People: New financial controller at machinery manufacturer; Senior appointment at poultry supplier; and more

A designer and manufacturer of vegetable handling equipment has appointed a new financial controller to head its accounts department.

Emma Johnson joined Doncaster-based Haith Group last month, reporting to Nigel Haith, managing director.

With nine years financial experience gained at an industrial hose manufacturer, Johnson has been given responsibility for managing all aspects of Haith finances, dealing with day-to-day financial administration as well as producing monthly accounts, forecasting and budget management.

Haith said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Emma to the team. We are enjoying a buoyant period, with a very encouraging order book and a pleasing number of enquiries.

“As we continue to grow, the amount of work our accounts department has to undertake also rises, so we’ve decided to recruit and are delighted to have found someone with Emma’s experience and skill set.”

Johnson said: “Haith is well known and is synonymous with excellence in the farming sector. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but it is clear that the company is growing.

“As the team here focus on meeting the increasing demand, we need to ensure the financial side of the business runs as smoothly and effectively as possible. I’m looking forward to working with the accounts team to ensure this continues.”

Incorporated as a limited company in 1964, Tickhill Engineering, which trades as Haith has a long tradition of innovating vegetable handling.

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An East Yorkshire poultry supplier has created a new position to support its growing portions business.

Middleton-on-the-Wolds based Soanes Poultry has appointed Alan Martin to the new position of business unit manager – portions.

Martin joins Soanes Poultry with 30 years’ experience in the poultry processing industry to work with the portions processing team to master skills for new and existing products and to grow sales of chicken portions.

He said: “It’s a very exciting time to be joining Soanes and I’m looking forward to working alongside the sales and technical teams to ensure our customers receive the highest standards of product and service at all times.

“Soanes is a well-established family owned business that is committed to continued improvement. The team here is a great mix of people who have worked here for a number of years yet still have fresh ideas that help the business continue to grow.”

Soanes Poultry’s head of sales and marketing, Ben Lee, said: “We hope this is the start of a long and happy career for Alan with Soanes Poultry.

“We are always looking at ways to drive our business forward and are confident Alan’s appointment will help us achieve our goals, especially with the growing market for chicken portions.”

Soanes Poultry is a family owned business which has been rearing and preparing chicken for 73 years. It employs 120 people and sells its chicken to butchers and independent retailers in Yorkshire and to wholesalers nationwide.

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Leeds-based AI and Machine Learning (ML) organisation, Third Foundation, has appointed a former YouGov director to become its chief operating officer.

Shirelle Grant was director of client management at YouGov and prior to that director at B2B marketing automation agency Stein IAS – responsible for the China division based in Shanghai.

Her appointment comes on the back of Third Foundation announcing substantial client wins, and the release of a trio of new products – with more set to be unveiled.

Grant said: “It’s such a pivotal – and exciting – time to be involved with Third Foundation’s vast development. Knowing the team’s capabilities and its impressive growth plans, I was eager to be a part of an organisation that’s leading the charge in helping businesses to utilise data correctly.

“With the power of our automation, we’ll be able to transform how various departments react to their new level of insight previously untapped. A huge factor in this is how Third Foundation’s technology can truly pinpoint ‘what if’ scenarios, enabling organisations to plan – and react positively in a challenging marketplace.

“We have a huge role to play in how we communicate with modern-day marketers, so they know exactly how to plug in smart automation to transform how they measure the metrics that matter – and which ultimately dictate commercial success.”

CEO, Michael Ward, said: “Shirelle brings a vast array of leadership qualities and experience to our team – she’s highly motivating, encouraging and inspiring for our organisation.

“Her ambitions match ours in how we want to help clients strategically – and sustainably – grow their businesses and continue to deliver critical data that transforms both performance and how people think.”

Based at the Leeming Building in Leeds city centre, Third Foundation is the brainchild of AI and marketing specialist Phillip Midwinter – who has spent 15 years working with technology to drive the strategic use of data within business.

In less than a year since it was first formed, the company has secured Google Cloud partner status – and completed a purpose-built platform called Prime Radiant alongside its cookieless, cloud-based, hit-level tracking technology called Galaxia.