People: Magtec; Open Velocity; Roq; and more

Magtec, a designer, manufacturer and integrator of drive systems for electric and hybrid vehicles, has appointed Andrew Sloan to the board of directors as engineering director.

The ex-submariner has been in the role of head of engineering for 15 months, raising the expectations and standards of delivery.

He joined Magtec in 2019 as head of rail before moving into an engineering-focused role.

Andrew Gilligan, managing director, said: “Since becoming head of engineering at Magtec, Andrew has demonstrated his dedication and commitment to our company but more importantly his professionalism, leadership and engineering capability.

“He has led the engineering function to deliver higher reliability, deal with numerous supply chain challenges and push the boundary of what our team can deliver.

“We congratulate Andrew on his well-deserved appointment and look forward to having his voice on the board as Magtec goes from strength to strength.”

The company is based in a new 65,000 sq ft facility in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, purpose built to increase production for existing and new customers in the commercial vehicle, rail, defence and logistics sectors.

Sloan joined the Royal Navy submarine service as an electrical and electronic engineering apprentice in 2002 and rose up through the ranks to become chief petty officer.

He served as senior engineer on various nuclear submarines and shore-based roles. After leaving the Royal Navy in 2014, he held senior project management and business unit manager roles at railway engineering company Wabtec Rail and high-voltage cable manufacturer Pfisterer.

He said: “Magtec has an ethos based on innovation and technical brilliance. I am pleased to be able to take an active role in the leadership and strategic direction of the company.

“Our market-leading technology, which is designed and manufactured by highly skilled engineers here in South Yorkshire, can drive the decarbonisation of the global transportation sector.”

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York-based marketing strategy consultancy, Open Velocity, has hired a new senior partner, Lisa Wood.

Wood brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked more than a decade at CMO and director level in her 30-year marketing career spanning the Banking, Fintech, Travel, and Legal sectors – most notably as CMO at Atom Bank.

She has developed a reputation for building brands and growing businesses by optimising their marketing performance. She also serves on E-consultancy’s Digital Advisory Board.

Wood will develop Open Velocity’s marketing advisory services, providing SMEs with access to the expertise and guidance of a fully qualified CMO or marketing director, without having to carry the cost of a specialist in-house.

She will also be providing Fractional CMO support, helping empower businesses to scale flexibly.

She said: “Joining Open Velocity was a no-brainer for me. I get to use my years of experience building brands and marketing strategies for a whole range of different businesses that can really benefit from my expertise.

“My satisfaction will come from helping these businesses appreciate the value marketing brings and watching them grow as a result.

“It’s a great new challenge for me, alongside contributing to our own growth plans here at Open Velocity.”

Bethan Vincent, founder of the consultancy, said: “Since its inception, Open Velocity’s core objective has been to build a team of highly skilled and experienced marketing leaders.

“Lisa’s appointment brings an unparalleled level of scale-up expertise and added momentum to our already A-class team.

“We take pride in our proven track record of delivering successful marketing strategies for B2B technology clients.

“Lisa’s appointment presents the opportunity for us to extend our services to B2C companies. Our unwavering focus on companies who are embracing technology will continue to be the cornerstone of our strategy in the year ahead.

“We have ambitious plans to continue to grow our team over the next year and are well-positioned to continue our rapid growth and success, with an underlying commitment to delivering exceptional results and unparalleled value to our clients.”

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Quality engineering consultancy, Roq, has appointed Sarah Jane Riggott to the newly created role of chief operating officer (COO).

She has been promoted into the new role having been with Roq since 2014.

As part of the leadership team and driving the company’s People team, her focus has been on employee engagement and career support, as well as training and wellbeing.

This next step in her career recognises her leadership capabilities, experience and expertise in another critical role for the company, where the responsibility is on optimising business functions, achieving strategic goals and attaining operational excellence across the business.

CEO, Stephen Johnson, said: “Sarah is an exemplar of professionalism, and her career progression has been one of continuous improvement –  which is reflective of how the company operates.

“Sarah’s appointment into this new role comes at a critical time for the business.

“Roq is on a significant growth journey and we’re projecting to at least double in size over the next three years. Her appointment in this key role is to ensure we embrace the exciting changes, whilst guaranteeing our clients and our employees remain a key focus.

“Sarah has consistently demonstrated outstanding capabilities over the last eight years since joining Roq, and lives and breathes our values like no other.”

Riggott said: “I am fortunate to have grown my career with an organisation that truly embraces growth – both that of the business and of its people.

“Each of my roles at Roq have been newly established due to a growing need within the business, allowing me to become very much a part of shaping the company’s future.

“The COO position is an integral role, needing to be the ‘the steady force’ integrating the leadership team, creating organisational clarity, communication and consistency.

“I am looking forward to making things happen, delivering quality outcomes and taking our great internal culture externally to our clients, so every experience of Roq is exceptional.”

She now begins a period of transition before the appointment officially starts in October 2023.

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Yorkshire law firm Switalskis Solicitors has made five director appointments across its family and clinical negligence teams. 

It comes following a period of strong growth that has seen Switalskis Solicitors fully integrate teams from acquired businesses, Atherton Godfrey and Pryers Solicitors. 

The new directors include experienced family lawyer, Toby Netting, who arrived at Switalskis Solicitors’ family law team five years ago.

He is joined by clinical negligence lawyers Robyn Hawxby, Richard Starkie, Lisa Swales and Carmel Walsh, who become directors this month following the integration of Pryers with Switalskis. 

Netting said: “Client care is at the heart of everything we do. Becoming a director gives me the opportunity to make sure high standards are achieved across the entire business and ultimately that our clients experience the best service in what can sometimes be the most difficult of circumstances.”

John Durkan, managing director, added: “Our director appointments reflect the commitment and dedication each director shows towards clients and to our firm and are an important part of our growth and succession strategy.

“It is because of such talent that our business is going from strength-to-strength.

“I have no doubt each director will play a significant role in achieving our ambitions which are to continue to deliver exceptional legal services, while continuing to grow our business through recruitment and promotion from within.”