On the move in Welsh
Here, Lauren Phillips rounds up the latest key appointments and promotions in Welsh business
■
Cadre Advisory
Business management consultancy Cadre Advisory has appointed John Saunders as client director.
Mr Saunders joins the company from his role as non-executive director of Cwmbran’s Festive Productions, where he spent 12 years. Most recently, he ran his own consultancy firm, Zoar, helping to refinance five SMEs.
Cadre Advisory has also more than tripled its workforce and clients after sustained growth in the past two years.
The Penarth-based firm has expanded from a team of three to 11 and now has plans to expand into Swansea and Berkshire.
It was set up over five years ago by founder and director Tom O’Brien, with Jamie Williams to help entrepreneurs scale and grow their companies while offering a complete accountancy and corporate funding service.
Mr O’Brien said: “The past two
years have been amazing for us at Cadre. Despite the pandemic, our team has adapted and grown to the challenges both we and our clients have faced.
“The growth in our team numbers, as well as our expansion plans to Swansea and Berkshire, are testament to the fact that we live and breathe our company ethics, we help our clients start, scale and grow with us.”
Mr O’Brien added: “The addition of John to the team is great for us as a business. His vast experience means that our clients will get the very best service, while also adding invaluable experience and knowledge to our
leadership team.”
Mr Saunders said: “I have known Tom for a number of years, and I am pleased to finally get the chance to work together offering ambitious businesses a complete financial solution and joining a great team.”
■
Principality Building Society
Cerry Middleton has been appointed head of operations for Principality Building Society’s commercial team.
Since joining the company in 2009, Ms Middleton has a strong background in retail branches and has worked in a variety of roles in Principality’s product and distribution teams.
She then became senior product manager and then regional manager within the building society’s branch network.
Ms Middleton joined the commercial team two years ago and, as head of operations, will be focusing on end-to-end change, continuous improvement of processes and new ways of working across the whole of the commercial team.
She said: “All this is done with the aim of ensuring that the excellent service we provide to our customers continues to set us apart from other commercial lenders.”
Commercial lending director Richard Wales said: “Cerry has a great
understanding of the commercial business coupled with a strong operational track record. This combination will be key to successfully grow the business.”
■ Monmouthshire Building Society
Monmouthshire Building Society (MBS) has appointed Tom Leach as new and permanent chief finance officer.
Mr Leach takes on the role following a four-year tenure as financial director at Bath Building Society.
He has held a variety of senior and strategic positions in financial services, having worked for Deloitte and
Principality Building Society where he was group financial controller.
He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining MBS and support the Society on its journey towards becoming a modern mutual. The purpose-led, innovative and forward-thinking strategy is ambitious, and challenging, and builds on the Society’s 150 years of service delivery.”
He added: “The Community Bank proposition is really exciting and I’m looking forward to playing my part in delivering this venture.”
Chief executive Will Carroll said: “Tom’s experience and values will strengthen the executive leadership team and we look forward to him joining. Tom’s transition into the role will be made easier thanks to the work of our interim CFO, Julian Bill.”
The Marine & Property Group
The Marine & Property Group, which owns and operates marinas at Cardiff, Burry Port, Aberystwyth and Port Dinorwic, has appointed a new managing director.
Lee Davies takes on the role following an extensive career in the civil engineering and construction industry.
He brings a range of commercial, leadership and project management experience to support the group’s strategic growth and development goals.
Mr Davies said: “The team has such a fantastic vision for the business and we will unquestionably be leading the way on marine leisure, engineering, development and regeneration of harbour towns and communities across Wales and the South West.”
The Cardiff-headquartered company provides marina berthing, dry stack facilities, boatyard services and commercial property for its marine leisure and commercial marine customers.
Director Drew McDonald said: “Lee’s commercial experience, management expertise and cultural fit for the company were obvious from the start. We have no doubt that Lee coming on board will allow us to deliver even more as a business and will help maximise our potential as a team.”
Watkin Jones
Bangor-based and Alternative Investment Market listed property developer Watkin Jones has appointed Rachel Addison as a non-executive director and a member of the audit, remuneration and nomination committees.
Ms Addison is a non-executive director of a number of firms including business-critical services and software provider Marlowe plc, in-person and digital international B2B events business Hyve Group, and book publisher Mango Publishing Group.
She has previously held roles at media companies Future plc, TI Media and Reach plc. She is also a qualified chartered accountant.
Alan Giddins, chairman of Watkin Jones, said: “Rachel has strong financial, operational management and board experience, and I believe this will add considerable value to the group.”
Genesis Biosciences
Global biosciences company Genesis Biosciences has appointed Franziska Nagel as R&D scientist at its Cardiff headquarters.
Ms Nagel will support research into varying strains of bacteria used in its environmentally responsible products.
The company said she is an expert in bacteria research, having previously worked at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology.
In further developing the company’s knowledge of its Bacillus strains which are fermented at Genesis’ US facility, Ms Nagel’s role will utilise different technologies to research how bacteria are likely to be grown and what the potential applications may be.
Ms Nagel said: “I am excited to be working for Genesis. They are building on the great potential bacteria have to solve problems, which would otherwise be solved with harsh chemicals that are not sustainable.”
General manager at Genesis Emma Saunders said: “Fran is already conveying her experience, putting new ideas forward and developing in the lab. She is helping us explore avenues of research in order to expand the use of bacteria in applications where chemicals have dominated, and we’re really excited to see her grow.”