People: CloudCoCo Group; York Professionals; Azets; and more

Technology specialist, CloudCoCo Group, has appointed a new head of cloud and innovation – Lee Thatcher – as the Leeds-headquartered business eyes a £100m revenue target.

Thatcher joins with nearly 20 years’ tech experience – eight in senior cloud positions, most recently at Tieva (formerly Optm and the pure technology group).

With 140 employees and over 1,000 customers throughout the country, CloudCoCo is currently a £25m revenue IT services and communication company, specialising in network connectivity, cloud, collaboration tech and cyber.

Having long been a Microsoft Gold Partner, the company is now cloud agnostic. An exclusive partnership has been agreed with large-scale digital innovation specialist Abstract Tech, also based in Leeds.

And CloudCoCo has entered into a strategic agreement with Ingram Micro UK for the supply of Microsoft Azure and other cloud services.

The hunt is now on for another five people to join CloudCoCo’s own team.

Founder and CEO, Mark Halpin, said: “Our strapline as a business has always been ‘the future starts now’.

“Our foresight means we break new boundaries with tech, but our people ensure that this tech makes a difference — that it is successfully adopted, and adds real value inside our clients’ organisations, as they navigate their cloud journey.

“So as we push ahead on our next chapter of growth, it’s important we become truly cloud agnostic. That’s how we’ll unlock the productivity, security, configurability, and efficiency benefits UK businesses are so hungry for.

“I am delighted with Lee’s appointment. And the partnership with Abstract means we’ll have the technical means and resource to compete with some of the biggest players in our space, enabling us to secure larger and longer deals with complex, multi-site organisations across the UK.

Thatcher added: “The marketplace is crowded, but rarely do you find a managed service provider that is a true multi-cloud player.

“We’re one step ahead now, when it comes to the strength of our offering and the pace with which we can transform UK businesses within our existing customer base, let alone in the wider space.

“Put simply, we’re a cloud overlay specialist – a team of people who can have ultra technical and commercial conversations for businesses that want to hyperscale.”

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Three new faces are set to join the York Professionals board of directors.

Kelly Dunn, KD Recruitment, Lorraine Wilson, YorGuest Ltd, and Halina Jaroszewska, Leadership & Team Coaching, will join the board later this month, further strengthening the organisation’s representation in the people, property and business support sectors.

York Professionals chairman, Elliot Rich, said: “I am pleased to welcome Kelly, Lorraine and Halina to the team. Our dynamic and enthusiastic board of directors are all actively engaged in business in York, mirroring York Professionals membership sectors, each bringing a different set of skills to the organisation.

“We currently have over 170 businesses in membership and are so much more than just a network – we are a community of professionals who want to prosper, see the city’s economy flourish and we all play an active role in making that happen.”

York Professionals represents the professional services economy comprising various key sectors including business support, creative and digital, finance, legal, marketing, people and property.

It also welcomes local charities to join free of charge to provide access to the city’s decision makers and influencers.

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Accountancy firm, Azets, has appointed Richard Oddy as a director in its restructuring and insolvency team in Yorkshire.

He is a qualified accountant and licensed insolvency practitioner with 20 years’ experience in providing practical and relevant advice to business owners, management teams and their stakeholders.

He offers specialist advisory services to assist organisations encountering a degree of challenge. This covers a range of situations across a company’s lifecycle including addressing trading underperformance, reducing working capital pressure and stakeholder management.

Oddy said: “Azets has a fantastic reputation across the Yorkshire region and beyond and given the current phase of rapid expansion it’s a really exciting time to be getting involved.

“My reputation is built on providing practical and commercial advice to  businesses and their stakeholders, something which is very well aligned with the Azets ethos.

“I’m really looking forward to the next step in my career and supporting companies in the region to navigate the ongoing challenging economic environment.”

Jonathan Amor, restructuring and insolvency partner, said: “Richard’s excellent reputation and expertise demonstrates the firm’s continued investment in key talent in the region and commitment to growing our restructuring and insolvency practice in Yorkshire.

“His expertise will support our clients over the challenging months ahead as they deal with the well documented difficulties of managing cash flow in an environment of continuing high inflation, supply chain restrictions and staffing shortages amongst other challenges.”

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Leeds-based agency, Circus PPC, has confirmed a trio of promotions within the business.

PPC executive, Inny Vaiciute, has been promoted to PPC analyst, and the agency’s growing Client Services department has welcomed Abbie Hampson as client services manager, having previously worked as a PPC manager.

Anna Wood has taken on the role of head of client services. She said: “It’s super exciting to see the Client Services team grow, and I’m looking forward to working more closely with Abbie to continue to grow and develop the department.

“During the first year of having a dedicated Client Services department, we improved client retention by over 25%, and we aim to continue improving as we develop the way we work.”