People: Synergy Car Leasing; Rise at Seven; Flood Technology Group; and more

Synergy Car Leasing, a Harrogate-based vehicle leasing broker, has appointed Will Voisey as managing director to drive the next phase of its growth strategy.

Voisey has worked at Synergy for over 10 years, initially as a sales account manager rising to general sales manager in July 2023, and brings over 20 years of automotive and vehicle leasing experience to the role.

The appointment comes after Newable, the provider of money, advice and space to SMEs, completed its full acquisition of Synergy in September 2023.

Synergy provides business and personal leasing, as well as fleet management and salary sacrifice across the UK.

Voisey said: “I’m honoured to take on the role of managing director at Synergy Car Leasing.

“Synergy has a great team of people and a strong leadership team, and we are well placed to deliver our next stage of growth. As a long-standing employee of Synergy, I am excited to be building on our success to date.

“Delivering an excellent leasing experience will remain at the heart of our operations, and we are building on this by investing in technology developments and process efficiencies to enhance our offering and continue our growth ambitions.”

:::

Rise at Seven has named Ryan McNamara as head of operations for the Rise at Seven group.

McNamara was the former operations director at REYT, and previous to that operations director at 6B.

In his latest role, McNamara, reporting to Karl Loudon – Rise at Seven’s CCO, will collaborate with the team to enhance account and project resourcing.

He will also implement new reporting formats to enable the agency to make faster and more informed decisions for their clients.

Additionally, he will review various processes across the organisation to contribute to the scalability of the Rise at Seven Group.

McNamara’s background spans creative, business development and operations.

He joined 6B as creative lead and became new business director before taking over as operations director.

The role focused on Health Tech with organisations such as the NHS, Public Health England, Optum, ITV and Patients Know Best.

McNamara has entrepreneurial roots – he co-founded sports branding agency, 5or6 where he served as creative director.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Rise at Seven team. The agency has ambitious plans for the future, I am eager to leverage my experience and contribute towards propelling them forward in 2024.”

Karl Loudon, chief commercial officer, added: “With Rise at Seven’s rapid growth we needed someone agile, confident in traffic management and cross-channel planning. Ryan ticked every box and more.

“In the last six to eight months we’ve become a lot more strategic in what we’re doing for clients.

“Ryan has already become a great asset to the senior management team as we adjust how we service our clients based on changing consumer behaviour.

“Ryan saw our vision from the beginning and embodies our core values of being sharp as a tack, enthusiastic as hell, an expert in the field and proud to be us.”

:::

Flood Technology Group has appointed Simon Gilliland as its chief executive officer.

Gilliland is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. He joins from WSP, a global engineering and environmental professional services consultancy.

He brings 17 years of experience in flood risk management and the water environment sector to his new role.

His most recent position was as the head of WSP’s UK Water Consulting business, where he was responsible for a team of more than 100 engineers, scientists and consultants, and an annual turnover of £10m.

Launched in November of this year by Yorkshire-based businessman Andrew Parker, the Flood Technology Group is a leader in the field of flood adaptive technology.

An association of companies, it brings together a range of products, services and solutions with an ability to adapt to flood water as it rises.

Gilliland said: “The Flood Technology Group is the result of a decade-long collaboration between myself, Andrew Parker, private sector partners, and esteemed research institutions, including the University of Liverpool’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hadley Group, HR Wallingford, and the University of Hull’s Flood Innovation Centre.

“Our goal is to drive forward the commercialisation and continuous innovation of flood adaptive technology, with a vision to enhance flood resilience and future-proof homes, businesses and critical infrastructure against current and evolving flood risks.

“I am deeply passionate about the transformative potential of flood adaptive technology and its capacity to revolutionise the built environment.

“This innovation not only safeguards homes, businesses and critical infrastructure against existing flood risks but also empowers communities to proactively adapt to the escalating challenges posed by our changing climate.

Parker said: “Simon brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts, as well as the strategic leadership skills needed to drive the commercialisation of our products, and oversee the ongoing research and development of our portfolio of flood adaptive technologies.”

:::

As part of its ongoing growth strategy, Leeds-based ARC Building Solutions has confirmed Simon Clent will be joining the business as its new technical sales manager covering the South East region.

With 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, he brings a wealth of technical knowledge and expertise to the role.

Having spent the last eight years at Knauf Insulation, he understands the sector and the requirements of its stakeholders, and has built strong relationships across the industry.

Clent said: “I’m excited to be joining a forward-thinking, innovative and growing business. This is a market I know well – I understand the challenges faced by contractors and specifiers and I have healthy relationships with key stakeholders across the industry.

“Our aim is to be problem-solvers; to bring practical, viable and innovative new products to market – and ultimately help deliver safer homes and buildings.

“We take that responsibility seriously and I can’t wait to get stuck in alongside the rest of the sales team.”

Aaron Sharp, director of sales and specification at ARC, added: “Simon has an excellent reputation, is widely respected across the industry and shares our vision for bringing problem-solving solutions to market.

“His appointment is a reflection of our commitment to the region and will be critical to our ambitions in the future. I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role.”