New man at the helm at IoD in H&W

BOB Brown is taking over as chairman of the Institute of Directors’ Hereford and Worcester Branch.

Brown is a partner at management consultants CMC Partners and covers the local area from his base at Malvern Hills Science Park. 

He succeeds Francis Christie, who as well as chairing the IoD was the first interim chairman of the Hereford and Worcestershire LEP.

Brown  said: “My priorities will be to continue our programme of seminars for directors and visits to successful local businesses. 

“Additionally, I am happy to pick up issues affecting directors and businesses with local and national government through our London Pall Mall Office. 

“We have strong links with education generally and in particular the University of Worcester which I will continue to value.”

Well-known civil engineer joins CWA

CIVIL engineer John Panesar has joined civil and structural engineering consultancy CWA.

He has joined the Birmingham-based consultancy as civil engineering director. He was previously civil engineering director at Birmingham consultancy Stewart and Harris.

Panesar has more than 25 years’ experience in all aspects of civil engineering. He began his career as a site engineer with Higgs and Hill after graduating with an honours degree in civil and structural engineering from Bradford University.

CWA, based in the Jewellery Quarter, is celebrating record-breaking growth and expansion and has just undergone a major rebranding exercise.

Panesar said, “I am joining CWA at a particularly exciting time as the consultancy rebrands and prepares for a fast-growing future, working with a variety of high profile and blue chip clients.”

Botanical Gardens appoints five new trustees

BIRMINGHAM Botanical Gardens has appointed five new trustees to aid in its development.

They are Kate Hartigan, an accountant by profession who has worked in management roles for a number of years and who is also currently chairman of the Birmingham Assay Office, Caroline Clutton-Brock, who has a wealth of retail experience gained by working in marketing at Selfridges, House of Fraser and Yves Saint Laurent Beaute, John Taylor, who has held several senior roles with Cadbury’s, Philippa Pickavance, a chartered surveyor who runs her own agency/consultancy business who has been a partner in large surveying firms in the city including King Sturge and Drivers Jonas and Anders Jones, a partner at Thornton Firkin, a project management and cost consulting practice with offices in Birmingham.

Chairman of the trustees Martyn Liberson, said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming our new trustees to the board as we are at a stage where the Gardens, which is a registered charity with no public sector funding, needs to embark on a big fund raising drive to ensure we can keep the gardens and glasshouses up to scratch.

“We recognised we needed some addition skill sets on the board and this has been achieved in these recent appointments.”

New manager for Shrewsbury Business Improvement District

KIRSTEN Henly has been appointed BID manager of the Shrewsbury Business Improvement District (BID) which became operational at the beginning of April.

The BID has a £1.6m budget to help boost trading for the 500 Shrewsbury town centre businesses it incorporates.
 
Henly led the development of the BID through her role as business development manager at specialist BID agency, The Mosaic Partnership.

She brings BID experience from her position as projects co-ordinator for Colmore Business District in Birmingham, where she managed initiatives for the commercial city centre BID.  

She has also held non-executive directorships of Birmingham Leadership Foundation and Groundwork West Midlands.