People on the move: Tribe Global; Medicines Discovery Catapult; Engage Solutions Group

People on the move is sponsored by family law firm Hall Brown

Nicky Unsworth, the chief executive Manchester marketing and advertising agency BJL, has been appointed chair of international network Tribe Global.

Unsworth, a founder board member of the respected independent agency body, takes up the role with immediate effect.
 
She will help oversee growth at the network which gives independent creative agencies a chance to partner with and draw on the expertise of a worldwide membership base.
 
Former chair, Daniel Eischen, of Luxembourg’s, Interact, has switched roles and as a board member welcomes two new board appointments, Javier Francolino, of Argentinian agency, La Fusión and David Balfour, representing LIGHTBLUE in Dubai.   

Eischen has been an active member of the Tribe Global network since 2014, Javier since 2012.
 
Since its launch in 2012, Tribe Global has been helping agencies leverage local knowledge and expertise to achieve best results for clients. Following a period of strong growth, the network now has 28 members and two partners and is actively looking for other international agencies to share its highly collaborative ethos.
 
Unsworth, said she hoped to oversee continuing expansion at the network.
 
She said: “It’s a real honour to have been asked to take the chair at what is a really exciting time for Tribe Global.
 
“As we move into our fifth year, the network is continuing to grow and welcome new inquiries from potential members and we are delighted to now have new board representation from established members, LIGHTBLUE in Dubai and Argentinian agency, La Fusión.  
 
“We have always been keen to find new and better ways of working with some of the amazing independent agencies that are out there.”

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The Medicines Discovery Catapult, the not-for-profit organisation based at Alderley Park in Cheshire, has appointed Dr Richard Seabrook as senior adviser for translational R&D.

The role builds on his previous experience as head of business development for the Wellcome Trust, where he led on translational project finance to take innovative research projects onto product development pathways, finding solutions for a variety of patient needs in medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.
 
His appointment is part of the ongoing recruitment of a top-class, expert team under the leadership of chief executive Chris Molloy to support and promote innovative, fast-to-patient drug discovery.

In his new role, Seabrook will build relationships between the Catapult and translational R&D companies, academia and SMEs.  He will help move forward programmes to develop new assets, enabling the community to cultivate disruptive medicines discovery methods focused on efficient translation of promising drug candidates to proof of concept.

An eminent figure from the drug discovery community, during his time at the Wellcome Trust Seabrook saw more than 30 of its programmes progress to the clinic or to product approval stage.  

He was also the architect of the £200m Seeding Drug Discovery fund which facilitated small molecule development and early stage clinical studies.  
 
Seabrook said: “The world of drugs discovery has many pressures at the moment and I believe that the Medicines Discovery Catapult has an important role to play in sustaining the UK’s leading capabilities in drug discovery, bringing the twin benefits of better health and wealth to the country.  

“We want to boost pipeline efficiency especially by bringing together stakeholders to build new collaborations centred around a specific problem or patient need.”

Molloy added: “We are extremely pleased to have Richard on board.  He brings a great deal of knowledge and is an important addition to a senior management team.

“He is a skilled project manager who has held important business development roles in the biotechnology sector and has extensive experience of early stage funding, a thorough understanding of life science technologies, sound commercial knowledge and a track record for bringing new assets to market.”  

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Rod Bulmer, a highly-experienced director at the Co-operative Group, has joined Liverpool-based digital engagement business Engage Solutions Group.

Bulmer has undertaken a number of executive and large scale operational roles including chief executive of consumer services at the Co-operative Group, acting chief executive at the Co-operative Banking Group (CBG) and managing director of retail at Co-operative Bank.

He joins Engage, a developer of the Employee Engage App, as non-executive chair following a period of rapid company growth, while retaining his executive responsibilities at the Co-operative Group.

Engage relocated to Liverpool’s Queen Insurance Buildings in October following an equity investment by investors Mike Rogan and Paul Hogarth and a year of growth that included a 100% expansion in its client base that means it now works with more than 50 clients and their 88,500 employees.

Bulmer said: “In all of the industries I have worked, be it banking, insurance, legal services, funeral services or life assurance, success has always come when the customer-facing colleagues are listened to and are highly engaged. Everyone simply has to face the customer.”

“This has been a personal focus in every role I have previously held, and I am therefore delighted to be investing in Engage Solutions Group and taking my new role as chair of the board. It is this ethos upon which their product and client engagement is built.”