People: Lloyds Banking Group; Jack Lunn Ltd; Harron Homes; and more

Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Mark Burton as its new group ambassador for Yorkshire and the Humber.

He will work with local politicians, businesses and community networks to tackle some of the core challenges facing the region.

He will drive the group’s efforts to help more people across Yorkshire and the Humber access a secure home, bringing together policy makers and the industry to deliver more social housing.

Together with its charity partner Crisis, the group is calling for one million more homes at social rent within the next ten years.

Burton said: “We’ve been part of the furniture in Yorkshire and the Humber since 1852. Now, with over two million personal and business customers in the region, we have a pivotal role to play in helping Yorkshire and the Humber prosper.

“I’m committed to being a vocal supporter of everything that Yorkshire and the Humber has to offer and I’m looking forward working across our community to help our region thrive.”

He will also focus on bringing the expertise of the group to bear on areas such as driving economic growth, the transition to net zero and the financial resilience of Yorkshire and the Humber’s people and businesses.

Burton lives in York and has worked at Lloyds Banking Group for almost 16 years.

He will bring a wealth of experience of working with, and advising, some of the UK’s most significant institutions, such as universities.

In his current role as head of regions, he has been at the forefront of the group’s work on regional development, an area he will continue to focus on as ambassador.

Outside of his work for the group, Burton is also an associate non-executive director at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust.

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Leeds-based construction company, Jack Lunn Ltd, has promoted three of its senior team members to its board of directors.

The appointments form part of a strategic plan to grow the business across key performing areas.

Nicola Thompson becomes financial director having initially joined the business in 2021 as financial controller and company secretary.

A highly experienced and qualified accountant, her background in finance includes roles in security and manufacturing for UK and overseas trading.

After 10 years at Jack Lunn Ltd, Rob Jerram has been promoted from commercial manager to board director.

With more than 30 years’ experience in quantity surveying across all key construction sectors including, residential, commercial, industrial, care and education, he assumes a directorial role in contract tender and management processes.

Luke Simeunovich first joined in 2002 as an apprentice joiner, climbing through the ranks in site management and contracts management over 21 years.

His considerable industry expertise and intimate knowledge of the Jack Lunn culture places him well as a board director helping to drive the future of the business.

Jack Lunn Ltd specialises in delivering new build private housing, social and affordable housing, assisted living and care homes and refurbishment projects. The business delivers housing and community schemes from ten to 80 dwellings.

Jack Lunn Ltd is associated with the Jack Lunn Group, an established privately owned property and development company in Yorkshire.

Chairman Andrew Lunn said: “The Jack Lunn brand is recognised for delivering high quality, valued engineered solutions for its clients and our family driven values have allowed us to stand the test of time.

“My late Grandfather, Mr Jack Lunn, was a real advocate for the old-fashioned art of conversation and a hands-on approach to establish intimate knowledge and trust with clients.

“We are good at what we do, and good relationship management through our highly skilled team is fundamental to that.”

“I am pleased to announce these extremely well-deserved promotions. Having Nicola, Rob and Luke working alongside me on the Board is both reassuring and exciting as we drive ambition through the next chapter of the business.”

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Housebuilder Harron Homes has appointed Catherine Baines to head its legal department, across both its Yorkshire and North Midlands regions.

She is the first person to hold the position of head of legal as Harron strengthens its group activities.

In line with this year’s International Women’s Day theme of “Inspire Inclusion”, she is urging other women to persevere with their ambitions.

Baines, 49, has 20 years of conveyancing experience. She discovered her love of law from GCSE and A-level, but as a single parent wasn’t sure she could go much further until her father encouraged her to complete a degree.

She said: “It’s been a bumpy road – I was working three jobs while at university, and had my second child around the same time – but my dad was my biggest cheerleader.

“I love how methodological conveyancing is. It’s still a very fast paced area of law, but no matter what, the processes are the same.

“I’ve spent 20 years conveyancing at several private practices in Leeds, so to work for a housebuilder is really just the flip side of that.

“I’m excited to continue my career with Harron, it’s been a real labour of love to get here.

“While I plan on staying with Harron until I retire, I still have my long-standing dream of being a Coroner to achieve.

“I think the message I’d like other women to take from my career path is to not give up on your dreams and ambitions. If I had listened to any internal doubts early on, I would never have reached this point in my career.”

Tony Lee, managing director for Harron Homes Yorkshire, added: “Catherine is a fantastic role model and we are thrilled to have her leading our new in house legal team.

“At Harron, we are proud to encourage inclusion in what has been historically a very male dominated industry, supporting women into roles across our new homes developments and offices.”

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Xeros, a creator of technologies which reduce the impact of clothing on the planet, says Alex Tristram has joined its board as finance director.

Tristram, who joined Rotherham-based Xeros as group financial accounting manager in January 2018, was appointed director of finance (non-board level) and company secretary in March 2023.

Prior to joining Xeros, he was group accountant and finance director of the alternative energy division at Pressure Technologies PLC, where he also held the position of company secretary.

Tristram is a chartered accountant, having qualified at PwC in 2013.

Klaas de Boer, chairman of Xeros, said, “We are happy to welcome Alex to the board. He has played a key role in the transition of the business to the licensing model and helped us navigate some very challenging economic conditions during the pandemic.

“Since becoming director of finance last year, he has demonstrated strong leadership and financial acumen which will continue to benefit the group as we progress the commercialisation of our technologies.”