People: BGF; Youbee Media; Red Ladder Theatre Company; and more

Growth capital investor, BGF, has appointed Becky Odam to strengthen its team in Yorkshire and the North East.

Odam joins BGF’s portfolio team from Elaghmore LLP, where she spent the last three years managing new and existing investments as investment director.

With over 13 years’ experience, she has held previous positions in strategy and transformation for the Al-Futtaim Contracting Group in Dubai, as well as senior advisory roles for PwC across the Middle East, Leeds and London.

At BGF she will work with regional entrepreneurs and business owners, managing portfolio company investments and supporting companies as they strive for long-term growth.

Barry Jackson, head of Yorkshire and North East, said: “We’re happy to welcome someone of Becky’s experience to the team.

“Her extensive financial and investment experience makes her a perfect addition to our portfolio team.

“Her knowledge and understanding of what it takes to transform and make a business a success will provide the perfect backdrop as we support BGF-backed businesses to grow in size and strength into 2024.”

Odam said: “Unlocking business potential and opportunity are key drivers for growth.

“I’m really looking forward to working alongside management teams to create significant value within their business and the wider economy, while supporting them to overcome challenging market conditions and realise their ambitions.”

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Hannah Brookshaw

Leeds-based marketing agency, Youbee Media, has welcomed a new marketing specialist.

It appointed Hannah Brookshaw as marketing executive earlier this month.

She brings extensive experience and specialist skills, during her career that has encompassed work with big-name brands including Boohoo Group and N Brown Group.

Most recently, she has worked as a freelance content writer, specialising in SEO.

Brookshaw said: “I’m thrilled to join Youbee Media at this pivotal time of growth.

 “Coming from an e-commerce marketing background, I’m ready for the challenge of switching gears and joining a thriving marketing agency.

“I’m a people person by nature, so I’m looking forward to working with and empowering businesses across the Yorkshire region.”

Founder and director, Rebecca Hopwood, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Hannah to our team. We took our time recruiting for this role as it was important to find someone who would fit our group dynamic, while also bringing new or complimentary skills to the small but strong core team.

“Hannah really impressed us during the recruitment process with her breadth of marketing experience, and her ability to think strategically and ‘outside of the box’.

“She’s got a keen-to-learn attitude and is passionate about contributing to our positive work environment.

“Hannah’s impressive professional skills and knowledge will no doubt be a powerful influence within our team – plus she’s got bags of personality and enthusiasm, which fits well with our objective of bringing joy to clients through our marketing services.”

In addition to Brookshaw’s appointment, the agency is also celebrating the promotion of Olivia Rock, following the successful completion of her Digital Marketing apprenticeship.

Hopwood said: “I’m really proud to announce that Olivia Rock has been promoted to content executive.

“Olivia joined us just over 12 months ago and has really grown into her role at Youbee Media.

“She continues to impress us, and clients love Olivia’s friendly ‘can-do’ approach. This more defined role aligns well with her creative abilities and ambitions, which will help Olivia flourish in the next stage of her career.”

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Leeds-based Red Ladder Theatre Company is welcoming theatre director and writer Cheryl Martin as its new artistic director from January 2024.

It follows Rod Dixon’s decision to leave the company after his 17-year tenure as artistic leader.

Alongside her work writing and directing award-winning theatre productions, Martin has also fulfilled a variety of roles including supporting writers and practitioners at Contact Theatre, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, and Oldham Coliseum.

She has also worked with Community Arts Northwest on a series of community plays, devised with, and starring mostly women refugees and asylum seekers. 

In 2015 she co-founded LGBTQ+ Global-Majority performance arts company Black Gold Arts, a celebration in choreography, writing, directing and cabaret, which was part of the Eurovision cultural festival.  

In addition to being an Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre assessor and judge, she was also co-artistic director of Manchester’s grassroots Global-Majority-led publisher and writer development company Commonword and is co-director of Manchester Pride’s Candlelight Vigil.

Fiona Gell, co-chair of Red Ladder’s Board of Trustees, said: “We’re excited to see how the company will evolve under Cheryl’s dynamic artistic leadership, as she is an extraordinary practitioner with a great deal of experience and a wealth of ideas.

“Together with the Red Ladder team, the company will continue to play a leading role in developing compelling productions, with social justice and unheard voices at their heart. 

“We would also like to thank Rod Dixon for his amazing 17-year contribution and wish him well in his new venture.”

Martin said: “For me this is the dream job – to be able to work with a company with so much history and reach into so many communities.

“I feel incredibly lucky. I get to develop artists, to look for new audiences and the people and shows that will appeal to them, and I get to direct every now and then. I get to work with a team who are passionate about what they believe in and deliver a massive amount of compelling work.”

Emma McDowell, co-chair of Red Ladder’s Board of Trustees, added: “The working group managing the recruitment process felt such an incredible amount of responsibility of doing right by this great company and the work of the team past and present. 

“Red Ladder has such a rich history of addressing critical social issues, pushing creative boundaries by producing entertaining and engaging theatre, supporting creative practitioners and working with local communities.

“We’d like to pass on our thanks to all those who applied and who supported the recruitment process from the beginning, and to Arts Council England for their continued support.”

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Jen Barker

Hill Cross Furniture, a family-owned contract furniture supplier, has revealed strategic leadership changes as it prepares for accelerated future growth.

The North-Yorkshire based business is also moving to a group model, with expansion into new sectors including residential and luxury lounge furniture on the back of rising client demand.

Hill Cross was created 23 years ago to meet a rising need for high-quality contract furniture in the hospitality and healthcare markets.

Jen Barker, joint business owner with husband Richard Barker, the founder of Hill Cross, will become group CEO.

Steve Dale has been promoted from commercial director of operations to group managing director, while Laura Taylor has been promoted to group management accountant. Matt Waters has been promoted to head of finance and HR for Hill Cross Group.

In addition to the group appointments there are several strategic changes within Hill Cross Furniture.

Emily Thompson, previously Hill Cross senior project co-ordinator, now takes on the role of Hill Cross sales office manager.

Josh Dowson, previously Hill Cross senior project co-ordinator moves to Hill Cross sales and product manager.

Jen Barker said: “I’d like to congratulate Steve, Laura and Matt on their promotions. Their experience will be a great asset to Hill Cross as we embark on an ambitious expansion.

“Our goal is to deliver beautiful furniture and excellent service across all the sectors we operate.

“We are experiencing exciting growth which will see us expand into new sectors and now’s the time to make sure we have the right team in place to realise our ambitions.

“Our lifeblood remains in contract furniture and these changes and promotions allow us to continue to develop our core business but at the same time give structure for growth and expansion.”