Experienced farming sector name to act as ambassador for Stoneleigh

ONE of the most experienced names in farming has returned to Stoneleigh Park to help spearhead its future as a centre for agricultural excellence.

Denis Chamberlain, former CEO of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE), has been appointed ambassador of the Warwickshire estate by LaSalle Investment Management to help with its transformation into a science park.

LaSalle took responsibility for Stoneleigh Park in December 2010 under a 150-year lease from RASE in a deal which secured a major capital investment programme to revitalise the site as an internationally-renowned centre for agriculture, rural business, science and innovation.

Chamberlain is a widely-experienced manager and director with more than 45 years’ experience in the agricultural, food and countryside sectors.

He is a former director of marketing and communications at RASE and has had a distinguished career in journalism and public relations, having been editor of Farmers Weekly and running his own marketing and PR business for more than 20 years.

He was awarded the MBE for services to British agriculture in 2004.

He said: “Stoneleigh Park has always had great potential and LaSalle’s plans will see that realised.

“I totally share its vision for the future of Stoneleigh. It has already made some serious progress with the acceptance of the masterplan, improvements on site and the development of new buildings already underway.”

UK Power Reserve appoints control room operators

SOLIHULL-based UK Power Reserve has appointed three new control room operators as part of its aggressive expansion strategy in the UK.

Ian Shorthouse, Mark Hawley and Andrew Redshaw will be joining the control team headed up by Alan Coningsby.

UK Power Reserve, which recently acquired its tenth site in the UK, has multi-million pound plans to expand and the new control room operators will play a crucial role in this.

Prior to joining UK Power Reserve both Andrew Redshaw and Ian Shorthouse were control room supervisors at the recently closed Daw Mill Colliery.

Mark Hawkley is a qualified engineer and a NEBSS qualified Supervisor. For the past ten year he has worked in facilities management and maintenance. During his career he has worked for Marconi, Lucas Aerospace, and Goodrich Aerospace.

Tim Emrich, the firm’s chief operating officer, said:  “At UK Power Reserve we have ambitious expansion plans and Andrew, Ian and Mark will be invaluable to taking these forward.”

Six new starters at Cooper Solutions

A WARWICKSHIRE automotive software provider has bolstered its workforce by almost a third.

Cooper Solutions, based in Barford, has taken on six new, taking the total number of staff up to 25.

Leeds University graduate Chris White and University of Nottingham graduate Tom Eaton have joined the firm as account managers and will focus on training client staff, analysing data and software installation.

Michael Fitzpatrick joins the FullAuction operations team, supporting the trade car auction platform and will focus on helping buyers and sellers reach deals.

Ludo Morison has joined with responsibility for marketing activity while Nikki Hamilton has been appointed as an administration assistant.

Peter Gillam will work as a senior software developer for the firm with a view to increasing the efficiency and pace with which new products are brought to market.

Barry Cooper, managing director of Cooper Solutions, said the large number of appointments is a signal of the company’s intent.

“We have grown every year since Cooper Solutions was established and revenue has increased by at least 15% every year.

“This year we are on course to grow by more than 30% and I am confident we can sustain that throughout 2014 too.

“That sort of ambitious growth needs to be matched by the quantity and quality of staff at our disposal which is why we have made such a big commitment to job creation. These are all new roles, created out of the success of many years.”