Appointments: Hima-Sella’s top level shuffle; Epistem; KPMG & more

HIMA-SELLA, the Stockport-based engineering group specialising in  systems integration, has promoted finance director John Blackwell to managing director.

Mr Blackwell succeeds Ian Wright, who is taking on a more strategic role with the business as executive chairman.

Mr Wright said: “After serving as finance director for the past seven years, John is ideally suited to take over the role of leading the business, now in its 40th year of trading, and to shape the future development of Hima-Sella.

“John’s wealth of experience as a proven financial leader coupled with his extensive management skills put him in an excellent position to fulfil this task.”

 Hima-Sella designs and supplies integrated safety, control and automation systems. It works within variety of industry sectors including oil & gas, petrochemical, nuclear, rail, steel and the power generation.

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MANCHESTER-based stem cell research company has appointed Dr Allan Brown as chief operating officer of its diagnostics division and Dr Peter Foster as technical director of the same business unit.

Dr Brown, 52, has spent his career in the life sciences/diagnostics industry and spent 17 years with Manchester firm Tepnel Life Sciences, latterly as divisional managing director. After leaving Gen-Probe in 2010, which acquired Tepnel in 2009, he joined Qiagen – another Manchester scientific firm – and managed the final development and launch of its first US FDA approved products.

Dr Foster, 63, has also spent his career in medical diagnostics as a scientist and joins Epistem to oversee development of a portfolio of new molecular diagnostic tests for Genedrive, its handheld molecular diagnostic device.

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ACCOUNTANCY and advisory firm KPMG has appointed former DLA Piper partner Nick Roome as head of its legal services practice in Manchester. 

Mr Roome joins as a partner and will take up his position in the late spring.
KPMG’s legal services practice is a well-established part of KPMG’s wider UK tax practice and has worked with the tax team nationwide for a number of years. 

The Manchester legal services team currently comprises a tax litigation team, which has been in place for more than a decade.

Mr Roome said: “I am very excited to be making the move from a law firm to an accounting firm with such a diverse and varied portfolio of clients and projects.  KPMG already has a well established legal services practice and I look forward to helping it grow and develop further in the North.”

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STOCKPORT design and interior furniture manufacturers Innova Design Solutions have appointed 48-year-old Frazer Perry as northern region sales manager.

Mr Perry has joined Innova from competitors ESA McIntosh, having previously worked for furniture suppliers Sico.

Innova director Melanie Laing said: “Frazer brings a wealth of experience and contacts and is another key appointment for us. He will strengthen our sales operation across the north and we will be looking to make a similar appointment in the South East to increase our presence across the country.”

Innova, which designs, manufactures and installs furniture and interiors across the education, health and commercial sectors, doubled its turnover in 2013 and is aiming for a further expansion in 2014.

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PR firm Citypress has boosted its ranks with the appointment of Chris Marritt as an account director.

Mr Marrit, a recruit from Weber Shandwick, is a former journalist with the Press Association and the Daily Mail.

At Citypress, he will lead a number of national financial services and corporate briefs and form part of the agency’s senior reputation advisory team, which provides crisis and issues management support.

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IT services company adept4 has appointment three new members of staff – including two heads of department.

The trio are service desk manager Neil Homer, Anito Lauriello, head of infrastructure and David Rawlinson as head of software development. The Daresbury-based business has also promoted Alex Ashton to marketing manager.

adept4 chief executive Peter Birkett, said: “We’re delighted to be adding such a talented, experienced and ambitious raft of staff to our management team. These appointments are part of a strategic focus on the wider growth and expansion of the business and will help the company to continue to move forward and target new markets, without sacrificing on quality of service or delivery.”