People: Senior Experian executive moves to TransUnion; Tech firm appoints new board member; Bank makes senior hires; Northern Ballet appoint board members; and more

Leeds-headquartered TransUnion (formerly Callcredit) has appointed David Finch as chief revenue officer (CRO) to lead its go-to-market strategy and drive revenue for the UK business.

Finch joins TransUnion from Experian, where he spent three years as chief commercial officer EMEA and president for South Africa, and was instrumental in the expansion of both emerging and adjacent markets in EMEA.

With over 18 years’ leadership experience – driving and managing businesses across the UK, EMEA, USA and Asia – Finch is well-positioned to help TransUnion bring the full extent of its global offering to the UK market.

His role at TransUnion encompasses leading the go-to-market strategy and overseeing sales and relationship management for clients. David will be supporting CEO Satrajit “Satty” Saha in delivering TransUnion’s plan to grow revenue and market share through both its existing core credit solutions and innovative new products, to help UK businesses and consumers make better decisions using robust data and insights.

Finch said: “It’s an exciting time for TransUnion in the UK and I’m looking forward to working with the team here to drive our growth plan and introduce more of TransUnion’s successful global solutions to our UK clients.”

Satty Saha, CEO of TransUnion in the UK, added: “I’m very pleased to welcome David Finch to TransUnion as our chief revenue officer. With his extensive expertise which spans multiple industries – data, financial services and marketing – he will be a key member of our executive team and will lead our UK sales function.”

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Former Vodafone and O2 Head of ISP, Matt Dykes, joins multi-million-pound telecoms business Abzorb Systems as Chief Commercial Officer as the company bolsters its senior team following record growth in 2018.

Dykes joins the Brighouse-based firm following a 20-year career in the wholesale telecoms industry at Vodafone and O2. He brings an in-depth knowledge of the channel and strong relationships with the networks to Abzorb.

Dykes said: “This is a hugely exciting time to join Abzorb. The company has consistently posted double digit growth over the past three years and my goal is to make sure this organic expansion continues.

“The business has set a strong foundation for growth. We are now scaling up our technology roadmap to drive the pace of change for an industry that will soon be characterised by 5G, AI and data-driven decision making. The hosted telecoms technology and customer-centric approach at Abzorb is in their DNA and my goal is to transform the company from a commercial perspective.

“The opportunities to grow around our network-agnostic mobile offering and replace legacy systems architecture with cloud-based technology is huge. Our product roadmap reflects this and we are looking forward to launching exciting new products and services throughout 2019 and beyond.”

Abzorb founder Steve Beeby, added: “I’ve known Matt for many years and the synergies between us are clear. During his time at Vodafone and O2, Matt led the transformation of the whole channel by streamlining resources and implementing strategies to drive business growth.

“Matt is well respected throughout the industry. He brings his ambition, a solid commercial track record and strong relationships to help shape the future of Abzorb at this time of rapid growth.

“We have an exciting pipeline of new product and service propositions to bring to the market and Matt will be instrumental in driving through these innovations. Last year, for example, we launched the innovative CapZ service, which allows businesses to control their telecoms expenditure in line with Ofcom’s bill cap legislation. This is out-performing our expectations and we have exciting new roll-outs coming soon.

“We are looking forward to securing a strong future while sticking to our core value of building technology solutions in telecoms that make it easier for our customers to do business better.”

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Lloyds Bank’s Real Estate and Housing division has added two new faces to its team in the North of England as it continues to expand its regional network.

Richard Butterfield

Relationship Director, Richard Butterfield, has switched from his previous role within the SME and Mid-Corporates Real Estate Division to become Lead Director within the Real Estate and Housing team across the North of England, responsible for supporting clients with property assets in excess of £25m.   He has worked for Lloyds Banking Group for the past 25 years, with the last 20 years spent in the real estate sector.

 

Butterfield is joined by Adam Ahmed, who has taken up the role of Associate Director. Ahmed has worked for Lloyds Bank for nine years and spent the last five looking after mid-market sized clients.

They will both support existing clients in the real estate and housing sectors, as well as expanding Lloyds Bank’s exposure across the North. They will also play a key role in helping the bank roll out its £2bn Clean Growth Finance scheme, which is designed to help Commercial Banking clients transition towards supporting a more sustainable economy. This includes providing discounted finance for firms investing to improve the sustainability and energy performance of property assets or new developments.

Adam Ahmed

Allan MacKenzie, Managing Director UK Regions for Real Estate and Housing at Lloyds Bank, said: “Richard and Adam offer us a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge – both of the North’s economy and the firms that are driving it – that will prove invaluable to the Real Estate and Housing team.

“They both provide a unique set of skills and knowhow that will enable us to continue to play a major role in supporting the ambitions and growth strategies of housing and property companies across the North of England.”

Butterfield added: “This is an incredibly interesting and important time to be joining the team. Despite current uncertainties, we’re seeing a real appetite across the region for investment and development opportunities from both existing and prospective clients, and we’re committed to helping them prosper.”

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Sterling Capitol, the Yorkshire property development company, has strengthened its team with two key appointments.

Paul Beckett joins as Head of Development, while Claire Bond is the company’s new Financial Controller. The award-winning company, chaired by Sir Bob Murray CBE, owns and manages business parks across the county.

Beckett, who studied real estate at Sheffield Hallam University, joins from Cromwell Property Group, where he was Asset Investment Manager. He previously worked for property consultancy Carter Jonas in Leeds.  Bond also worked for Cromwell, as well as Knight Frank in Leeds.

Beckett said: “This is a very exciting and opportune move. Sterling Capitol have ambitious plans to further develop its Capitol Park business parks in Leeds, Barnsley and Goole and I will have an integral part to play in this, as well as further developing the Capitol Park brand throughout the north of England.”

“Equally importantly, I will be taking on the asset management role of the balance sheet assets at all Sterling’s properties.”

Bond added: “This is a great opportunity to work within a friendly and tight-knit team. The company’s future looks extremely bright and I am delighted to be part of it.”

Mike Heydecke, CEO of Sterling Capitol, said: “These are two very important strategic appointments for Sterling Capitol, which will both enhance and strengthen our team. Both Paul and Claire have excellent track records and I am confident their experience and expertise in their respective roles will be a massive asset to our company. As one of the most respected property development companies in the region, we are focussed on building on the company’s achievements in the past two decades, to ensure a  successful future”.

Sterling Capitol PLC was formed by Sir Bob Murray in 1992 and has developed an excellent reputation as one of the most accomplished and effective property development companies in the north of England. The company’s headquarters is in central Leeds.

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Northern Ballet has appointed five new members to its Board of Directors to support and guide the Leeds-based company as it prepares to mark its 50th anniversary later this year.

The new board members are::

  • Cllr Judith Blake CBE: Labour politician and Leader of Leeds City Council since May 2015.
  • Philip Keller: Former Chief Financial Officer at Intermediate Capital Group.
  • Jolyon Harrison: Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Gleeson Homes.
  • Javaad Alipoor: Artist, director, writer and activist specialising in creating theatre for communities with low arts engagement.
  • Clive Lloyd: Managing Director of Design & Display Ltd, manufacturers of office and retail furniture.

This  brings the total number of Board Directors to 15. Mark Skipper DL, Chief Executive at Northern Ballet, said: “Any successful arts organisation needs a diverse Board focused on the range of challenges within which it needs to operate. I am delighted that all our new appointments add specific additional value to the portfolio of Board members that we already have supporting the organisation, and I am looking forward to working with them during this exciting anniversary period and into the future.”

Sir David Wootton, Chairman of Northern Ballet’s Board of Directors, said: “Our new Board members bring a wide range of skills and experiences to fill out those already well represented on the Board, giving us a strong and healthy diversity, and balance of backgrounds, which will serve us well and enable us at Board level to fully support the Company’s artistic and creative ambitions. We will celebrate our 50th anniversary not with a retrospect, but with innovative new work and I am looking forward to an exciting future in every area of the Company’s programmes.”

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Huddersfield-headquartered E3 Recruitment (E3R) has made six new appointments since the beginning of the year as the engineering and manufacturing recruitment specialist continues to strengthen its offering and continue the exponential growth achieved year-on-year since starting up six years ago.

The agency, which has a second office in Rotherham, works nationally and now has a team of 30 people specialising in permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, from shop floor staff level, through to senior exec appointments.

Tom Hughes has joined the E3R Commercial team as a Resourcer; Jordan Talbot joined the marketing team as a Digital and Marketing Executive; Lewis Aguirregoicoa has joined the General Manufacturing sector as a Resourcer ; Callum Good has joined the same sector as a Recruitment Consultant; Dan Holt has joined the Food & Drink sector team as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant and Jack Neagle has joined as a Resourcer within the Building and Construction Products sector team.

Tracie Norton, E3R Director, said:  “We are absolutely delighted to have welcomed six new members to the team and each of them all bring something new to the E3R family with new energy and ideas. We love what we do and these six recruits really complement our team, contribute to our amazing learning culture and share our passion for success.”

Last month E3R celebrated its sixth anniversary and it is over a year since the agency launched Evolution, its strategy for growth over five years. E3R’s specialist sector teams were at the heart of the agency’s growth strategy, working in partnership with candidates and clients, offering continuity of contacts with consultants who offer an in-depth knowledge of the sectors they serve.

Norton added: “Since we celebrated our fifth birthday last year, we have experienced exponential growth, both in employee numbers and revenues generated. By implementing the five-year strategy, we are creating an environment of growth where our team members can develop as individuals which mirrors one of E3R’s value – Empowerment. We are all really excited about what the rest of the year and the future holds.”

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