People: New directors elected to Chamber board; Leeds Super Casino makes latest hire; and more
TWO new and two re-elected directors have been welcomed to the board of Doncaster Chamber.
For the next three years, re-elected board members Mark Clapham – Sherwood Group, and Paul Goel – Keeble Hawson, and newly elected directors Michael Hart – Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust (DCLT) and Fiona Keane – Keane Creative, will work with and on behalf of members to support and represent Doncaster’s business community and help drive forward its economy.
The board directors will support the current Doncaster Chamber president, Kelvin Fitton, and CEO Dan Fell with their aims for the New Year to improve membership services, support businesses in a challenging economic environment, and work with key strategic partners such as DMBC and Doncaster College to create a better Doncaster.
Mr Fitton said: “We are delighted to appoint Michael Hart and Fiona Keane to the board and reappoint Paul Goel and Mark Clapham as valued directors. They each bring a wealth of business experience and are valuable additions to the team. The board is representative of Doncaster’s business community and serves to support its members in their growth and aspirations which in turn strengthen Doncaster’s offer as being a preferred place to live and do business.”
:::
VICTORIA Gate Casino has recruited Leanne McKenna as head of marketing and customer experience.
Miss McKenna, who has previously worked as an electronic warfare specialist in the Royal Navy, is among the first of more than 200 staff to be employed at the casino, which will be the third-largest casino in the UK when it opens in Leeds next year.
Before joining Global Gaming Ventures – the operator of Victoria Gate Casino – Miss McKenna was in the Royal Navy for six years, working on board ships and managing the sonar and radar equipment.
She then went on to join Leeds Building Society where she worked her way up from cashier to assistant branch manager before moving to Santander as a mortgage advisor.
Miss McKenna then took on the role of senior product manager at Asda before becoming strategic brand manager.
Miss McKenna will be leading the marketing and customer experience elements of the multi-million pound entertainment and gaming destination, which will host its grand opening in January.
:::
THE Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has announced Nick Walkley as the chief executive and accounting officer of the agency.
The Government recently published a wide-ranging review of the HCA to help improve its efficiency and provide greater focus to its housebuilding work.
It found that the agency’s development and finance expertise is highly valued by local partners and recommended that it is clearer about its role beyond the direct delivery of its own programme targets, in particular the support it can provide to local partners to drive up housing supply and promote home ownership.
Mr Walkley joins the agency with years of experience of providing leadership and delivering housing and regeneration schemes.
Chairman Sir Edward Lister said: “I am delighted to have found someone with Nick’s impressive leadership track record and passion for transforming housing delivery. He is experienced in commercial partnerships, highly innovate and has a strong reputation for delivery. I look forward to him joining the HCA to ensure we lead the Government’s drive to increase the scale and pace of delivery and promote new approaches to housebuilding.”
