People: key hires for Original Factory Shop; KPMG & more

BURNLEY-headquartered discount retailer The Original Factory Shop has made two key hires.

The company, which has 200 stores nationwide, has appointed Dave Williams as chief financial officer and Tim Bettley as commercial director.

Williams joins TOFS from JD Sports Fashion where he has spent the past three years as group commercial director and was involved with the turnaround of its outdoor operations. Before this he held CFO positions with JJB, TJ Hughes and Focus Wickes.

He will take up his new post on December 7 and will assume responsibility for group accounting, commercial finance and payroll, reporting to chief executive Tony Page.

Tim Bettley, pictured right, has already started his new role, having switched from Yorkshire-based grocer Morrisons, where he was non-food commercial director. He is a former managing director at Peacock Group too.

Tony Page said: “It is a great pleasure to be welcoming Dave and Tim to our team at The Original Factory Shop. Both are fantastic appointments for TOFS and they will bring a great deal to their roles; Dave’s experience as CFO at a wide range of retailers makes him ideally positioned to take on the role at this important time for the company, and Tim’s strong familiarity with both the fashion and value markets will be a great asset for the business.”

“There is a real buzz throughout the business as we work towards our vision of becoming the nation’s best loved retailer. It’s great to have Dave and Tim on board for this journey as we drive the growth of our business forward.”

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BIG four accountancy firm KPMG has promoted Daniel Head and Andrew Goddard as partners.

Tax expert Daniel Head leads the firm’s global transfer pricing services team comprising more than 20 specialist consultants that support businesses in the North of England and Scotland. He began his career in 1994 with Baker Tilly before joining KPMG in 1999. With over 20 years’ corporate tax experience, Head works with many of the region’s largest businesses to help them adapt to shifting international environments, manage transfer pricing risk, and help them develop transfer pricing strategies.

Goddard joined KPMG’s pension team in Manchester in 2009 after seven years with PwC and three years at Arthur Andersen before that. Andrew, a qualified actuary, is focused on the growth of KPMG’s Pension Trustee business and advises a range of companies and trustees on all aspects of pension strategy.

KPMG has also announced eight director promotions too, including tax specialists Simon Chapman (banking and insurance), Richard Nash (M&A), Joanne Brien, and Mark Hagan (indirect tax).

Tarifa Simpson from KPMG’s deal advisory team, and James Buxton and Jitka Roberts from the restructuring team in Manchester have also been made directors, alongside Antony Whittle and Ailsa Griffin from audit teams in Manchester and Liverpool, respectively.

Jon Holt, office senior partner at KPMG in Manchester, said: “We now have 30 partners based in Manchester who are supported by over 800 colleagues, which makes Manchester one of KPMG’s largest hubs in Europe.

“Daniel Head and Andrew Goddard’s appointments and the eight director promotions reflect the strength of our team in the city, and its growth is further evidence of the important role that Manchester and the wider North West plays as a strategic centre for professional services in the UK.”

In total, there have been 59 promotions in the Manchester office and 77 across the whole North West region.

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THE former chief constable of Lancashire police, Pauline Clare CBE, has been appointed chair of
the board of trustees at the Mawdesley based charity, Rainbow House.

Ms Clare was the country’s first female Chief Constable and, since leaving the force in 2002, has been a coach for private and public sector clients including Aviva, Johnson & Johnson, the Home Office and the NHS.

Her skills in leading change management will strengthen the board as the charity looks to develop its services following the opening of the new purpose built facility, the Rainbow House Hub, which was launched last month. 

Also joining the board are Kevin Abbott, finance director at Championship football club Preston North End and businesswoman Lynne D’Arcy, managing director of pub company Trust Inns.

Carole Cochrane, CBE DL, chief executive of Rainbow House, said of the new additions to the board: “I feel that they have the right skills to complement the current Trustees and will be a great help in moving the services of Rainbow House forward.”

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MANCHESTER-based hi-tech manufacturer Nanoco has appointed Christopher Richards as its non-executive director.

He will chair the Nominations Committee and also be a member of the Audit and Renumeration Committees of the listed company.

Nanoco is a specialist in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials for display screens.

Richards currently holds a number of executive and non-executive roles at quoted and private businesses.

He is the executive chairman of Plant Health Care (AIM: PHC) and a non-executive director of Dechra Pharmaceuticals (LSE: DPH) and of Origin Enterprises (AIM: OGN).

Richards is also a non-executive director at Cibus Global Inc, a privately owned US biotechnology company, and the founder of Talestris Ltd, his consultancy business.