People: Essity; Fabulosa; Myerson Solicitors; Southway Housing Trust; iconsys; HSPG

Nuria Antoja

Global hygiene and health company, Essity, whose portfolio of brands includes TENA, Cushelle, Plenty and Bodyform, has appointed Nuria Antoja as Regional Marketing Director for Consumer Goods UK, ROI and MEA.

With more than 20 years of commercial experience, Nuria brings expert knowledge from her vast and accomplished career. She will be based at the company’s Consumer Goods UK headquarters in Didsbury, Manchester. Her extensive experience spans multiple countries, industries, and roles, including marketing and sales senior positions at renowned FMCG companies such as Henkel, Mondelez and Reckitt.

Lee Doherty, VP of Sales and Marketing, Consumer Goods UKI & MEA, at Essity, said: “Nuria is an inclusive, energetic, and experienced leader with strong capabilities in digital and Net Revenue Management. Her experience as Sales Director during her time at Mondelez combined with her vast knowledge and background in marketing roles makes her a great addition to the team.”

Nuria said: “I already feel at home here at Essity. The company’s values align closely with my own, and I’m excited to contribute to Essity’s mission. I am eager to bring a holistic, consumer-first approach to the Essity team, drawing on my experience leading large teams, developing long term strategies, building strong brand propositions, and continue creating fearless, award-winning brand equity campaigns and activations.”

Nuria’s appointment follows a series of strategic senior hires by Essity in the UK and ROI, including Olivia Slater as commercial director for the professional hygiene business unit, Nicola Conway as commercial director for consumer goods, and Kate Prince as senior public affairs manager.

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Faruk Ghodawala

Cheshire-based fragrance-led home and lifestyle brand, Fabulosa, has strengthened its senior team with the appointment of Faruk Ghodawala as Third Party Supply Chain Director.

With more than 25 years high level FMCG category management experience in household and health & beauty, Faruk joins from Unitas Wholesale where he held the position of Trading Controller. Previous to this he had senior buying roles at Supreme, Pricecheck, Poundstretcher and Lloyds Pharmacy.

James Sharpe, Fabulosa co-founder & MD said: “We have seen exponential growth since our formation five years ago, and maintaining our momentum in disrupting existing and new markets with a constant pipeline of new and innovative products is key. For this we require continual investment in our supply chain, and to this end, we are excited to welcome Faruk to Fabulosa.” 

Faruk said: “After working closely with Fabulosa from initial concepts and launch in a previous retailer role, I have a strong affinity with the brand and have enjoyed witnessing its tremendous journey over the last few years. There are ambitious growth plans afoot for 2025 and beyond, and I am relishing the opportunity of working with the visionary team at Fabulosa to support in delivering these.”

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Victoria Davies

Myerson Solicitors, based in Altrincham, has appointe Victoria Davies as Legal Director in its Employment Team.

With 20 years’ experience in the field, Victoria joins from international law firm Addleshaw Goddard, bringing a wealth of expertise.

Victoria’s appointment further strengthens Myerson’s Employment Team, which is now the largest in the North West outside Manchester city centre.

Joanne Evans, Head of the Employment Team at Myerson, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Victoria to the firm. She and I worked together previously at Addleshaw Goddard before I joined Myerson, so I know what a strong and client-focused lawyer she is. Her depth of experience, particularly in navigating complex disputes and working in-house, adds even more strength to the support we offer our clients.”

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Paul Howes

Greater Manchester-based housing association, Southway Housing Trust, has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Paul Howes to a new role of Executive Director of Corporate Services.

Paul joined Southway in the new year from Stockport Homes, where he led on a range of services from marketing and communications to technology and digital transformation.

Paul said: “I’m looking forward to working with new colleagues, Southway tenants, board members, and stakeholders to make sure we provide the best possible services for our customers.”

Chief Executive, John Bowker, said: “Paul brings a wealth of experience and ideas to this very important new role for Southway. He will do a great job for the Trust and our tenants and play a leading role in maintaining and improving our services.”

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Steve Robinson

The new Head of Sales for Energy Transition at control and automations specialist, iconsys, is targeting a multimillion-pound clean energy opportunity.

Steve Robinson, who has helped to deliver some of the Middle East’s biggest energy projects, has joined iconsys to drive forward the Daresbury company’s presence in clean energy and decarbonisation.

With nearly £22bn ring-fenced by the Government for projects to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen, the strategic sales expert believes now is the perfect opportunity for the firm’s solution-driven approach and ‘technology independence’ to support all sectors in their decarbonisation journey.

He said: “What really appealed about the iconsys role is our agility and ability to move quickly on projects, working with clients to identify the optimal solution and technology – without being tied to delivering a particular product.”

He added: “There is a lot of investment being ploughed into a dedicated energy team here and the recent appointment of Joe Howe as our Energy Transition Specialist, and myself, underlines our commitment.”

Andrew Rushton, Group Sales Director at iconsys, said: “Steve is a major coup for our business and will head-up our activity in energy transition as we tap into the UK’s desire to become a clean energy solutions superpower. His international experience and knowledge of the sector are second to none and, working closely with our industry expert, Joe Howe, will give us a powerful leadership team to further cement our brand salience and presence in this space.”

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Matt Pearce

Social impact investor, HSPG, has named Matt Pearce as its new Group Finance Director and David Shaw as Investment Director to bolster its leadership team.

Matt has joined from infrastructure company Esken where he served as Commercial Finance Director and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for more than three years. He has more than 20 years’ experience in finance, with roles at KPMG, the Manchester Airport Group and Centrica.

David takes up his new role at HSPG after serving as a Director at the commercial real estate investment firm, AlphaReal, for more than two years. Before that, he worked in posts at Urban Exposure, CBRE and Monex Europe.

David Shaw

Matt said it was a “privilege to be joining HPSG,” while David said he was “thrilled to be joining a business going places.”

Guy Horne, CEO of HSPG, said: “Both bring a huge wealth of knowledge and experience, and I know they are going to help us bring forward innovative solutions to help local authorities to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

“HSPG was founded in 2015 and we have housed more than 10,000 people, but as a social impact investor and with the chronic housing shortage in the UK, it is my firm belief that collaborations are key to solving the housing crisis.

“Over the next five years, HSPG expects to invest a further £2bn, creating an additional 15,000 social homes.”

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