People: CODA Studios; RankedRight; Dhand Construction; and more

Two years after a management buyout at Sheffield multidisciplinary practice, CODA Studios, founding partner David Cross has stepped down from his role as chairman.

The company, which is based in Sheffield’s Kelham Island and Manchester and is made up of CODA Architecture and CODA Bespoke, underwent the buyout in 2020.

Managing director Matt Bowker and board directors Abel Hinchliffe and Jamie Hanson took over the firm after acquiring remaining shares from Cross, who now relinquishes his role as chairman.

“Part of the buyout plan was that David would stay on as our chairman for a further two years and that period has now come to an end,” said Bowker.

“Without David there would have been no CODA and the strength of our relationship moving forward is reflected in the fact that his commitment to our team remains as strong as ever.

“We will continue to work closely with David on his many new projects, including Sky-House Co, which goes from strength to strength and which we are very proud to be a part of.

“Having emerged from the pandemic, CODA Architecture continues to grow and we are currently working on many new and exciting projects throughout the region and nationally.

“The properties being developed by our CODA Bespoke team, headed by director Abel Hinchliffe, take residential development in exciting new directions.

“And our Manchester office, under director Jamie Hanson, is developing the CODA brand in the north west.”

As founder and director of Sky-House Co, Cross is now focusing on the Sky-House brand at the Waverley site between Sheffield and Rotherham, in Oughtibridge and Stocksbridge and in Sheffield city centre.

The Sky-House concept was initially inspired by the back-to-back housing model created by the CODA team.

“It was a difficult decision for me to finally break my ties with CODA Studios but it had always been the plan for me to stay as chairman for only two years after the buyout and with so much now happening for Sky-House, this is definitely the right time to step down,” said Cross

“With CODA working so closely on the development and expansion of the Sky-House brand, the two companies will be continue to work side by side and support each other.”

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York-based IT consultancy RankedRight, launched last year by entrepreneur and cyber specialist Thomas MacKenzie, has appointed David Brandon as CTO advisor.

Brandon is co-founder of York-based RotaCloud, which has become a global leader in staff management software solutions.

He is at the forefront of technical innovation in the SaaS field, with more than a decade of experience advising start-ups in the tech space.

MacKenzie, CEO of RankedRight, said: “We have huge respect for RotaCloud and its technology and to have its CTO, David, share his time and wisdom with us as we embark on the next exciting stage in our business is invaluable.

“We are good friends and I’m confident we’ll have a fantastic working relationship too.”

Brandon added: “RankedRight’s proposition and approach drew me in immediately. I’m particularly passionate about working with tech companies whose aim is to streamline and simplify the experience for users, so this was a natural fit, and I’m really pleased to be able to help support RankedRight through its next stage of growth.”

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Andrew Thubron has joined Dhand Construction as commercial director, working with teams across the company’s Leeds and London offices.

He joins Dhand from his previous role as associate director at international cost consultancy McLeod & Aitken, where during his 11-year tenure, he operated throughout the UK, Europe and Australia, specialising in the delivery of award-winning frameworks on retail, private rented sector, healthcare and logistics, with annual construction values totalling over £1bn.

Dhand Construction said the appointment was designed to support its ambitious growth plans, with Group CEO Rohin Dhand adding: “2022 is set to be a record year for us, as we deliver even more for our primary care and retail clients.

“Having Andrew on board will ensure we get off to a great start – he brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience and has spent years driving forward the standardisation of delivery frameworks across multiple sectors.

“He will play a key role and his industry-leading knowledge will help us pioneer nationwide standardisation of delivery for our clients, as we remain at the forefront of sustained and continuous improvement – not just through an innovative approach to end-to-end construction procurement, but how this is reflected on site too.”

Thubron added: “I’m thrilled to join the team at Dhand Construction – they are incredibly ambitious and are leading the way as a specialist in primary care and repeatable construction, which fits perfectly with my experience.

“This is a very exciting time for the business and I’m really pleased to be part of the next phase of growth.”

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Virgin Money UK says that after having served two three-year terms on the Board, Paul Coby, a non-executive director, will step down on 30 June 2022.

He joined the Board in June 2016 and is a member of the Audit Committee, the Governance and Nomination Committee, the Remuneration Committee and of the Risk Committee. He will also step down as a director of Clydesdale Bank PLC on the same date.

On 3 December 2021 the company confirmed that, following the announcement of her appointment as chief financial officer of Hargreaves Lansdown plc, Amy Stirling (the representative director of Virgin Enterprises Limited) had informed the company of her intention to step down as a non-executive director by the summer of 2022 on a date to be agreed between the company and Virgin Enterprises Limited.

The company now says she will leave the Board on 5 May 2022. She will also step down as a director of Clydesdale Bank PLC on the same date.

David Bennett, company chairman, said: “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank both Paul and Amy for their significant contributions during their time on the Board.

“This includes Paul’s chairmanship of the Board Transformation and Integration Committee established to provide oversight of the integration of the two heritage businesses following the acquisition of Virgin Money and more recently their insights which helped shape our accelerated digital strategy.”