People: Watson Batty Architects; Jet2; and more

Watson Batty Architects says board director, Andrew Grindrod is to transition out of the business after 22 years with the practice.

With effect from this month, he is stepping back from his senior role, to pursue other interests.

Having dedicated more than 30 years to architectural design, he has made a considerable impact on the Yorkshire landscape, particularly across the care and supported living sectors, which has become a major growth area for Watson Batty.

Peter White, managing director, said: “Andrew has been a highly valued member of the senior management team at Watson Batty and a great inspiration to our team for many years.

“He has been instrumental in helping us to grow and diversify our sector expertise to become a UK leading practice that employs 35 people nationwide working for many leading brands.

“Over the years Andrew has been a popular and proactive ambassador for the business, as well as the industry, and we would like to thank him for his tireless commitment and wish him the very best in his next ventures.”

Grindrod, said: “I have enjoyed working with the regional property industry to deliver some fantastic projects including schools, colleges, care homes, churches and industrial schemes that make a difference.

“I am proud of my contributions to making Watson Batty a future focused practice, realigning its brand identity and driving the recruitment and resource processes.

“The time is now right for me to step away and take some time out, pursue other interests, but certainly not retire!”

Watson Batty Architects was established more than 45 years ago and offers architectural, interior design and master planning solutions for all sectors.

The practice, which employs a team of 35 across studios in Leeds and Loughborough, has traded ahead of targets and surpassed its £2.8m turnover target last year.

White added: “Our highly skilled team are now stepping up to represent the future of Watson Batty having proved themselves to be at the forefront of design innovation and aspiring leaders in their respective sectors.

“With a strong business pipeline and robust and incentivised team in place, we are pushing forward with a business priority on sustainability as we face the urgency of the Climate Crisis.

“We have established a sustainability taskforce to address this and to guide our clients on how to design and deliver buildings on the journey to net zero.”

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Leeds-headquartered leisure travel group, Jet2, has appointed Simon Breakwell and Angela Luger as independent non-executive directors of the company with effect from 27 April and 3 July 2023 respectively.

They will also join the company’s Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Breakwell has spent a significant part of his executive career in the travel industry, first at British Airways and then Expedia, where he scaled the operation and managed the Hotels.com and Expedia brands internationally.

He launched Uber in Europe, and went on to establish the brand across the region.

He is a former board member of HomeAway, the online vacation rental marketplace and was also chair of Travel Data.

Breakwell was previously CEO and deputy chairman of the AA, where he executed a major business and digital transformation program. He currently chairs Tiqets, an online attractions ticketing business.

Luger has significant experience in marketing, e-commerce and retail, beginning her career in FMCG marketing with Cadbury’s, Coca Cola and Mars.

She spent 10 years at Asda, holding a variety of positions including trading director and global managing director for George.

She was MD of Debenhams, CEO of The Original Factory Shop and CEO of N Brown Group plc, where she led the business through a significant digital transformation.

For nine years, she was a non-executive director of Manchester Airports Group, where she also chaired the Remuneration Committee.

She is currently chair of The Paint Shed Holdings Limited and non-executive director of New Look Retail Holdings Limited, Portmeirion Group plc and ScS Group plc. She also chairs WealthiHer, a network promoting the financial empowerment of women.

Philip Meeson, Jet2 executive chairman, said: “We are pleased that Angela and Simon will be joining our board of directors.

“Their background is ideally suited to this stage in our development and we are confident they will both make a significant contribution to the ongoing success of our business as we continue our focus on People, Service, Profits.”

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Sheffield-based aquaculture biotechnology business, Benchmark, has appointed Torgeir Svae as a non-executive director.

He is an investment director at Kverva AS responsible for the seafood portfolio.

Svae will act as shareholder representative of Kverva, a significant shareholder of Benchmark, and therefore the Board has concluded he is not an independent director.

Atle Eide has, due to capacity, resigned, and will step down as a non-executive director of the Board with effect from today – 17 April.

Peter George, chairman, said: “We welcome Torgeir to the Board and look forward to working together. On behalf of the Board I wish to thank Atle Eide for his contribution over the past year.”