People: Sheffield Forgemasters; Henley Group; Yorkshire Windows; and more
Amy Grey has been appointed as chief finance officer on the board of Sheffield Forgemasters.
She joined the business in May 2022 as finance director but has operated as interim CFO since April 2023 and is a UK qualified accountant (CIMA) with 21 years’ experience including 10 years at executive team level.
The news follows Julie Colgan’s appointment to the role of non executive director and shareholder representative for the Government at the company, replacing Lorna Gratton.
David Bond, chief executive officer, said: “We are pleased to welcome Amy and Julie to the Board of Directors.
“As CFO, Amy will be working closely with a highly talented senior team as we drive the business into new markets.
“Her role will focus on factors driving the long-term success of the company, including financing arrangements, people investment and plant upgrades.”
The Board at Sheffield Forgemasters includes a former vice chief of defence staff as chair, a former CFO at Network Rail, a former CEO of Balfour Beatty, a former CFO of Network Rail and an ex-Government ministry director.
Bond added: “Amy was selected by the Board following a series of interviews alongside external candidates, through her core skills and impressive track record in senior financial roles with global companies.
“Amy will join a highly capable and diverse Board at Sheffield Forgemasters as we continue to provide vital components for UK Defence and global Customers whilst transforming our business through a major investment programme.”
In a previous role, Grey acted as vice president of finance for multi-national Greenlane Renewables, a global provider of biogas upgrading systems, moving to Canada to prepare the company for floatation on the Toronto Stock Exchange Ventures market.
Other notable roles include UK finance director for Heras Perimeter Protection, a Dutch-headquartered company with a global presence, finance & commercial director at Kelda Group, a water services provider for Yorkshire, and senior finance & commercial manager for international outsourcing company, SERCO.
She joins Bond (CEO) and Gareth Barker (COO) as executive directors of the Board at Sheffield Forgemasters and takes up position with immediate effect.
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Wakefield-based construction services company, Henley Group, has added two new senior appointments to its growing team.
Mark Jennings joins as group financial controller, while Dave Cawley, formerly Henley Specialists senior project manager, has been promoted to group construction director.
Jennings will play an intrinsic role in the continued growth of the business. He is ACCA qualified and brings over a decade of experience in accountancy practice.
He is looking to use his expertise in accountancy and investment finance to implement best practice across the business, integrate financial reporting, and provide financial input into future growth plans across the whole of Henley Group’s portfolio of businesses.
Jennings said: “I’m happy to be joining the Henley team at an exciting time in the company’s expansion.
“I look forward to supporting the business’ continued growth within the UK construction sector, overseeing the day-to-day financial operations and providing essential financial insights to ensure success.”
Cawley’s key responsibilities as construction director will include overseeing projects end-to-end, focusing on maintaining the Henley focus of delivering high standards of quality and safety across all group businesses, and contributing to long term growth.
He said: “I already know the team well after working alongside them but I’m now looking forward to an exciting new challenge and can’t wait to be overseeing some of our incredible projects.
“One of my key accomplishments so far is gaining knowledge of the various products and systems within the construction industry, so I’m excited to use all the skills I’ve learned to further develop the business.”
Henley Group, established by Shaun Henley in 2012, works in the construction and railway sectors with commercial and residential customers, and installs natural stone, glass reinforced concrete, artificially cast stone, traditional brickwork, as well as undertaking stone and brick structure repairs and historic building restoration.
Shaun Henley said: “The addition of Mark to our team is essential for our continued growth trajectory – he’s bringing experience from a wide range of businesses across several sectors to assist in producing key financials, giving us increased visibility over performance to make decisions at both division level and group level for shareholders and directors.
“The promotion of Dave is very well deserved, and a strategic move for the company.
“Dave has vast experience in the sector and his management experience with us means he understands the workings of our company. I’m certain he’ll have a positive impact as he leads our operational delivery teams.”
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South Yorkshire-based home improvements specialist, Yorkshire Windows, has appointed a new marketing director.
Kirsten Bolton is a board level marketing leader with over 20 years experience across both public and private sectors, including manufacturing, leisure and tourism, education and business support.
She was placed in the 2019 Financial Times Top 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering list (UK and Europe) for challenging the status quo and she has a comprehensive, proven background in lead generation, tactical and strategic planning and digital marketing.
Other areas of expertise include team building, stakeholder and consumer engagement, public relations and building brand personality.
Her extensive marketing career has included positions at Solarframe Holdings Ltd, Willerby Ltd – the UK’s market leader in the manufacture of holiday homes, lodges and park homes – and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing.
Yorkshire Windows managing director, Ian Chester, said: “We are happy to welcome Kirsten to the Yorkshire Windows team.
“With such a great breadth of experience and with many years knowledge of this particular industry, we know her wealth of knowledge is going to prove invaluable as we prepare to take Yorkshire Windows to the next level.”
Yorkshire Windows has its head office in Rotherham and also has a showroom at Ferndale Garden Centre, in Dronfield.
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Axiologik – an advanced digital delivery firm headquartered in Leeds – is bolstering its technical team with the appointment of David Sugden as new head of engineering.
With a career spanning over two and a half decades, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise in software development, architecture, and end-to-end delivery.
His journey in the technology industry began with a junior developer role at AXA after graduating from university.
He subsequently joined Equifax in the late 1990s, where his passion for technology and interest in other areas started to flourish.
In his 26-year tenure at Equifax, Sugden made significant strides, moving from developer roles on mainframe applications to exploring various positions, including senior developer and architecture roles across the company.
His interests eventually gravitated towards the production space, where he thrived in supporting applications, managing customers, and overseeing 24/7 services.
Notably, five years ago, he established the Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) function at Equifax’s UK branch, crafting and nurturing the department from the ground up.
Before departing, Sugden also embraced a global role and led internal developer tooling efforts from the company’s Atlanta office.
On returning to the UK, he joined Axiologik, wanting to seek fresh challenges that would allow him to maximise his potential.
In his new role as head of engineering at Axiologik, he will be collaborating with practice leads and other heads of departments to define the scope and direction of the engineering space.
Sugden said: “My interest in enhancing development experience and productivity seamlessly aligns with Axiologik’s mission.
“The firm focuses on delivering effective and efficient solutions to businesses, ensuring they can roll out new features swiftly while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
“This area is currently a hot topic in the tech industry and I hope my expertise will be a valuable asset in achieving Axiologik’s goals.”
Ben Davison, Axiologik’s director, said: “We welcome David to our team and look forward to the positive impact he will make in driving the engineering practice forward.
“We are excited about the innovative ideas and valuable insights David will bring to the table, solidifying Axiologik’s position as a leading force in the digital delivery realm.”
