People: Non-exec chair appointed for digital transformation consultancy; Senior departure from listed property business; and more

Infinity Works, a growing digital transformation consultancy, has appointed Paul Driver as non-executive chairman.

Driver is an entrepreneur and management consultant with significant experience in growing international consulting businesses.

The computer science graduate spent his early career at Ford Motor Company and Andersen Consulting before co-founding Pcubed, a world leader in the project, programme, portfolio and change management industry.

He has been active as an angel investor and non-executive director since Pcubed was sold in 2014. He said: “The demand for digital transformation is growing massively but constrained by the quality of supply. That gives us a huge opportunity to build on the amazing success that Infinity Works has enjoyed to date.

“The founders and extended management team have created a consultancy capable of delivering digital transformation and cultural change at traditional companies and building new digital businesses from scratch.”

The six-year-old company is headquartered in Leeds and has offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh for a growing workforce of over 400 people. Revenues will exceed £50m this year.

Infinity Works received a minority investment from Growth Capital Partners (GCP) in January 2019 to support significant additional scale and increase its share of the multi-billion-pound market for IT services. Driver has worked with GCP on successfully growing another consulting business.

He added: “Infinity Works has a beautiful sense of fun but also a level of steel, focus and determination to do great work and grow. The company has a unique collaborative and supportive culture that is prized by clients and employees alike.”

Paul Henshaw, joint managing director and co-founder, said: “We are delighted to welcome Paul to our team and greatly value his skills and experience in growing international consulting businesses.

“Appointing a chairman is part of the growing up process we started last year to become more strategic in our vision and more focused on our plan of attack for the future.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to establish Infinity Works as the UK’s best digital transformation consultancy.”

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Leeds-headquartered Town Centre Securities has announced that Lynda Shillaw, group property director, is to leave the business and will stand down from the Board on the 31st October 2020 in order to focus on further building her non-executive career.

In her time at TCS she has focused on further developing the strategy of the business and strengthening the team, including the hiring of three new associate directors, to deliver on key strategic initiatives. The Company will proceed in due course with a search for a suitable replacement. Shillaw will continue to work on key projects with TCS in a consultancy capacity.

Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive, said: “I would like to thank Lynda for her significant contribution and insight during her time with the company. Her experience has been important in helping shape the future direction of the company, and we wish her well as she pursues the next stage of her career.”

Shillaw said: ” I have thoroughly enjoyed working at TCS and would like to thank Edward and the rest of the Board for their support during my time with the company and their understanding in my reaching this decision to pursue new opportunities.”

She is a non-executive director of the Crown Estate and VIVID Housing Association.

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Boutique fitness concept TRIB3, which has studios in Leeds and Sheffield is strengthening its team with multiple new appointments across the business, following a recent series A capital investment.

Following the recent capital investment from the Fisher Group, Jonathan Fisher has taken up the role of chairman of the Board. As the current CEO of Holmes Place, he brings with him a wealth of experience and has worked closely with TRIB3’s co-founder and CEO, Kevin Yates, to establish a new group board under their leadership, ensuring the brand can deliver on its planned growth trajectory.

Growth will be achieved through franchising studios globally, but with a focus in 2020 on primary markets in the UK and Spain.

Leading the franchise development function is newly appointed chief development officer, Karl Dietrich. After a decade of working with health and leisure franchises, including Anytime Fitness and easyGym, Dietrich has come on board to help deliver TRIB3’s ambition to become the go-to for boutique fitness franchising.

Joining him is the new chief financial officer, Thomas Moran, who will be leading the financial sustainability of TRIB3 as it grows into a large-scale global brand. After five years of working in finance for a large, multinational energy company, he transitioned into the leisure industry, applying his financial acumen to acquisitions, investments and global growth.

The third role on the new board is held by chief experience officer, Matteo Cerruti. He is responsible for operations, product and hospitality at TRIB3, ensuring every possible element of the workout journey is designed to deliver the best customer experience for its customers.

Finally, TRIB3 has welcomed its chief marketing officer, Kirsty Angove. Bringing with her almost a decade of experience in marketing within the health and fitness industry with Nuffield Health, her philosophy mixes the creativity of brand and marketing with a scientific, results-focused approach.

Yates said: “We’re really excited to be welcoming multiple new additions to the TRIB3 family and forming our new board. As an organisation that is expanding rapidly, we need to ensure that we have an experienced and ambitious team behind the scenes supporting our growing network of franchise partners.

“Investing in our people is as important as investing in our studios across the world. Every single individual brings something unique to the TRIB3 offering and carries a huge passion for the brand.”

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Goole businessman Phil Jones became the president of the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce during a hand-over ceremony at the Chamber’s AGM.

Jones runs Link Agency, a specialist property letting agency in Goole, Hull, Beverley and the East Yorkshire region. His vice president for the year is Mike Whitehead, who runs Scartho Developments Ltd.

Jones was presented the presidential chain of office by outgoing president Kathy Fillingham, who wished him luck in his high-profile year.

Jones gave a vote of thanks to Kathy for her year in office. “Kathy has a style of her own,” he said. “She has always been a great presence with her open and honest style and is a great person to work alongside. It’s been a super year.

“It is a great honour to become chamber president and follow in the footsteps of some illustrious predecessors.

“The Chamber is a very diverse organisation and is one which can have a direct dialogue with Government. I’ve seen first-hand how by working with Emma Hardy MP the Chamber held discussions with Sir Keir Starmer before the General Election. It was a fascinating insight into how the Chamber can interact at Government level.

“We also had Lord Lamont of Lerwick to speak at a dinner last year which gave us the opportunity to speak with him about his career in politics. It’s great to come into contact with such esteemed people.

“The Chamber Acorn Fund is another success story for the Chamber and is doing really well with Craig Simpson heading that up.

“Then there’s the International Trade Centre headed by Pauline Wade which offers exporters business support. A group from Botswana visited recently and it was quite amazing to sit in on that meeting and see the interaction between the public and private sectors.”