FWB Park Brown Appointments

It has been a busy end to the year at FWB Park Brown with our team advising on key appointments for our clients across a wide range of sectors and functions. We would like to thank you all for your support and to wish you the compliments of the season and a Happy New Year!  

Those now completed are as follows:

Major UK construction, infrastructure and support services group, Robertson, has appointed Doug Keillor as Managing Director of Robertson Construction Group. He joins following a successful career with BAM.

O2Worx, owned by Linton Investments, provides hyperbaric oxygen treatment which has amazing results for conditions including arthritis, wound healing, long covid, cerebral palsy and brain injury. Jonathan Penny joins as CEO from Berkeley Harris consulting.

Train’d Up is a nationally recognised centre of excellence for innovative training and development solutions for its clients. Alan Wilson is now Managing Director and was previously Chief Executive of TDR Training & Trust. Carolyn Wood has also joined as Financial Director from Nicol of Skene.

Brett Sadler has been appointed Chief Executive of Oban-based West Highland Housing Association, part of Link Group. He was previously Operations Director with North Wales Housing.

Xcite West Lothian Leisure supports everyone in West Lothian to live a healthier and happier life and has appointed Ben Lamb as its new Chief Executive. He joins from his post as Director of Operations with Live Borders, the operator of leisure facilities and community services within the Scottish Borders.

London based Fragrance Group, owned by Linton Investments, creates  signature fragrances and beauty products, including for ELLE and Michael Bublé. Paul Devin has joined as CEO from Revlon.

Personalised cancer care specialist Reframe, owned by Greyfriars Investments, has appointed Mark Stephenson as CEO. He was previously CEO of pharmacy operator Mr Pickfords. Jacqui Gale also joins as a Non-Executive Director. She has previously managed Wax Lyrical , ARRAN and Crabtree & Evelyn.

Chris Hyde has been appointed MD, Scotland for ScanBio Marine Group and joins from OTAQ Group where he was CTO. ScanBio is the undisputed leader in seafood waste management turning fish waste into high value products.

Founded in 1975 Bancon Group has grown from a small estate joinery business into one of the North East’s leading Construction and House Building businesses.  David Crawford has been appointed Managing Director of Deeside Timberframe, one of its subsidiary companies.

We remain active in advising on CFO, FD and Financial leadership appointments with a range of great organisations:

Luxury textile producer Johnstons of Elgin has appointed Johanna Wallace as its Financial Director. She was previously FD of Highlands & Islands Airports and of Vets Now.

Pete Flockhart is the new CFO of ICL Therapeutics, the pioneer in the discovery and development of a ground-breaking new class of hybrid interferon drugs. He is the former CFO of Lomond Capital.

Renowned luxury cashmere specialist Begg & Co has recruited Nick Clark as Financial Director. He is formerly FD of Browns Food Group.

James Loggie has joined major house-builder CALA as Divisional Finance Director. He was formerly of Berkeley Homes in London.

Iconic and globally successful Walker’s Shortbread has recruited Robert Scott as its new Financial Controller. He joins from leading Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, Johnston Carmichael, where he was Corporate Finance Manager.

Gordon & MacPhail is a multi-faceted international whisky business – a retailer, specialist UK wholesaler, international trade partner, distiller and a single malt maturation expert. It is also a family business with over 125 years of history. Rachel Limbrick has joined as Operations Financial Manager from Highlands & Islands Airports.

Luxury hotel Cromlix – the Perthshire five-star destination boosting a Chez Roux restaurant and which is owned by Andy Murray, has made two appointments to its leadership team. Andy Oram joins as Head of Finance from Fettes Trust and Emily Shields is the new Head of Sales and Marketing, bringing 10 years’ experience from the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Award-winning Highlands & Islands Airport Ltd is a vitally important organisation responsible for 11 regional airports servicing some of Scotland’s remotest communities. Jamie Manson has been appointed as Financial Director and joins from Shetland Islands Council where he was Executive Manager-Finance.

Leading Scottish engineering solutions provider WGM Engineering has appointed Daniel Toye as Financial Director. He was formerly Head of Finance at Babcock International Group.

Our Energy Practice both in Aberdeen and London remains very active and appointments include:

Alaina Ramsay is the new in General Counsel of KCA Deutag, the international O&G services company with 9000 employees worldwide. She was previously GC of ADNOC Drilling in Abu Dhabi.

Ineos Energy has appointed former Premier Oil plc CFO Richard Rose as its new CFO. Mark Hobbs, formerly of PX Group also joins as Operations Director and Krysta Deighan is now HR Manager

Serving the energy, defence and other industrial sectors, Pryme Group designs, creates and delivers innovative engineering solutions. Barbara McIntyre is its new Operations Director and is formerly of Ferguson Marine and David Hodkinson joins as Business Development Director from Turner & Townsend.

Specialist energy market intelligence company Westwood Global Energy Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Joyce Grigorey as Director, Hydrogen. She joins from Wood Mackenzie where she was Managing Consultant – Energy Transition, Hydrogen Consulting.

Chris Blake has joined global subsea technology innovator Unique Group as its VP-Survey from N-Sea Group and Fiona Reeks, formerly of Wood, is its new HR Manager, UK & Europe. Craig Walker also joins as Global Asset Manager from Claxton Engineering.

Seadrill is a major offshore driller with one of the youngest fleets in the industry. Nathan Doran has joined the team as Global Head of Enterprise Risk Management from Serco.

Prosafe has a world-class fleet of semi-submersible accommodation vessels for the global operations of its customers. Andrew Manson has joined as Senior Project Engineering Manager from TechnipFMC.

Global energy trading and supply business InterGen has appointed Paul Sansom as Interim CFO.  He brings extensive experience of operating in CFO and COO positions with a variety of privately owned, PE backed and listed energy and infrastructure businesses.

Our Financial Services Practice, encompassing established as well as exciting high-growth companies, has advised on the following:

Leading UK mutual life and investments business Scottish Friendly has made in number of new appointments as it continues its growth journey. Alexander Manas joins from EY as Commercial Director, Damian McGeown joins as Head of IT & Change , having been COO at Prudential Life and Caroline Graham is the new Head of Products, joining from Virgin Money where she was Head of Mortgages.

Highly innovative Fintech OneBanx is positioned as a vital bridge between the future of banking and the sharp decline of physical retail banking. Lorraine Tanner now joins the team as Head of Risk & Compliance from Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.

Broker Insights, backed by Croma Ventures, uses it’s cutting-edge technology to unlock commercial insurance market data. Christopher Ward joins as Product Development Manager from Parkspace by Chauntry.

With £8bn of assets and 7900 members, Lothian Pension Fund administers the local government pension scheme in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Kerry Thirkell has been appointed as Chief Risk Officer and joins from First Sentier Investments.

Innovative and growing Motor Finance provider Startline has appointed Tamsyn Weston as Head of IT & Digital.  She brings a wealth of technology leadership experience and has worked within Financial Services for over 20 years. She was most recently Head of IT Solutions Development with European Tyre Enterprise.

Our Consumer Goods practice has advised on the following appointments:

Global spirits producer William Grant & Sons , famous for brands like Glenfiddich, Grant’s, Balvenie and Hendrick’s, amongst others, has made a number of appointments. Jon Honey joins as Demand Planning & Supply Chain Director and within the Contribution and Development Office Caroline Griffiths and Douglas Holms join as Governance Lead and Organisation Lead respectively.

Online and high-growth grocery shopping specialist Snappy Shopper has appointed Daniel Calvert as its new Chief Growth Officer. He relocates from Berlin with previous experience built with Uber, Google and Adidas.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has a very important mission to drive the best possible global business environment for Scotch Whisky. Sara Jackson, formerly Director of Operations at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, has been appointed as COO.

Global salmon producer MOWI has appointed Barry Stevenson as Senior Manufacturing Manager at its Rosyth production facility. He brings over 15 years of production management experience across the food & drink industry.

Ooni, the world’s No 1 pizza oven company, continues its phenomenal growth by appointing Stephen (Jock) Carruthers as CTO. He was formerly Director of Technology at Asda/Walmart.

Rob Young is the new CTO of Zonal, the UK-based family-owned technology provider, helping more than 16,000 hospitality and leisure businesses connect their customer journey. He joins from Landmark.

BioMar, the global leader in sustainable aquaculture feeds, has appointed Alan Reid to lead its Logistics Transformation programme, on an interim basis, having returned to the UK from the UAE.

Global agricultural feed supplier Cefetra has appointed James Neilson as Supply Chain Director for its UK & Ireland business.  He has over 20 years’ experience in agricultural Supply Chain.

Thomas Stevenson, formerly of LumiraDx, is now COO of Ocutec, the specialist developer of soft contact lenses.

The North British Distillery Company is one of Scotland’s oldest and largest Scotch grain whisky producers. Michelle Pizzi joins as Site Director, Edinburgh and has 14 years experience at Diageo and Stuart Campbell joins from Warburtons as Site Engineering Manager.

As ever we continue to advise on interesting Non-Executive appointments and these include:

Places for People, the major UK property management, development, regeneration and leisure business has appointed Euan Campbell as a Non-Executive Director to its Scottish board. Euan is CFO of Murray Capital.

Pure Malt Products is a global leader in manufacturing malt based ingredients for a variety of companies across the food & drink sector. It is also a family-owned business with great heritage and history – and Mark McDavid has been appointed as Non-Executive Chair. He is also Chair of the sausage business Heck! and a former MD of Aunt Bessie‘s.

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance provides crucial assistance to the emergency medical services via it’s helicopter-based air ambulances. As from 2017 they have flown an amazing 1300 critical missions. Six new Trustees have been appointed: Helen Page, Jock Carruthers, Myra Fulton, Jan Cutting, Alastair Couper and Richard Holloway.

The Law Society of Scotland, the professional body for Scottish solicitors, has appointed four Lay Council Members. They are Tatton plc & Sosander plc NED Lesley Watt, SFE Chair John McGuigan, communications expert, experienced NED and Partick Thistle Chair Jacqui Low and Aisha Holloway, Professor of Nursing Studies at The University of Edinburgh.

Wilkie is a fantastic Scottish company creating innovations for customers around the globe through its advanced textiles technology. Brett Simpson, the former Low & Bonar CEO and currently Executive Chair of Celtic Renewables, has joined as a Non-Executive Director. Also joining are Gareth Yoxall as Sales Manager and Daniel Lugowski as Production Manager.

The Faculty of Advocates has appointed former Scottish Enterprise Director Linda McPherson and former Clydesdale Bank Executive Simon Learoyd as Trustees. Both have extensive Non-Executive experience on the Boards of a number of public sector and private organisations.

The Not-for-Profit, Arts & Charities sectors remain important to us and our recent appointments include:

Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, has made further appointments as it grows its team in anticipation of the scheme launch. Tristan Turnbull, formerly of John Menzies plc joins as the new Commercial Director and Derrick Wood joins from Heineken as CTO.

Amelia Whitelaw (formerly of London Business School) has been appointed as Director, Interface with Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercial service.

CHAS (Children’s Hospices across Scotland) is a much loved and hugely important charity caring for children throughout the country. Jane Smith is now COO and joins from Perth & Kinross Health & Social Care Partnership where she was Head of Finance & Corporate Services.

Neil Mathers is the new Executive Director of Samaritans Scotland and joins from Curiosity Collective where he was CEO. Neil Ingham has also joined Samaritans Wales in the same role.

Leuchie House is an amazing charity specialising in short breaks and expert care for people with MS and other long-term conditions. Adam Dearnley has joined as Director of Finance & Operations from software developer Sopra Steria.

At the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home they strive to make sure every pet has the loving home it deserves. As they say, they really get their claws into their cause! Debs Charman joins from JLCom Group as Director of Facilities & Business Development.

Sustrans is a UK walking, wheeling & cycling charity and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Karen MacGregor has been appointed as Director, Scotland. Carole Patrick also joins as Portfolio Director – she was previously Joint CEO / Director of Evidence & Influencing at Life Changes Trust.

As the representative body for social enterprises, Social Enterprise Scotland is growing a collaborative movement so that all social enterprises have a stronger collective voice. It has appointed Hannah Dent as Director of Services and she is the former Head of E-Commerce at AG Barr plc and Head of Digital Strategy at Virgin Money plc.

The wonderful Pitlochry Festival Theatre has appointed Dougie Cameron as Director of Finance & Operations from the Centre of Moving Images, where he was COO.

Euan MacLean has been appointed Director of Finance & Corporate Services with the Edinburgh based charity Cyrenians. He joins having most recently held the same position with the University of Edinburgh Students Association.

Blackwood Homes and Care has appointed Catriona Campbell as Head of Business Services, joining from her previous role as Performance and Intelligence Manager with the Scottish Social Services Council.

Scotland’s largest independent advice network, Citizens Advice Scotland, has appointed Fraser Ross as Head of Technology. He was head of IT at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The Lyceum Theatre Company, Scotland’s leading producing theatre, has made two appointments. Annemarie Devlin joins as Director of Development from SAMH and Electra McPhillips is the new Development Manager and joins from the Regal Theatre in Bathgate.

St Andrew’s Links Trust is the most renowned public golf complex in the world, delivering unique and memorable experiences for golfers to play, learn, shop and relax. It’s new Director of People is Scott Semple, who joins from Scottish Fire & Rescue Service where he was Head of People & OD.

Leading law firm Brodies has appointed Katy Douglas as L&D Manager and Gail Morrison as Resourcing Manager. Katy joins from Dexcom and Gail from Axis Studio Group.

Historic Environment Scotland is the lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment. It has appointed Deeba Ali as Head of People Services and she joins from HC-One.

Finally, we continue to work with a wide range of prominent companies, and these appointments include:

One of Scotland’s most successful and admired companies (and a recent returnee to the FTSE 100), Weir Group PLC, has recruited David Tait as Head of Strategic Planning & Technology Fore-sighting and he joins from the Civil Aviation Authority. David James also joins as  Sustainability Programme Manager from Johnson Matthey plc.

Sky has recruited and Josh Wrigglesworth as Head of Planning – Home Service & Retail from Utilita Energy. Tim McDonagh also joins as Head of Field Operations from Openreach where he was a Regional Director and Bianca Sewell joins as Head of Communications from Virgin Media, where she was Head of Internal Communication.

Ian Simpson is the new interim Head of Estates at the iconic media company DC Thomson, famous for many things but including of course “The Beano”, “The Dandy“ and “Oor Wullie”. He is the former Director of Operations at Abertay University.

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has appointed Oli Jeffrey to the role of Director of Event Operations & Technology, joining from the Royal Albert Hall.

Debbie McCreath has been appointed as Group Marketing Director with global bus manufacturer and one of Scotland’s leading industrial companies, Alexander Dennis.

Mary Kearney has joined PE-backed Menzies Distribution as Regional Director for its business in Ireland, joining from her role as National Director for the Government-backed Advanced Innovation Centre in Manufacturing & Supply Chain. She previously held Board positions with Nightline and Fastway Couriers.

T-SQUARED designs, builds and maintains highly specialised facilities for scientists and innovators who change the world. David Anstruther, formerly of Equans UK, joins as Service Director.

Digital transformation consultancy Exception has recruited Julie Duncan as Head of Marketing. She joins from a similar role with Capita.

As a business-critical services group, AAB is PE-backed and a leading regional player in Scotland and the North of England. Alan Campbell joins the business as an International Tax Partner.

Aiber has a mission to empower people to confidently manage medical emergencies, anywhere, with innovative technology that reduces risk and supports better casualty outcomes. Jonathan Edwards joins as Sales Director from Panasonic Avionics.