People: IoD appoints branch chairman for North Yorkshire; New chair of Royal Armouries attractions; Solicitor taken on at expanding law firm; and more
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has appointed Harrogate Spring Water boss James Cain as branch chair for North Yorkshire.
He will be supported by newly appointed vice-chair Caroline Pullich, who leads the Yorkshire Business Banking team at Barclays.
Former North Yorkshire branch chair Jon Geldart has stepped down from the role after being appointed UK Director General of the business leaders’ organisation.
Caroline Pullich
Cain and Pullich will work alongside a committee of business leaders to ensure that the views of local businesses are represented within the IoD’s influential, national policy voice.
Cain started his career at Asda Wal-Mart, where he became the youngest ever general manager, responsible for a mega-distribution centre employing 1,200 staff. Under his leadership, Harrogate Spring has become Britain’s number one premium water brand. Ethical water brand Thirsty Planet, launched in 2007, has now raised over £2m for Third World water projects via charity Pump Aid.
Pullich heads a team of around 60 people who service the complex banking needs of 6,000 SME clients.
She has more than seven years of experience with Barclays, prior to which she spent more than two decades with NatWest. She also holds positions with Leeds Chamber of Commerce, Bradford Producer City, Bradford Breakthrough and Maggie’s the Cancer Charity.
Cain said: “I’m honoured to be appointed to this prestigious role and look forward to continuing Jon’s excellent work within the branch region. North Yorkshire stretches across a vast area and is home to a fantastic array of market-leading businesses and entrepreneurial leaders.
“I’m looking forward to raising the profile of North Yorkshire business and ensuring that members feel engaged and inspired during these challenging and uncertain times.”
Caroline Pullich said: “Having actively participated in the IoD community for some time now, I am looking forward to taking my involvement to the next level.
“The IoD offers agenda-setting events, valuable advice and an influential policy voice but we need to develop this further to ensure the organisation stays relevant and reflects the diversity of the modern business world.”
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The Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
The Secretary of State has appointed John Procter as chairman of the Royal Armouries for four years from 2 November 2019 to 1 November 2023.
Procter was a Conservative Party Member of the European Parliament from November 2016 to July 2019 and has been a Leeds City Councillor since 1990.
From 2004-2010 he served as Chief Whip of the Council. He stood in Barnsley East (1992) and Pudsey (2001) General Elections. Through his varied career he has developed an unrivalled network of well-connected contacts in the UK, across Europe and internationally, which will prove invaluable in increasing awareness of Royal Armouries throughout the UK and beyond.
He is the managing director of a national optical business. He is married with two children and has now retired from Politics.
His Royal Armouries role is not remunerated.
The Royal Armouries has three locations, including its museum in central Leeds.
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A YORKSHIRE law firm has marked the first stage of its expansion with a key appointment.
Litigation specialists Luscombe Gray has been bolstered by the addition of solicitor Katherine Clark, a specialist in complex and high asset recovery and consumer credit matters.
She brings to the Harrogate-based team more than a decade of legal expertise, gained at both a top 50 national law firm and a regional Yorkshire practice. This has led to her being named among the 50 most influential figures in the world of motor finance in two consecutive years by Motor Finance magazine.
Managing director Chris Luscombe said: “We are thrilled to expand the team with a finance and commercial litigator of Katherine’s calibre and proven track record.
“Her specialist skills will both strengthen and broaden our offering of specialist litigation services to our growing client portfolio.”
Clark has dealt with a range of disputes on behalf of PLCs, small and medium-sized owner-managed businesses and local authorities.
She has extensive experience in running High Court and County Court claims from pre-issue to trial and appeal, and deals with enforcement of judgements. She has built up an in-depth knowledge of consumer credit legislation – a niche area of law regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
A case highlight for her in this field was acting for the successful appellant in the Court of Appeal case of BMW Financial Services (GB) Limited v Hart (2012), which provided clarification on limitation in consumer credit cases.
She has also had articles published on changes to legislation, and widely commented on decisions by regulatory bodies, procedural issues and tactics in litigation.
Clark said: “Luscombe Gray may be a new name in the legal sector but it draws upon a long history, particularly in property, financial and commercial litigation.
“I’m delighted to be part of the team at a time it is witnessing increased demand for its expertise.”
A keen runner – having completed a marathon and a number of half marathons – Clark lives with her partner in Leeds.
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Victor Manufacturing, a Bradford-based food service and retail equipment supplier, has bolstered its UK-based sales team with the appointment of two new national account managers, along with a new area sales manager.
Tim Calvert, Lauren Hunter and Steven Chadwick have joined the team with extensive experience in catering equipment sales and will be responsible for managing Victor’s existing national and area-specific accounts, as well as identifying and developing new opportunities for the Bradford-based manufacturer.
Having started his career as a chef, Calvert then moved into the world of food service equipment sales, previously working for Rational, Brakes and Winterhalter.
Hunter also boasts vast national sales experience in the catering equipment sector, having previously held roles with Brakes and JLA, as well as having worked at CS Catering.
Appointed as Victor’s new Northern Area Sales Manager, Chadwick joins the team with a wealth of knowledge and experience. After owning his own restaurant and kitchen design business, he worked as a design consultant for the Aggora Lockhart Project in Manchester.
Michael Inwood, sales and marketing director at Victor, said: “Both national and area-specific accounts are essential to our business and have delivered much of our growth over the last ten years.
“I am really pleased to have Tim, Lauren and Steven join the team here at Victor. I’m very confident they have the knowledge, experience and expertise to ensure we continue to provide unrivalled levels of customer service and innovative catering solutions for our customers.
“The three new recruits will also play an integral part in helping to drive the business forward, as we work towards our ambitious plans of growing annual revenues to £20m over the next five years.”
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in October 2019, Victor specialises in the manufacture and supply of food service equipment to some of the UK’s largest companies and groups in a variety of sectors, including education, care, public sector, hospitality, contract catering and retail. The firm employs 120 staff over three facilities in Bradford.
