Appointments: Fabretti joins O2; Haymes in at gunnercooke & more

PAUL Fabretti, the former head of digital at Manchester PR firm Brazen, is joining telecoms group 02 as head of social media.

He is replacing Alex Pearmain who is joining Brands2Life as director of digital and social media in December.

Mr Fabretti left Brazen on September 1 after a year at the business. He had previously worked at KMP and Amaze and co-founded the Manchester-based social media agency Gabba.

He said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to help move 02’s social media activity to the next level. With an already enviable reputation for the way it uses social media, I’m really looking to more deeply integrate learnings from our social channels across all parts of the business to give customers a great experience.”

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MANCHESTER law firm gunnercooke has appointed Duncan Haymes as partner and head of its new Restructuring Services team. Mr Haymes has previously worked for Addleshaw Goddard, Hammonds and Halliwells and an in-house legal roles with Debt Free Direct.

Founded in 2010 by Darryl Cooke and Sarah Goulbourne gunnercooke now has 17 partners and more than 50 lawyers in the business.

Mr Haymes said: “When I first met Darryl and Sarah we realised what an asset we could each be to the other. The setting up of a Restructuring Services team offers the opportunity to support and advise a client on ways to improve its business, by restructuring and possibly refinancing, if necessary.

“We can offer a service that provides ongoing support to our existing clients as well as being available for use by other corporates who need such services.”
 
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COLETTE McKune has been appointed as deputy chief executive of City West Housing Trust.
 
The new role will see Ms McKune support chief executive Tim Doyle in the running of the housing association which manages more than 14,600 homes in West Salford.
 
Ms McKune, who has been part of City West’s executive management team since the organisation launched in 2008, will continue in her current role as director of asset management.
 
Mr Doyle said: “Colette has been a driving force behind the success of City West from day one and has a wealth of experience in helping organisations deliver on their ambitions.
 
“She has done an exceptional job in her role as Director of Asset Management, helping deliver value for money for our organisation and our customers. I’m delighted that she has agreed to take on this new role.”
 
Ms McKune added: “I am very excited about this new challenge. City West is a fantastic housing association that is always looking for new and innovative ways to support its customers across West Salford.”

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TRAINING organisation Dale Carnegie has appointed two new business development executives to help drive business Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.

Neil Rickell, 27, who has a sales and marketing background, will help generate business for Dale Carnegie in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. He is joined by Sophie George, 22, a graduate in business and sociology who will operate in West Yorkshire.

Juliette Dennett, managing director of Dale Carnegie Northern England, said: “Both Neil and Sophie have the rights skills and attributes to help support our business across the north of England. They are just the calibre of staff we require to take Dale Carnegie forward in the next few months.”