People: Civic post honour for former senior manager; New hire to double revenue at glazing firm; Appointment at finance firm; and more

A former divisional president of Hull-based medical device company Smith and Nephew has become the new lord lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

James Dick has succeeded the Hon Dame Susan Cunliffe-Lister, who stepped down last week after 14 years as the Queen’s representative in the county.

He previously served as a deputy lieutenant and as the county’s High Sheriff.

He said: “I am most privileged to have been invited by Her Majesty The Queen to be her personal representative within the East Riding of Yorkshire in succession to Dame Susan who has done so much for this county over the 14 years of her tenure.

“She’ll be a very tough act to follow but she leaves me a strong platform to build upon.

“I very much look forward to serving the people of the county and with the support of the vice lord-lieutenant and the deputy lieutenants, I look forward to developing the work of the Lieutenancy and creating fresh opportunities.’

Cunliffe-Lister said: “I am delighted to be handing over the lieutenancy to someone who has done so much for the community in Hull and the East Riding and of whom I have a huge admiration.”

The office of Lord-Lieutenant can be traced to Tudor times, and is bestowed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

The position includes a host of high-profile civic and ceremonial duties bringing together voluntary services, businesses and cultural life ranging from the presentation of decorations to overseeing official Royal visits to the county.

Mr Dick had a successful career with Smith and Nephew, the last seven years as global president of the wound management division.

Since retirement, he has invested his time and energy into voluntary work, most notably as co-founder and chair of CatZero, a charity which has transformed the lives of young people and families living in some of the most deprived communities in the region.

He has also served as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Hull; founder and chair of trustees of the Smile Foundation, supporting local charities as well as the co-founder and former chair of the Bondholders, an organisation responsible for marketing the Humber region.

He has also held a range of non-executive directorships with private and listed companies.

Mr Dick lives in North Ferriby with his wife, Christine. They have one adult son.

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Brian Carroll

Yorkshire-headquartered commercial glazing firm Dortech has appointed Brian Carroll as business development manager.

He has been taken on to lead the Group’s sales strategy and more than double the Maintenance division’s revenue to £2m, over the next 12 months.

Bringing with him over 35 years’ experience within the glazing and construction sectors, Carroll has worked for a number of architectural glazing firms – in both technical and commercial roles.

Prior to joining the Dortech team, he was most recently head of estimating and national sales manager at HW Architectural, where he was responsible for tendering large-scale projects and coordinating and optimising the company’s country-wide sales strategy.

In this new position, he is looking after the sales for both of Dortech’s Architectural and Maintenance divisions, with a specific focus on identifying new customers and ultimately boosting the Group’s annual turnover.

James Sutherland, Dortech Group’s managing director, said: “With rising economic uncertainty and the unexpected closure of businesses, including some of our competitors, it’s been a turbulent year for construction.

James Sutherland

“But it’s great to see an increasing number of companies starting to recognise the financial benefits of planned preventative maintenance.

“With Brian now part of the business, we’re in a strong position to increase our national profile. His extensive knowledge of the sector and the challenges which exist, should hopefully enable us to further improve our competitive edge and maintain our strong marketplace position.

“We’re looking forward to reaching our targets and seeing how we can further grow the Maintenance division over the next 12 months.”

The Dortech Group is aiming to end 2020 on £9m turnover, and the Maintenance division is predicted to account for 20% of the Group’s overall revenue by 2022.

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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has appointed Vanessa Lee as a Partner to lead Private Client Services across the North of England.

With more than 22 years’ experience, Lee has a focus on advising high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices and trustees on complex tax planning.

She joins from EY where she led the region’s Private Client team and has worked on a number of high-profile relationships across a wide range of sectors.

Based at BDO’s Leeds office, she will support the tax team in Yorkshire and the North West on all aspects of private client tax issues.

Terry Jones, Partner and Head of BDO in Yorkshire, said: “Vanessa’s appointment comes during a landmark year for BDO.

“A crucial part of our strategy is attracting top talent like Vanessa as we continue to drive profitable growth.

“As a firm, our focus is on providing quality advice to help support our clients’ business goals. Vanessa’s experience and skillset will help strengthen our services across the region.”

Lee added: “BDO has an impressive reputation for its work with entrepreneurial businesses and I believe it’s the perfect fit for my experience.

“I am looking forward to being part of a firm which really understands and values the contribution that building strong, sustainable relationships with private clients can bring.”

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Leeds and Manchester-based coding bootcamp Northcoders has made three new additions to its Partnerships and Growth teams.

These latest starters follow the three tutors who have been appointed over the past couple of months.

The first appointment is Hannah Bratley who is Northcoders’ newest partnership success manager. Her new role will see her working closely with the firm’s hiring partners to match them with the very best graduate talent.

Prior to joining Northcoders, she worked for five years in sales at Dee Set – the technology focused retail solutions business.

Bethan Wafer, who has a degree in Criminology from Leeds Beckett University, has joined as an onboarding manager.

Her focus is on helping prospective students understand what each course entails, answering any questions they may have as well as ensuring the process, from application to start date, runs as smoothly as possible.

The final new starter is Frankie Buttons who is Northcoders’ new content manager. Before arriving at Northcoders, she managed an independent wholesale accessories company for eight years – an important part of her role in the business was its marketing and communications activities.

She will now be creating engaging digital content and will be working alongside the wider Marketing/ Growth team.

Bratley said: “I discovered Northcoders through the Manchester tech scene and was inspired by its work around community, diversity, inclusion and quality; I instantly knew that I wanted to be a part of that journey.

“I’m now looking forward to supporting our hiring partners in finding superb Northcoders talent for their teams.”

Chris Hill – CEO of Northcoders – added: “Hannah, Bethan and Frankie are great additions to the Northcoders family.

“Each one of them brings a fantastic mix of experience, talent and enthusiasm which is what we are all about.”