strengthen our client delivery and support our expansion.”
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Gillian Allan
JTAPE is pleased to announce the recent hiring of Gillian Allan as she takes on the role of Regional Sales Manager for the Macclesfield-based business.
Gillian is now overseeing the sales-to-distribution pipeline for JTAPE within Great Britain (North) & Northern Ireland.
Coming to JTAPE with more than seven years of experience in the automotive industry after managing the Scottish branch at the Morelli Group and transitioning into sales as a Key Account Manager, Gillian has built up an impressive range of valuable skills.
JTAPE said it is continuously committed to empowering women to close the gender gap that exists within the automotive industry.
Gillian said: “My employers, customers or distributors have always embraced the skills and experience that I’ve brought to each of my roles. The automotive industry has previously been seen as male-dominated but having worked within this sector for many years now, I’ve found that women are very well received and successful when they’re given the opportunity.”
Chris Jevons, JTAPE’s Commercial Director, said: “Gillian is an excellent addition to our growing team here at JTAPE and we’re excited to see her flourish as she continues to inject her expertise and experience into everything she does. We’re an equal opportunities employer and couldn’t be happier to bring new faces to the business who can improve our operations.”
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Emily Wheatley
Insurance and Commercial law specialist, HF, has appointed Emily Wheatley to head its newly established commercial property division.
Emily brings extensive experience in all areas of commercial property law, strengthening the expanding commercial and corporate offering at HF.
Ronan McCann, CEO and Managing Partner at HF, said: “ HF’s commercial law division has gone from strength to strength since it was formed three years ago.
“We recently added a corporate team to complement our dispute resolution and insolvency and restructuring teams and Emily’s appointment comes at an exciting time for HF as our commercial law division moves towards its initial targeted annual revenue of £10m.
“We see significant scope for scaling our commercial division over the next 12 months through M&A activity and through further selective lateral hires.”
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Steve Varley
DWF, the Manchester-based global provider of integrated legal and business services, has appointed Steve Varley as Independent Non-Executive Chair.
Varley was Chair and Managing Partner of EY in the UK & Ireland between 2011 and 2020, and Global Vice-Chair, Sustainability at EY Global between 2020 and 2023.
At DWF, Varley will chair the firm’s group board, providing non-executive oversight of the group strategy.
Varley has a career of more than 30 years in the professional services industry, including 14 years at Accenture (previously Andersen Consulting), and 18 years at EY.
He joined EY in 2005 to build the firm’s consulting practice in Northern Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. After successfully growing that business, Varley was elected as UK & Ireland Chair and Managing Partner in 2011.
During his tenure as Chair and Managing Partner, EY saw annual revenues in the UK & Ireland increase from £1.35bn to £2.6bn, with its workforce expanding from 14,000 to 20,000 across 19 offices. In 2020, he became EY’s Global Vice-Chair for Sustainability, growing its global sustainability practice from 3,500 to 8,500 professionals and helping companies around the world to create value from becoming more sustainable.
Steve was a member of the Business Advisory Group to two Prime Ministers, accompanying PM David Cameron as an advisor to China, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia and Japan.
He said DWF is a highly ambitious business with a clear strategy and a commitment to creating sustainable growth: “The firm’s values align with my own and I look forward to working with Nigel and the executive board in playing my part to help DWF on the next stage of its journey.”
Sir Nigel Knowles, Chief Executive of DWF, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Steve to the group board. One of our stated ambitions is to build a global professional services firm with our heritage in law. Steve has an exceptional level of experience in building and growing global professional services businesses and I have no doubt that his expertise will be of great benefit to DWF.”
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Mike Cobble
United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, affordable housing, property services, and telecoms, said its subsidiary, United Living Infrastructure Services (ULIS), has appointed Mike Cobble as Director of Major Projects, Energy Transition.
Mike’s main bases will be at United Living’s Energy offices in Golborne and Lingley Mere, Warrington.
Mike has more than 25 years of capital project experience in the oil and gas sector, where he has been responsible for project delivery from selection through to execution. In his previous roles, he has been the technical authority for the engineering and construction phases of major pipeline projects, both in the UK and overseas. He is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors and the Pipeline Industry Guild.
Mike is passionate about education, skills development, learning and training. In this new role, he will establish a Major Projects team, with a strong focus on continued technical and professional development, and knowledge sharing across the wider business.
Conor Bray, Managing Director, United Living Infrastructure Services, said: “Mike has a unique background in substantial cross-country pipelines, experience developing large teams, and a track record of providing strong leadership through project delivery.
“His knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to further enhance our customer relationships and capitalise on the significant growth plans and opportunities United Living has in the energy transition and carbon capture markets.”
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Greg Wood and Mike Lomas
Greg Wood has been welcomed into a new role as interim MD of Big Red Construction, as the BR2.0 group prepares for significant expansion under the new end-to-end premise of Develop, Deliver, Maintain.
He has most recently served as Operations Director for the group business, but the new role comes as Big Red Construction embarks on several major new residential projects, and as the group takes up its new headquarters in Manchester city centre.
Part of his role will be looking for a long term senior hire to lead the construction arm of the business as it integrates into the wider group.
Alongside other group companies, Xpercity and Inspired, Big Red Construction has a growing pipeline of projects in key locations throughout the North and Midlands.
Greg said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the business as we continue to grow and deliver increasingly complex and high value projects. Having seen the business evolve to where it is today since I joined the group in 2021, I’m very proud of what has already been achieved and excited for the next phase.”
Mike Lomas, founder and CEO of the BR2.0 Group, said: “The establishment of the BR2.0 group is immense. We are expanding our business sustainably to ensure we can make a real change to society through our property product. Big Red is an established construction company which will continue to thrive under the leadership of Greg. Greg and I have known, and worked with, each other a number of years and our visions are aligned for the future of the Big Red and the BR2.0 Group.”
Over the coming months Big Red Construction will be seeking a permanent MD to lead the business into its next phase of growth as a part of the BR2.0 Group offer. The individual will be tasked with consolidating Big Red Construction’s growth trajectory, ensuring it is able to match the ambitions of the group.
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Graeme Milne and Abs Bokhari
Bury-based Producer Compliance Scheme, REPIC said its recently-appointed Executive Chairman, Abs Bokhari, has also been named a Director of WEEE Europe AG.
Mr Bokhari has recently made the transition from Non-Executive to Executive Chairman of REPIC and through his new appointment as a Director of Supervisory Board, WEEE Europe AG, will continue to add value to producers by offering an international approach to WEEE, packaging and battery compliance.
Abs brings a wealth of experience from his 30 years in his previous role at HAIER Europe, covering the UK, Eire and MEAA regions, to both his new roles. In his previous tenure, Abs served as General Counsel and Chairman of Hoover, where he played a pivotal role in strategic, development and governance matters.
His extensive background in the producer sector gives Abs a unique insight that ensures REPIC maintains its position as the leading UK scheme owned by producers. He will be supporting REPIC with a multiplicity of stakeholders in uncovering and driving sustainable solutions to meet the complex, evolving compliance requirements, ensuring a balanced approach that aligns the interests of both the producer sector and the wider WEEE industry.
As Director of WEEE Europe AG, Abs will join the team in developing a Pan-European strategy and supporting CEO, Christian Ludwig to ensure that WEEE Europe is partner of choice for national and pan-European compliance solutions. He joins senior executives from leading compliance schemes based in France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Spain.
Graeme Milne, Chief Executive of REPIC, said: “Abs’s transition into an Executive Chairman role at REPIC will be instrumental as we seek to leverage his substantial producer experience and comprehensive industry knowledge to develop innovative strategies to navigate the complex landscape of compliance and sustainability on behalf of our members.
“Abs has been an integral part of the REPIC team for 12 years as Non-Executive Chairman and I’m confident that with more direct involvement on key projects and maintaining REPIC’s leadership role at WEEE Europe, we will continue to thrive and set new benchmarks in the compliance sector.”
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FWP new arrivals
FWP has announced a raft of appointments across a range of disciplines as the group continues on its impressive growth journey.
The new arrivals at FWP’s Preston headquarters will undertake a wide variety of roles at the leading architecture, design and masterplanning practice and the group’s mechanical and electrical arm Blezard.
Lauren Stewart has been appointed Project Manager at FWP. She arrives from a construction consultancy firm and has a Masters degree in quantity surveying, graduating from the University of Salford with a distinction.
Liam Curtis has arrived at the Ribblesdale Place office, in the heart of Preston’s business district, to take up the role of Architectural Technician. He has almost a decade of experience, working for companies in the North West of England involved in residential projects, the care sector and the delivery of new fire stations in Greater Manchester.
Irshad Umarji joins the Quantity Surveying team. He began his career more than seven years ago, specialising in mechanical electrical (M&E) quantity surveying before moving into more general work.
Joe Edmunds, who graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology degree, has been appointed Junior Technologist.
Nnamdi Uhiara has been appointed to the role of Electrical Engineer at Blezard, while Daniel Gordon takes up the role of Junior Services Engineer.
David Robinson, Managing Director of FWP, said: “We pride ourselves as a business in the strength-in-depth we display in all our disciplines and our latest new arrivals will further add to that. Their appointments come as we continue to grow our portfolio of work not just in our native North West of England but across the country.”
