FWB Park Brown are pleased to announce we have recently advised on the following appointments. Despite all the obvious challenges we have had a strong year of trading, which we are very grateful for. Thank you all for your support – it is much appreciated. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season – and our best wishes for 2022.
Appointments
Mike McGregor, formerly a Partner with Deloitte, has been appointed CEO of EG Thomson (Holdings) Ltd which manages the assets of the Thomson family, including a significant interest in Ben Line Agencies , the largest independent shipping agency in the Far East as well as a range of other investments.
The Law Society of Scotland announces the appointment of Diane McGiffen as its new Chief Executive. She brings extensive experience to the role having worked in senior positions with Audit Scotland for the last 20 years, most recently as Chief Operating Officer, where she led on strategy, corporate plans, governance, risk and performance.
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. Richard Masters, previously Chair (Scotland & Northern Ireland) of international law firm Pinsent Masons has been appointed as its Chief Executive. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Iomart plc.
Following an extensive search, Peter Smith has been appointed as Chief Executive for Sureserve Group plc. A UK wide business headquartered in Kent and employing in excess of 2,100 people, its specialist companies have knowledge and expertise in improving, maintaining and developing buildings and services for social housing, schools and colleges, public buildings, energy services and industrial and commercial buildings. Peter was previously CFO and interim COO of the Group, having previously worked with Mitie, OCS, and British Gas.
Veterinary testing provider Biotangents has appointed Fiona Marshall to the post of Chief Executive. She will join in January and brings over 20 year experience in animal diagnostics.
Westerton Group has appointed Tony Branch as Managing Director to lead the growth and expansion of its specialist inspection businesses, Westerton Access and Westerton SplashZone Integrity Specialists (WSIS). Tony has over 30 years’ of experience in the industry and previously served as CEO of TWMA and President of Weatherford’s Regional Operations.
Aberdeen headquartered engineering consultancy PDi, owned by the Tattva Group, appointed James Drummond as Managing Director. He has a wealth of experience within the energy sector and previously held senior positions with Lloyds Register and Oceaneering.
Mark Walker has joined WGM Engineering as Managing Director, Renewables. He relocates from London where he was Country Manager UK & Ireland for Enel X, having previously been General Manager UK for Zipcar.
Andrew Telfer has joined Robertson Group (Holdings) Ltd as Deputy Chair, having previously been an executive on the main board of Willmott Dixon. Graham Cunningham has also joined Robertson Residential Group Ltd as Deputy Chair, having previously been an executive on the main board of CALA Group.
Scottish Leather Group is one of the country’s most iconic family businesses and a manufacturer of luxury leather product for a global , blue chip customer base , including being well known for all leather interiors for Aston Martin. Pamela Scott has joined as a Non-Executive Director having had a hugely successful career with Diageo. She is also a Non-Executive Director of James Donaldson & Sons , Big Hearts Community Trust and Castlerock Edinvar Housing Association as well as being a published author.
Alistair Smith and Ruth Girardet have been appointed to the Court of The University of Edinburgh as Co-opted Members and the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander joins as a General Council Assessor. Douglas is a former Minister of State and Secretary of State for Scotland whilst Alistair previously worked with Aberdeen Standard Investments, latterly as Head of Property Investment Management, Global Real Estate. Ruth was previously Group Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Tesco Plc, then Lead Facilitator at the Aspen Institute in Europe as well as sitting as a member of Council at The Open University.
Following an extensive external search, Paul Keddie has been promoted to the role of Director of Infrastructure at Babcock International Group plc.
Adrian Hardwicke has joined The National Galleries of Scotland as Director of Operations. He relocated from New York where he was Chief Visitor Experience Officer at The Whitney Museum of American Art, having previously spent 21 years with Tate in London.
World leading and family owned malt whisky specialist Gordon & Macphail has appointed Ben Cookman as its new Financial Director. He is formerly of Greenwoods LLP and McDonald’s, where he was Head of UK Finance.
Fast-growing subscription business Beer52 has become the world’s most popular beer club. David Gammie joins from Business Growth Fund as CFO.
Backed by Flywheel Partners, Glasgow based Primal Strength offers British designed premium gym equipment for both home and commercial gyms. Robbie Innes has joined as CFO having previously been Corporate Development Director with Genius Foods.
Kerry Anderson joins Emtelle, the global manufacturer of pre-connectorised, blown fibre cable and ducted network solutions, in the role of Group Chief Financial Officer. Kerry trained with PKF and was latterly with BDO in Edinburgh.
Ciaran McGuigan has been appointed to the role of Finance & Governance Director with circular economy expert Zero Waste Scotland. He takes up the post having left Standard Life (now Phoenix Group) where he held a number of financial leadership roles, alongside his long-standing involvement with Cyrenians, where he acts as Treasurer.
Forsa Energy is an energy company founded to develop, build and operate energy assets across the UK and Europe. Backed by Tiger Infrastructure Partners, it has a mandate to grow a portfolio of energy transition technologies. Stephen Hutt joined from SIMEC Atlantis Energy where he was also CFO. He previously worked with Green Highland Renewables and Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland.
T-Squared is a high growth, leading UK fully integrated provider of design, engineering, delivery, validation and maintenance services to high-tech, regulated industries such as cleanrooms and laboratories. Mark McFarlane has joined as Finance Director having previously been with HFD Group, Bellway Homes, AGS Airports, KPMG and Deloitte.
Dr Johnston Ouma has joined GALVmed as its new Chief Scientific Officer, relocating from Tanzania to Kenya. The business specialises in product development partnerships uniquely established to translate global research progress into tangible livestock disease control tools.
Exciting high growth retail platform Snappy Shopper, has appointed Caroline MacGregor as Chief People Officer. She brings considerable FMCG and retail experience to the role and joins from Philip Morris International.
FTSE 250 XP Power, manufacturer and supplier of critical power control systems has appointed Krista Higgins as HRD – Europe. She joins from National Grid where she was People & Culture Business Partner.
Anna Hart has joined the wonderful Scottish Charity SSPCA as People Director from the same role at Insights.
The amazing Scottish Ballet has appointed Louise Devlin as Head of People & Well-Being. She relocates from London from the Pharma business EISAI EMEA.
William Grant & Sons, owners of magnificent brands like Glenfiddich , Balvenie and Hendricks , has appointed David Rapley as HRD Reward. He joins from Qatargas where he was Head of Compensation and Policy.
In a number of HR Business Partner appointments Victoria Swann joins Baxters Food Group ; Marie Shields joins educational digital media company TWIG Education ; world leading seafood company MOWI appoints Olivia Lovely to be based in Skye and Gill Sinclair joins Tesco Bank in its Customer Division.
Elaine Hunter joins Edinburgh Napier University in the role of Director of Property and Facilities. A surveyor by background, she has previously held roles in Property and Estates with LNER, First Group and Network Rail.
The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh has appointed Fiona Harvey as its Director of Estate and Facilities. Fiona qualified as an Architect and previously held the role of Capital Projects Manager at the University of Edinburgh.
Kelvin KBB, Scotland’s leading manufacturer of kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture has appointed Jim Miller to the role of Sales and Marketing Director, based in Cumbernauld. He was previously Commercial Director with James Briggs Ltd.
Global media giant Sky has made two further appointments. Olena Bezkokotova joins as Head of Operations, based in London and Vicky Pollard has been appointed as Director of Sales, Strategy & Support, based in Scotland.
Hugely admired Social Bite is one of the most successful and innovative homelessness charities in the UK. Jonathan Payne, former MD of Hamilton & Inches, has joined as Executive Director, Operations.
Global poultry broiler breeder Aviagen has appointed Steven Purves as Supply Chain Director for its UK Distribution business. He joins from Lees of Scotland.
Premium salmon farmer and producer Loch Duart has appointed Chris Orr as Commercial Director having spent 18 years with Kettle Produce.
Scottish Salmon (formerly Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation) has appointed Lindsay Pollock to the post of Head of Sustainability, bringing vast experience across Aquaculture and most recently from the role of Sustainability Manager with Cargill.
PD&MS, a leading multi-discipline engineering company servicing the broader energy sector, has appointed Richard Brooks as Head of Engineering. He joins from technical advisory specialist, Genesis, where he held the position of Engineering Group Skills Manager and Head of Technical Safety & Risk.
EC-OG, experts in energy storage, remote power generation and clean energy systems has appointed Mark Miller as Electrical and Electronic Technical Authority. He was previously Senior Electronic Engineer at Expro.
Global aquaculture business Mowi have appointed Ian Barratt to the role of Procurement Manager, assuming responsibility for their Farming operation in Scotland. He brings extensive CAPEX procurement experience from First Group and Alexander Dennis Ltd.
Circular fashion business ACS Clothing have appointed Grant Smith to the post of Head of Operations. He brings extensive experience in e-commerce fashion and was previously with Quiz Clothing.
Kees Bressers joins world famous Walker’s Shortbread as Head of Procurement, having previously worked as Senior Procurement Performance Lead with BP.
Steven Beattie has joined BAE Systems as Interim General Counsel for its Naval Ships business, based in Scotstoun. He joins from Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult where he was General Counsel and Company Secretary, having previously worked with BAM and DLA Piper.
Leading Social Housing and Care Provider Blackwood Group has appointed Jim Cooper, Viviene McNiven, Paula McCaffrey and Dawn Fisher to support the delivery of its new £12 million funded “Neighbourhoods for Independent Living” programme, as well as appointing Liz MacKinnon to the role of Corporate Services Director. She joins from Wheatley Group.
West Highland Housing Association have appointed Michael Driscoll as Director of Customer Experience. He is relocating to Oban, from his previous post as Housing Services Manager with Lees & Yorkshire Housing Association.
Becky Campbell has joined KCA Deutag as Group Head of Communications. She joins KCA Deutag during an exciting time of growth and diversification and brings with her a wealth of experience built from senior communications roles across various sectors including Energy, Retail and Food & Drink.
Mary Thorogood joins the Net Zero Technology Centre (formerly the Oil and Gas Technology Centre) as Government Relations, External Affairs & Communications Director. She joins from Vestas, a world leading turbine manufacturer where she led public affairs for Northern and Central Europe. Mary has over a decade of experience within the wind industry, and holds a number of Board positions including at Renewable UK and Aldersgate Group.
Crawford Hunt has joined Edinburgh’s renowned Capital Theatres as Director of Finance & Business Services. He leaves his post as Head of Finance & IT with the Royal Military Tattoo.
Ryan Gordon has been appointed Business Development Manager for the National Subsea Centre, RGU’s partnership with the Net Zero Technology Centre. NSC was established to tackle current and future challenges in subsea engineering with world-class research and development. Ryan has a strong commercial and operational background in the subsea sector, having previously gained experience with Subsea 7, PDi and Siemens.
Cairn Energy have appointed Omar Abouelezz as Country Finance Manager for Egypt. Cairn (now known as Capricorn entered into consortium with Cheiron in September 2021, acquiring a portfolio of onshore Egyptian upstream assets, developments and exploration interests from Shell.
Neil McGougan joins Cycle Charity Bike for Good as Business Manager. Its mission is to enable people to cycle as their primary mode of transport. He was previously with Hostelling Scotland as Deputy National Operations Manager.
Robertson Group has appointed Keith Douglas to the role of Construction Finance Director, where he steps up from his role as Regional Financial Controller. Prior to joining Robertson Group, Keith spent most of his career with Avant Homes.
Optical Express, Europe’s leading provider of glasses, contact lenses and vision correction surgery has appointed Michelle Harley to the role of Group Tax Manager. Michelle trained with EY and joins Optical Express from Scottish Power, where she held the role of Group Tax Accountant.
Mark Adams, formerly Investment Analyst at Vattenfall, joins the Investment Team at Asper. Asper is a London-based specialist, independent investment firm focussing on sustainable assets such as renewable power, heat and other clean infrastructure.
Arina Badhan joins Heineken as Business & Technology Enterprise Architect. She was previously Senior Enterprise Architect with AstraZeneca.
Lothian Pension Fund, the administrator of the local government pension scheme in Edinburgh and the Lothians, has appointed Will Dougherty as Programme Director. He arrives from Swissport where he was Director of Operations Support.
