People: KPMG appoints four new directors; Fleet tech firm welcomes executive chairman; First Bradford BID manager appointed; and more

The Leeds office of business advisory firm KPMG has announced the appointment of four new directors across its restructuring, tax, consulting and deal advisory practices.

Jon Parker joined KPMG’s restructuring team in Leeds in 2004 and has built experience helping clients grow profits, release working capital and solve complex structural problems.

In addition to Parker’s appointment as director, Saiful Khan has also been promoted to associate director. Khan specialises in delivering financial improvement and cultural change, within organisations in both the public and private sector.

Philippa Keasey has been promoted to director after eight years providing deal support through the span of the transaction lifecycle. So far this year, KPMG has advised on 60 deals in Yorkshire with a combined value of £8bn.

Sara Smith, a forensic accounting specialist and chartered accountant with over 18 years’ experience, has been appointed director in KPMG’s Leeds-based consulting practice.

Across the rest of the consulting practice, Lynn Smith, Michael Wong and Helen Davies have all been promoted to senior manager.

Chris Luckett has been appointed director in the tax practice in Leeds, helping private clients navigate the complexities of the tax system in both advisory and compliance matters. The team has also been boosted by the promotion of David Graham, Debbie Kay and Nicki Hickin to senior manager.

A series of further senior manager promotions have also been announced in the audit practice, including Christopher Scaife, Robert Stanley, Deborah Jamison, Jennifer Green, Rachael Nye, Rob Pope, Cameron Davies, Matt Ackroyd and Stuart Taylor.

Elizabeth McCloy has been promoted to senior manager within the high growth clients team, supporting Yorkshire’s most innovative businesses.

Chris Hearld, KPMG’s North Region Chairman and office senior partner in Leeds, said: “This recent round of promotions reflects the talent we have in Leeds and the broad skill-set we deliver to the region’s business community.

“Yorkshire’s economy continues to thrive, evident in the international interest we’ve seen in the deals market over the past 12 months. Equally as economic and market conditions continue to look uncertain, we have a market-leading restructuring team to offer assistance with strategy setting, performance improvement and contingency planning. As a firm we are committed to delivering the very best advice to the region’s businesses, helping them not just to survive, but to thrive.”

:::

Fleetondemand, a fleet and mobility tech firm, has appointed Andrew Cope as Executive Chairman.

This appointment follows on from the recent deal with British Growth Fund (BGF), which has acquired a minority stake in the firm through a £5m investment.

Andrew Cope lead vehicle leasing company Zenith through five private equity buyouts between 2003 and 2014.

In 2015, Cope played a major role in the sale of FMG to Redde Plc just four months after snapping up the firm in a backed management buyout. In 2015, he invested alongside Endless and acquired Essential Fleet services, merging it with Go Plant in 2017.

A specialist in the fleet and Mobility-as-a-Service space, Fleetondemand features a multi-platform which connects thousands of business people to vehicle rental, car leasing, business travel and transportation services globally.

Justin Whitston, Chief Executive of Fleetondemand, said: “Following our recent investment, the creation of a world-class executive board was paramount to our strategy. Andrew has an unrivalled track record in his field and we are incredibly excited about working with him to drive the future success of our business.

“With the support BGF and Andrew, we will be able to ramp up engineering and product development and rapidly accelerate our sales strategy in the UK and pan European launch in 2019.  It’s a hugely exciting time for the business and we all look forward to working together to achieve the company’s growth potential over the next three years.”

Andrew Cope, Executive Chairman of Fleetondemand, added: “Sometimes every once in a while, opportunity’s come along that you have to get involved in.  For me, being asked to invest in and be part of the FOD story following the recent BGF investment was just one of those moments.

“Having known Justin for many years and watched with real interest and admiration the development of the company, the chance to become Chairman at this ground-breaking juncture in the history of the company, especially with the recent launch of the Mobilleo platform was a real honour.”

:::

Make It York, the organisation which promotes York across the globe, has appointed Sean Bullick as its new Managing Director.

Bullick will join the organisation after 12 years developing and running the Newcastle Business Improvement District, where he was responsible for a series of high profile initiatives within the city.

Among these are ‘Alive After Five’ – a campaign that transformed the city centre with an evening economy valued at an estimated £800m since 2010, through collaboration with businesses and the universities.

Bullick also drove forward high-profile capital projects such as the £25m redevelopment of Newcastle Central Station and the historic Bigg Market. Both projects required collaborating with partners including Network Rail, the city council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, politicians and property owners.

Bullick is expected to join the organisation in January 2019. This appointment comes after the current MD of Make It York, Steve Brown, leaves the organisation after its inception four years ago.  

Bullick said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as Managing Director of Make It York. I have been really struck by the ambition and the enthusiasm of all those I have met so far in York and I can’t wait to get cracking in the New Year.

“Before that, I look forward to meeting the Make It York team and to working with them and their partners, businesses and residents to make York an ever better place to live, to invest, to study, to work, and to visit.”  

Ian Gillies, Leader of City of York Council, added: “I’m delighted to welcome Sean Bullick to the city to lead Make It York. This is an exciting time for the city. We are in the midst of unprecedented regeneration providing huge commercial and economic opportunity for York.   Our tourism, arts and cultural offer is going from strength to strength and York’s reputation continues to build nationally and internationally.

“In addition, Sean’s work with young people as part of the Space 2 project will be invaluable in informing our work to engage with young people as we future-proof our city for future generations. I am looking forward to working closely with Sean to build on work underway and continue to get the very best for our city.”

Jane Lady Gibson, Chair, Make It York, said: “York is in a strong position continue to increase inward investment, develop the science and innovation sectors and increase the value of tourism.  New initiatives such as developing the St Nicholas Fair into a six week Christmas Festival, attracting new events such Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre and delivering York Business Week, as well as a robust year round tourism and inward investment strategy, are all paying dividends.

“This is a pivotal time for Sean to take the lead in promoting York across the globe and thanks to the work of Steve Brown and a very strong team, the Make It York partnership will continue to support York’s thriving economic and community life.”

:::

Bradford’s new Business Improvement District has appointed its first manager.

Jonny Noble, who has been the city centre manager in Bradford since 2013, said he was “proud and thrilled” to be taking on the role in his home city.

“I am passionate about Bradford and its people,” said Mr Noble. “It’s a fantastic city with lots of potential and I am incredibly proud and absolutely thrilled to be given this opportunity to help shape its future.

“There are a lot of great things starting to come together in Bradford and the BID is the latest organisation to join the team that’s working together to take the city forward.

“I love Bradford – I’ve lived and worked here all my life – and I’m totally committed to helping it to move to the next level.”

The BID manager post is the key role in delivering the BID’s five-year business plan for improving the city centre. Mr Noble, aged 45, will be directly responsible to the recently-appointed operating board for the day-to-day running of all the projects and schemes outlined in the business plan, managing an annual budget of more than £500,000.

Ian Ward, chairman of the BID, said: “We’re delighted to be able to appoint Jonny after a hard-fought selection process. He faced some stiff competition but his fantastic knowledge of the city, his extensive experience in managing the city centre as well as leading and delivering other successful projects around the district, combined with his immense passion for Bradford, made him an exceptional candidate.”

He said the BID manager post was crucial to its success: “Jonny will be the day-to-day face and voice of the BID, engaging with key stakeholders, lobbying on behalf of levy-payers and setting and delivering the highest standards on behalf of not just businesses but the city centre and all who use it.

“He knows and understands the city and its businesses and key stakeholders and we are confident that he will play a big part in helping the BID – and the city centre – to fulfil its potential.”

Mr Noble was educated at St Bede’s Catholic Grammar School, in Bradford, and is a lifelong Bradford City fan. He joined Bradford Council from college and aside from a period of time in the private sector, worked in Leisure Services, eventually managing a number of sports and leisure sites. He then became one of the district’s emergency planning officers, co-ordinating the Council’s response to emergencies and incidents, before moving to the city centre management role.

In 2016, Mr Noble received a special recognition award from Future High Streets Forum, as part of the Great British High Street Awards, for his work helping the regeneration of North Parade. The Government’s then Minister for High Streets, Marcus Jones, said he was a “fantastic example of the people that give their all to make our communities better places to live, work and socialise.”

Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We would like to congratulate Jonny on his appointment and wish him every success in his new job.

“He has been a fantastic city centre manager and we’re delighted that he will still be working to improve the city centre and that the BID has such a talented and committed Bradfordian in this key role.”

“Jonny will be a hard act to follow but we are looking forward to recruiting a new city centre lead to continue the good work already underway.”

:::

Property consultancy Carter Jonas has bolstered its team working out of its Leeds hub by appointing Dr Joanne Oldfield as Senior Planner in its Planning & Development division.

Dr Oldfield joins from Savills’ Leeds branch, where she has worked for over two years as a Senior Planner, working with clients on commercial and retail projects, while specialising in residential projects.

With over 10 years’ planning and research experience, Dr Oldfield previously worked as a Planner at Indigo Planning.

Alongside her full-time role, Dr Oldfield was also recently awarded her Doctorate from the University of Sheffield, where she explored the application of sustainable development.

At Carter Jonas, Dr Oldfield will use her experience as an EIA co-ordinator and project manager, and her sector expertise in the production of complex planning applications, in addition to her propensity for managing stakeholder engagement and public consultation.

James Bainbridge, Head of Planning & Development, Carter Jonas, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome Joanne to the team. In bringing new expertise to our Planning & Development division, we are demonstrating our commitment to existing and new client projects, as we continue to grow our market-leading position across Leeds and the surrounding counties.”

Dr Joanne Oldfield, Senior Planner, Carter Jonas, added: “I am proud to be joining Carter Jonas, particularly at a time of such growth. In the current climate, it is more important than ever to ensure that quality, residential projects are being delivered, and I look forward to working with the team to help our clients address both the challenges and opportunities that this presents.”

:::

Howarths, the Cleckheaton-based HR and employment law firm, has expanded its HR team with the appointment of two new HR advisors.

Cath Crane has joined the firm from clothing and homeware retailer, Boundary Mill, where she led HR with responsibility for over 1,000 employees.

Crane also has experience working with a number of national and international brands including Wm Morrisons, Unilever and Northern Rail.

She will be responsible for working closely with Howarths’ client base to support SMEs with strategic HR management in line with business growth.

Further bolstering the team is the appointment of Wendy Creswell, who joins the firm from a Huddersfield-based firm where she held the role of senior HR business partner.

Creswell will help deliver remote and on-site HR support including redundancy procedures, disciplinary hearings and recruitment.

Gavin Howarth, Howarths managing director, said: “Both Cath and Wendy bring a wealth of experience to their roles, that will prove invaluable to our clients as we continue to grow our HR support offering, ensuring their HR issues and projects are dealt with in the most effective and efficient way possible.”