People: Promotion at bank to support SME customers; Three hires to support contact centre management team; and more

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has promoted Natalie Hancock to the role of relationship director, with the remit to support the bank’s portfolio of SME customers in the Hull and York city regions.

Hancock, who was formerly relationship manager across West Yorkshire, will work alongside businesses with turnovers between £10m and £25m as they look to achieve their growth ambitions.

Lloyds Bank anticipates lending up to £1.4bn to firms in Yorkshire & the Humber during 2020.

Hancock’s specialisms include mergers & acquisition and working capital solutions, particularly within the manufacturing and healthcare sectors. She replaces Lorraine Hardiment who retires after 38 years with Lloyds Bank.

Kelly Green, regional director for Yorkshire & the Humber at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Natalie has a fantastic talent for understanding the needs of Yorkshire’s diverse range of businesses – from heavy manufacturers striving to become more sustainable, to fashion brands streamlining their working capital.

“She’ll be a real asset for companies both in the York and Hull city regions as she goes about her main role of actively delivering our helping Britain prosper strategy to businesses.

“Natalie also supports women in the workplace through her independent women’s networking group, and we hope this role will also give her further scope to continue that vital work.”

Hancock added: “Hull and York are both key to the prosperity of Yorkshire and the wider UK. Hull is a city on the rise – boosted by the ongoing benefits of its UK City of Culture status and major commitments from large employers like Siemens.

“Meanwhile, York retains its status as a hotbed for tourism in the North of England and a leading centre for higher-education, providing fertile ground for businesses to succeed.”

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South Yorkshire contact centre CC33 has taken on a trio of new recruits to help bolster its Sheffield-based management team.

CC33 has appointed head of people and HR Andrea Cooper, head of compliance Rhonda Allison and head of management information Stuart Pickering, in order to increase focus, support across the business and develop the business’ offering in the region.

Led by managing director, Paul Fletcher, CC33 boasts 30 clients across various sectors and has three offices in South Yorkshire – two being in Sheffield (Ecclesall Road and on Allen Street in Shalesmoor) and one in Rotherham on Mansfield Road.

Cooper, said: “I am delighted to join such a vibrant, engaging and positive workplace. I wanted to join an organisation that was forward-thinking and passionate about both its employees and its work.”

She joins the contact centre after more than 15 years’ experience in HR and people engagement. She added: “A big part of joining the company was down to the commitment to staff well-being and embedding positive values within the team.”

Pickering joins the management team as management intelligence analyst and will develop the reporting and performance management side of the company with a focus on centralising reporting and automation of reporting.

He said: “CC33 has a fantastic charm about it. It is a positive place to work with hard-working people. I’m looking forward to bringing my experience to the company and developing the streamlining of reporting and performance management.”

New head of compliance, Allison, also joins the team with more than 12 years of compliance experience in the contact centre industry. She said: “I feel like I am joining the team at a really positive time and at a time of growth for CC33.

“What strikes me about the company is how passionate everyone is about doing a great job, so I look forward to working alongside some really like-minded people and help in the development of the company.”

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Gavin Rimmington

Wakefield-based YPO, the UK’s largest publicly-owned buying organisation, has made three senior promotions within its public sector and education divisions.

Gavin Rimmington takes on the role of head of public sector following seven years as head of IT and business change, Martin Armytage has moved from his position as head of sales and customer experience into a new head of education role and Ashley Cartwright has been made education development manager.

Rimmington begins his role as head of public sector following 20 years working in change and innovation. After ten years working on large-scale technology solutions at Wakefield Council, he joined YPO in 2013, first as a programme manager, then as head of IT and business change.

With experience in leading digital strategies, such as developing YPO’s digital platforms, he will be the driving force behind YPO’s drive to develop in-depth customer understanding.

Martin Armytage

Overseeing all public sector divisions at YPO, from energy solutions, IT, insurance, apprenticeships and HR solutions, he is keen to support customers to transform, innovate and improve through championing collaborative procurement:

He said: “Whether we’re working with health and social care, the emergency services or a local authority, there is a clear appetite for incorporating new ways of working and innovation into their operations and, with our deep understanding of their requirements, what challenges they face and our solutions, we are able to provide a service that gives our customers opportunities to assist them in their approach to procuring goods and services.”

Armytage takes on the role of head of education following over 33 years working in the education arm of YPO. He will be responsible for the entire education offering which encompasses sales, marketing, customer experience and buying.

He has seen many major transformations both within YPO and the wider education sector over the last 20 years.

He said: “Education can often be a challenging environment to work in, with budget considerations and measured outputs influencing almost all decisions, but I think one of the biggest, and most positive, changes I’ve seen during my time in the sector is the way schools have benefited from having a wider commercial awareness, which is turn drives better value.”

YPO’s other promotion within its education division is for Cartwright who assumes the role of education development manager. Working closely with Armytage to understand what YPO’s customers need, Cartwright will be responsible for carrying out market analysis and leading on product innovation.

Ashley Cartwright

Pioneering new technology and learning tools for schools is just one part of his role though. Hand-in-hand with this is ongoing gap analysis of the education market to ensure that what YPO develops and offers, is a direct response to what its 4,000 schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) customers need.

Cartwright said: “Both schools and MATs are relying on public sector buying organisations more than ever to help them navigate the vast array products and tools available, and it’s our job to gain the market insight to ensure schools buy in a way that benefits budgets and learning goals.”