People: BHP; Ride Shotgun; Ellis Patents; and more

BHP has made 43 promotions across its offices in Sheffield, Chesterfield, York, Leeds and Cleckheaton in recognition of their achievements over the past year.

Acknowledging the hard work of team members at all levels, BHP has appointed six directors, one assistant director, three senior managers, three managers and 13 assistant managers. In addition, 17 trainees have been promoted as they progress through their training contracts.

Those who have been newly promoted will apply their growing expertise in highly skilled roles to enhance departments across the firm, including Audit and Accounts, Healthcare, Digital Finance, Personal Tax, Corporate Tax and Corporate Finance.

Lisa Leighton, joint managing partner, said: “The last couple of years have been extremely challenging for all businesses, but this hasn’t stopped our team from finding innovative new ways to excel and add value for all our clients.

“Our people, their talent and dedication are key to our success. We wanted to recognise their exceptional efforts by providing new opportunities to take their careers to the next level, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they achieve in their new roles.”

Louise Allen, head of HR, added: “We’re committed to providing training, mentoring and career progression for all and we aim to ensure that our people have the necessary support and tools to succeed.

“Those who have been appointed to new roles have gone above and beyond for our clients, and we’re delighted to be able to support them on their career journey.”

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Richard Marriott

Leeds, Sheffield and London-based brand activation agency, Ride Shotgun, is continuing to invest in growing its teams.

Richard Marriott joins as chief growth officer, while five other appointments have been made across creative, production and client services.

Marriott joins from digital content marketing agency, Zazzle Media, and will be responsible for driving forward sales and marketing; working with the growth team to develop new business.

He brings a wealth of expertise from 20 years in marketing, comprising various digital marketing and business development roles.

This includes eight years at Zazzle Media where his leadership was instrumental in the strategic direction, day-to-day operational activity and substantial business development.

Ride Shotgun has also bolstered its creative, production and client services teams with the addition of mid-weight creatives Liam Bruce and Danny More, lead video editor Greg Brauns and senior account executive Caitlan Shortall.

Marriott said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Ride Shotgun. As a business we’re in a really unique place; we have the agility and pace of a new business but with an incredibly well established and talented team, plus all the experience of the two former agencies.

“Alongside all of this, we’ve got some exciting developments in the pipeline and a great client roster to build from. The ever-growing team is evidence of our early success, so I’m looking forward to the journey.”

His appointment follows two other recent senior hires of business development director, Roxy Fielding, and strategy director, Sally Rushton.

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Cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis Patents, has promoted Kelly Brown to the role of sales director.

Brown, who joined the Rillington-based company in 2014 as an export market researcher, had been working as head of sales since 2020. Her promotion sees her being appointed to the privately owned company’s board.

Danny Macfarlane, managing director, said: “Kelly has been extraordinary in every role she’s held with the company; no more so than over the last two years when she took in her stride the challenges of managing a global sales operation in the eye of a post-Brexit pandemic.

“To emerge in a stronger position in terms of sales, order book and strength of relationships with our 50-strong network of local distributors in key export markets around the world, says so much about Kelly, the way she works and the way she inspires those who work with her.”

Over the last 12-months, and despite the ongoing pressures of Covid-19, the company has secured a series of major new orders; including projects in Brazil, Norway, Uruguay and Lancashire.

It has also marked its intention of expanding its presence in the non-metallic cable cleat market with the launch of Solus – a range of cable clamps suitable for single cable installations.

Brown said: “What Ellis Patents has achieved over the years is phenomenal – both in terms of sales success and innovation.

“We may just be a North Yorkshire manufacturer and SME, but we lead a global market that features an ever-growing number of huge, multi-national corporations.”

“To be given the opportunity to take the helm of our sales operation is a huge honour and a challenge I’m relishing.”

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York-based mobile data specialist, Cellhire, has appointed Duncan Griffiths to the newly created position of head of sales – M2M & IoT Connectivity.

His responsibilities include leading the strategic M2M (machine-to-machine) and IoT (Internet of Things) sales focus for Cellhire in the UK, France and across Europe to drive additional growth in this space.

He joins Cellhire from BT, where he was head of sales – M2M and IoT Connectivity.

Griffiths’ 35 years experience in mobile includes 10 years at BT in the head of sales position, where he worked with different MNOs and service providers.

He said “It’s a significant and exciting time to join Cellhire. It offers extremely competitive M2M and IoT commercials across a wide range of networks and tariffs.

“Also, Cellhire provides real-time SIM control across multiple networks, through its self-service Atlas SIM Management & Billing Portal, which employs network-level APIs.

“Cellhire’s capability aligns to what customers demand in deploying critical M2M and IoT solutions, including technology and network choices on a local and global basis.

“With my deep and extensive experience in the market, I’m looking forward to shaping Cellhire’s strategy, and further advancing the company as a global M2M and IoT mobile data specialist.”

Martyn Stevens, Cellhire Group CEO, added: “The M2M and IoT space in telecoms continues to grow rapidly. And with 2G/3G sunsetting, PSTN switch off and continued 5G rollouts, the opportunities will open up even further as businesses look for a connectivity upgrade path.

“Duncan’s specialist knowledge will support the business globally, but his main focus and remit is to drive sales in the UK, France and across Europe.

“Duncan is well known in the industry and his career background, working with different MNOs and service providers, ensures he is well placed to lead our strategic sales focus in this space.”