People: Richborough Estates; AquaPak; Karndean Designflooring

National land promotion firm Richborough has appointed Emma Fardell to the position of chief finance and operations officer.

Fardell is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has held financial leadership roles in private equity-owned and international businesses for the past 25 years.

She has joined from the management consultancy Vendigital, where she was chief finance and operations officer with responsibility for transformation, strategy and growth leading to its sale to Siemans Advanta in 2022.

Previous roles have been in high end FMCG space at companies including Thomas Fudge’s, Watches of Switzerland, Elemis and ACCO Brands.

Fardell will help steer Richborough’s growth and diversification phase following its investment last year from Terra Firma’s Principal Capital Group, supported by Partners Group and the Hands Family Office.

This includes building a platform for growth, developing business processes, implementing appropriate systems, and enhancing the firm’s existing culture to bring the right talent into the business.

She said: “I came to Richborough from out of the sector and was really impressed with the team, the culture and the support of our investors Terra Firma and Partners Group. I knew this was a team I wanted to work with, and it truly is a great business on all levels.

“I’m excited to bring a different skill set to the business and help drive and support the growth of Richborough by building and evolving the culture, the team and the way we work. My ambitions for the company are to continue to grow and become the most significant independent land promoter in the UK.”

Paul Campbell, chief executive at Richborough, added: “Emma joins at a very exciting time at Richborough as we look to expand and diversify our services.

“She has a really varied CV and breadth of experience and I’m confident her leadership will help deliver our future growth ambitions.
“On behalf of the whole Richborough team, I’d like to welcome Emma on board.”

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Aquapak Polymers, which specialises in polymer-based material technologies that can deliver both performance and environmental responsibility at scale, has announced the appointment of Tom Barrett as COO based at the firm’s main manufacturing site in Birmingham.

He will be responsible for supporting the expansion of Aquapak as it develops its portfolio of products and their applications, which provide a planet-friendly alternative to conventional plastics.

Barrett has a successful track record in operations having worked for multi-site businesses with international supply chains. He held the director of operations role at aerospace business Sigma for 15 years, and was at Rical Group for six years.

Mark Lapping, CEO, said: “Aquapak has enjoyed rapid growth and as our product development continues, the complexity of our supply chains and the number of partners we work with will increase. Tom has a fantastic track record of managing multi-site businesses and ensuring they operate efficiently and cost-effectively. We welcome him to the team.”

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Evesham luxury vinyl flooring company Karndean Designflooring has welcomed its first female managing director.

Reporting to Karndean Holdings CEO Ed Perrin, Fleur Carson will oversee the strategic direction and overall growth of the Karndean UK business in the residential and commercial market. With 25 years’ experience in the flooring industry, she has spent the past five years as commercial sales director and more recently as VP of sales for Karndean UK.

Her appointment follows the departure of long-standing managing director Paul Barratt, who after 11 successful years at the helm has decided to step down.

Perrin said: “Paul’s dedication to success has given the business solid foundations for our next stage of growth and we say a fond farewell.

“I’m thrilled to see Fleur take her next steps within the business to leading our UK Karndean business. Having celebrated our 50th anniversary this year, it’s the perfect time for Fleur to take the reins as we strive ahead with ambitious growth plans for 2024 including building a new state of the art multimillion-pound BREEAM excellent warehouse.”