Big strengthens account management team

BIG Communications has strengthened its account management team with the appointment of Tony Furnival as client director. Mr Furnival has experience working both client and agency side with a range of major UK and international brands such as O2, Procter & Gamble, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Barclays to name but a few. He joins Big having worked in agencies, large and small, both in London and the West Midlands. He said: “Joining Big was an easy decision to make. You only need to look at the brands they’re working with now and the new clients they have won.” Mike Phillipson, managing director at Big, said: “Tony comes to Big with some fantastic client experience, across a number of sectors. He will work on some of our recently won accounts, as well as one or two of our long standing clients.”

Rivo solutions help Cancer Research UK manage risk

WARWICK software developer Rivo has been selected by Cancer Research UK to implement a risk-management solution. The charity will use Rivo’s software to strengthen its health and safety management system by identifying and proactively managing risk, improving efficiencies and reducing administration. Managing director Simon Hook said: “A vital link in any charity’s business is accurate collection and entry of data, and analysis of meaningful statistics. This is critical in assisting key people to make business and planning decisions. Cancer Research UK was looking for a system to integrate seamlessly into their current internal systems and our software met its criteria as it is extremely intuitive to use.”

Former journalist makes Smarts move

SMARTS Birmingham has appointed Greg Aris as a new account director. Former journalist Mr Aris spent 10 years working as a reporter, sub editor and copy editor for a range of newspapers and magazines in the Midlands, Australia and Dubai. He joins Smarts from an agency in Leamington. “I’m delighted to join such a successful and forward-thinking agency and am looking forward to working with its wide mix of clients and delivering high quality, creative campaigns,” he said. Rebecca Scully, managing director of Smarts Birmingham, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Greg to our Smarts. Greg has a solid background in journalism and PR and he is a real asset to our rapidly-expanding team.”