People: Corporate sales director hired; Five more staff taken on at property business; and more
BigChange, the Leeds-based mobile workforce management company, has appointed industry expert John Mills as its first dedicated corporate sales director.
Mills, a former transport and logistics lecturer at the University of Huddersfield, joins BigChange from US-based video telematics specialist Lytx, where he led its European enterprise sales efforts. He previously held senior business development positions at Microlise and Masternaut, as well as operational roles in the logistics sector.
This appointment signals BigChange’s intention to expand its footprint in the big business market, where organisations have previously relied on legacy workforce management and telematics technologies requiring lengthy installation and integration programmes.
Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, said: “We are delighted to welcome John to the team. He has a wealth of experience and contacts in the industries that we serve best, and deep understanding around how to shape our offering to make it even more attractive to large corporate customers.”
Mills said: “BigChange has made waves in many sectors by making high-end mobile workforce management technologies available to a far wider range of companies, helping them to compete more effectively, drive efficiencies, and deliver fantastic customer service.
“BigChange’s functionality far exceeds what can be obtained elsewhere in a single package, and there is a growing appetite from big businesses to take advantage of JobWatch as part of their digital transformation efforts.”
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Five new employees have been appointed at a property firm based in Doncaster to help continue its expansion.
Fisher German, which opened its office at Lakeside Business Park in 2017, has appointed Arabella Olivant, Thomas Parker, Andrew Priestley, Louie de Rosa and James Thompson following a strong year for the firm in Yorkshire.
Andrew is joining the firm’s development team as a senior associate, having previously worked as a development surveyor for firms such as Lambert Smith Hampton and Rapleys, and will aim to grow Fisher German’s influence in Yorkshire.
Thomas is joining the firm’s Rural team as an associate alongside Arabella who joins the team as a rural graduate surveyor after undertaking work experience with the firm in 2018 and completing her studies at the Royal Agricultural University in July 2019.
Louie will work as an apprentice in the Commercial team after finishing his A-levels at the McAuley Catholic High School in Doncaster.
And James joins Fisher German as a graduate agri-business surveyor after finishing his studies at Newcastle University last year and working for a small independent firm in East Yorkshire until June 2019.
Struan McDougall, regional managing partner for Yorkshire & North Midlands, said: “Since Fisher German opened a new office in Doncaster, we have gone from strength to strength and our instructions have significantly grown in the area.
“This has allowed us to expand and hire new talent to join the Fisher German team and grow our influence in the region even further.
“All five of our new employees have great experience and potential, and we’re really looking forward to working with them to provide great results for our clients in and around Yorkshire.”
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Elizabeth Turner, a senior associate solicitor at legal firm, Langleys Solicitors, has become one of the newest recruits to the Law Society’s Women Lawyers Division, a body which provides invaluable support and advice to women solicitors in England and Wales.
Fighting off competition from 200 other candidates, alongside her general day-to-day duties at Langleys, her new role will see her sit on a committee of 15, which is responsible for the promotion, retention and wellbeing of women working in law. She will also be an integral member of the events team, ensuring they help to get key messages to the people that need them most.
Among the issues the body will be addressing over the course of the coming months are discussions surrounding the benefits of flexible working hours, redressing the gender imbalance for solicitors in senior roles and making the profession more welcoming for women with families by providing them with the tools they need to return to the profession after a career break.
Elizabeth said: “This appointment is a particularly special one for me. As a working parent and with a career which has spanned academia and private practice, I have first-hand knowledge of the challenges many women are facing progressing to senior levels within the profession.
“This year is a particularly significant year for the legal profession too, as it marked 100 years of women in law. Yet, whilst women make up 50.2% of all practicing solicitors, less than 28% of partners in private practice are women (only 19% in Top 10 Law Firms) which indicates women still face significant barriers to career progression.
“Over the coming months, I’ll be working on a Northern based event for women in law to network and meet potential mentors and role models. I will also be part of a team who are working to showcase women in the profession and their career paths and also supporting the committee’s efforts to reach out to more women in the profession.”
In addition to her new Law Society duties, Elizabeth will still be based in Langleys’ York office where she heads the property dispute section of the dispute resolution team.
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Europe’s only manufacturer of vinyl playing jukeboxes has appointed a new recruit to its manufacturing capabilities.
Sound Leisure is keen to encourage further female personnel to its team and has appointed Casey-Lea Allison directly from the Leeds-based University Technical College (UTC).
UTC Leeds is a Government-funded academy that specialises in engineering and advanced manufacturing, where students study highly regarded technical qualifications alongside GCSEs and A Levels.
Managing director of Sound Leisure, Chris Black, said: “Casey’s interest and initiative to seek a job opportunity with us has been admirable. She quickly made a fantastic impression on the team and we are delighted to have set her on full time. Casey is actively documenting all procedures in the factory and has already saved production time on some jobs by looking at the way we manufacture things.”
With an 80,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Crossgates, Leeds, Sound Leisure is one of only two classic jukebox manufacturers in the world with further sub-groups of the business including SLKids, suppliers of children distraction areas.
Allison said: “I’m thrilled to have been offered a job with Sound Leisure. I’ve had the best time undertaking my work experience here and I’m excited to support the company that ensures that further females enjoy great careers in manufacturing such fantastic products.”
The Principal of UTC Leeds, Alex Burnham, said: “We are delighted Casey has secured a position with our longstanding employer partner, Sound Leisure.
“Our focus at the UTC is very much on destinations and we are proud of our strong track in helping students progress into great opportunities in industry, as well as further study. This is exactly why the UTC was set up to help local engineering and manufacturing employers to gain highly skilled new recruits and to give young people great life chances.”
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DFS, the Doncaster-based the market leading retailer of living room and upholstered furniture in the UK has appointment of Jane Bednall as an independent non-executive director of the Company. Jane who will start on the 1 January 2020, will be a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
Her previous roles include chief marketing officer for Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and has previously held senior leadership positions with Intercontinental Hotels Group, British Gas and British Airways. She is also a current non-executive director of pub company EI Group and a former non-executive Director of Smart Energy GB.
Ian Durant, chairman of DFS, said: “I am delighted to welcome Jane to the Board. She brings significant and complementary experience of the marketing and retail industry to the Board. We are looking forward to working with her and are sure that she will make a valuable contribution in the times ahead.”
