Recruitment

FarrPoint

Edinburgh-based FarrPoint announced the appointment of a new non-Executive Director and Principal, both of whom will join its digital workplace team to work with clients and ensure they are gaining the most from their investment in digital technology.

John Denholm, who co-founded the Leith Agency will take the position of non-Executive Director. In his previous role, Denholm helped the agency grow to become one of Scotland’s leading advertising and communications agencies.

Denholm has been a member of the Scottish Arts Council, Chair of Creative Edinburgh and was given a Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2007 Scottish Advertising Awards.

Commenting on the move, Denholm said: “I am excited to work with such a talented team at FarrPoint. With their first-class reputation for independent innovative advice in digital technology and their valued work ethics, there is a real opportunity to showcase and develop their employer brand.”

Joining Denholm at FarrPoint is Graham McDaniel, who commands a wealth of experience as an Enterprise Architect with extensive technical consulting experience.

McDaniel has previously held roles at Deloitte and Wavestone, where he managed clients with large IT and business change programmes spanning the financial services, insurance and government sectors.

McDaniel joins the firm from RBS, where he played a key role advising on their data strategy and digital service designs, which helped the company strengthen its enterprise architecture and customer experience.

FarrPoint co-founder Dr Andrew Muir commented: “The collective experience and expertise that both John and Graham bring to FarrPoint further strengthens our position as industry experts in digital connectivity, IT strategy, networks and infrastructure.

“We are delighted to have John aboard to help us build and promote our employer brand. These appointments strengthen our capability and ability to grow and expand the business into new markets and sectors.”

ePOS Hybrid

ePOS Hybrid has appointed a new head of marketing as it continues to step up its growth plans. The Edinburgh-based startup has hired Andrew Gibbon, who commands more than nine years’ experience in helping scale and grow startups operating in digital commerce, high-street retail and technology.

Commenting on his appointment, Gibbon said: “I’ve always had an interest in tech innovation and I’m hugely excited to be joining ePOS Hybrid at such a key point in their journey.

“ePOS hybrid has an innovative and exciting product with a clear differentiated value proposition. I’ll be working closely with our CEO and the rest of our team to achieve our plans for growth and begin leading the future direction of this market.”

Over the next 12-months, Gibbon will focus on developing and implementing the startup’s growth strategies, as well as scaling the company’s active user base in the UK market. Gibbon added that ensuring the company continues to “generate sustainable momentum” will also be a key focus.

Founder of ePOS Hybrid, Bhas Kalangi, commented: “Good marketing is key for any new company so it’s exciting to have someone of Andrew’s considerable talent join our team.

“His enthusiasm and our shared passion for ePOS Hybrid is brilliant for our company and I’m excited to see his ideas and creativity come to fruition. It’s such an exciting time for us and Andrew’s role will be crucial as we continue to scale and move forward.”

Bright Purple Resourcing

Bright Purple announced two new appointments in May, with Scott Millar joining as Head of Corporate Accounts and James Taylor joining the firm as Senior Talent Delivery Specialist.

Combined, the duo boasts more than 30 years of experience around corporate accounts and business change propositions that will help boost the company’s offering to clients and candidates.

Paul Curry, Managing Director at Bright Purple, said: “It’s fantastic that Scott and James join us at this exciting time. Clients will benefit from excellent account management and Scott and James bring a fantastic delivery record in business change.”

Scott added: “We’re excited about 2019 and beyond. I’ve known many of the team at Bright Purple for several years and when the opportunity arose to integrate my team into the business it was an easy decision to make.

“The Bright Purple culture is special – flexible, diverse and rewarded in a true meritocracy. It’s a modern, goal-driven, successful and incredibly fun place to be.”

Taylor added: “I joined Bright Purple as I wanted to join a market leader in the industry that allows me to develop my skills.”

Scottish Financial Enterprise

Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the representative body for the financial services sector in Scotland, has announced Philip Grant as its new Chairman.

Grant will take over as Chairman from Jim Pettigrew, CYBG Chairman, who is stepping down after serving his full three-year term at the organisation. Grant’s new role will be in addition to his position as Chairman of Lloyds Banking Groups’ Scottish Executive Committee.

He also serves as Managing Director of Customer and Business Risk of the Insurance and Wealth Division at Lloyds, which includes Scottish Widows.

Pettigrew commented: “It has been an absolute privilege to have held the position of SFE Chairman, during which time we have seen huge progress with a new, fantastic, output-driven strategy, increased engagement with key stakeholders and record levels of membership.

“I am particularly proud of the work done to develop skills, talent and retraining as we look to maintain our industry’s enviable reputation as a world leader in financial services.”

Grant was appointed as chair of the SFE High Level Strategy Group in 2016, which was responsible for devising the organisation’s five-year strategy 2017-2022.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “Having a strong, growing and innovative financial services sector is vital for Scotland’s economy and global reputation. Scotland’s people, education and skills infrastructure, enterprise support and ecosystem of established world-class businesses, make it a fantastic place to start and grow a financial services business with local or international reach.

“SFE is the focal point for the development of the economic, consumer and social value of financial services in Scotland. Its members have a shared commitment to making a wide range of career opportunities available across the diverse communities across Scotland. I’m very much looking forward to working with Graeme, the Board and members to continue the great work that marked Jim’s time as Chairman.”

Renovite Technologies

Cloud experts Renovite Technologies has appointed two new senior product managers as it looks to strengthen its position in the electronic payments market.

Anton Godfrey and David Lock will join the firm, adding more than 60 years’ specialist payments experience to the firm. Both will fulfil global roles, working closely with development teams across Renovite’s global offices.

Godfrey joins the firm from HSBC, where he previously served a Global Architect for Self Service for over six years. During his time at the bank, Godfrey led the evaluation of the future of transaction processing, as well as overseeing RFP’s for major vendors.

Lock commands more than 35 years of experience in the payments industry and brings specialised knowledge of cards, EMV and mobile technologies to Renovite. Previously, Lock has worked with ACI Worldwide, Insider Technologies Ltd, Hypercom, American Express and the Cayman National Bank.

Commenting on the dual-appointment, Renovite Chief Technology Officer, Jim Tomaney, said: “Anton and David add a wealth of experience to Renovite and significantly strengthen our position in the payments technology market. Competition for talent across financial technology is stiff, and it stands as testament to the ground-breaking work we are doing in the payments sector that both of them have chosen to work as part of our team.”

Zonal

Edinburgh hospitality tech innovator, Zonal, has appointed an enterprise sales manager for its expanding Marketing Technologies division.

Darren Jackson joins Zonal from cloud-based property management solutions provider, Guestline. Jackson will assume the role, which was previously held by David Charlton.

Charlton has also moved into his new role as Commercial Director at Zonal.

Jackson brings with him a wealth of experience in the hospitality sector and will focus on growing the firm’s market share in customer engagement products, which includes Zonal’s online booking tool, liveRES.

Reacting to his promotion, Jackson commented: “I have been genuinely impressed by Zonal’s technology and product innovation; it’s at another level. Being able to integrate modules such as online bookings and table management software with EPoS is a huge benefit for restaurant operators, so it’s incredibly exciting to be a part of such a dynamic company.”

Charlton added: “Darren is well respected within the sector and I am delighted to welcome him to the Zonal team as we continue to develop innovative solutions that give greater visibility and insight to operators to help them drive profitability and provide a better customer experience.”

Cathcart Associates

Cathcart Associates has confirmed three senior promotions as it prepares for further expansion and plans to increase the firm’s headcount over the next 12-months.

Sam Wason, co-founder and Joint Managing Director at Cathcart Associates, commented: “It’s an exciting time for the company as we continue to expand our operations and recruitment offering to a growing number of customers across the UK.

“We are very pleased to announce the promotion of three members of our team who have been integral to our success in recent years. All have delivered exceptional results for our clients and candidates.”

Stuart Manderson, who has worked at Cathcart for some eight years, has been promoted from Sales Manager to UK Sales Director. He will lead the firm’s growing team of sale consultants and help drive internal recruitment. Manderson will also oversee plans for the company’s growth strategy.

Murray Simpson will take up the role of UK Sales Manager, where he will manage all consultants across the country. Simpson continues to build on his previous success as Scotland Team Leader to help drive further growth in the North of England.

Simpson commands a strong record at Cathcart, having broken every sales record previously held at the firm. He has also been instrumental in the development of their Senior Appointments/Executive Search capabilities.

Assuming the role of UK Business Development Manager, Liam Wilson will continue to build the Cathcart brand and win significant new business contracts and help build robust client relationships.

Wilson previously set up the north of England division for Cathcart in his role as Senior Consultant.

Expansions

Head Resourcing

Technology recruitment specialists, Head Resourcing, has expanded its service offering with a new dedicated Senior Appointments arm.

The firm, which has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester, provides services to a range of industry sectors throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom.

Its new specialist Senior Appointments division will seek to address the ever-increasing demand for technology leadership talent and the firm is currently recruiting for a Principal Consultant to join the new division – which will be based at its Edinburgh headquarters.

Anna Knight, who will oversee the new Senior Appointments arm, commented: “Scotland is a fast-moving technology hub, and some businesses are growing at such a rate that often recruiting a senior team member requires identifying someone who has the specific skills and understanding not only to lead in the existing role capacity but is also equipped to scale or transform the business quickly.

“Our extensive knowledge of the sector allows us to work closely with companies to identify the skills and experience required within the leadership team and ensure we find the ideal candidate.”

ScotlandIS CEO, Polly Purvis OBE, added: “It’s great to see that our long-term member, Head Resourcing, continues to react to market needs by adapting and offering new services out to the market with the launch of their Senior Appointments division.”

Awards

Smarter Grid Solutions

Smarter Grid Solutions has been scooped the prestigious Scottish Venture-backed Management Team of the Year at the 2019 BVCA Management Team Awards.

Following the company’s success, Smarter Grid Solutions will now represent Scotland at this year’s UK finals. The award was open to companies backed by a venture capital firm where investment was focused on developing an innovative technology product or service.

SGS’ investors, Scottish Equity Partners made the initial nomination, before independent assessors Grant Thornton interview the shortlisted management teams; covering track record, achievements-to-date and future plans.

Team structure and strategy were also a key consideration during the assessment process.

Jim Kent, CEO of Smarter Grid Solutions, said: “This award is a special one for us, as it emphasises not only the quality of our products and internationalisation strategy but also pays tribute to the fantastic team we have here at SGS. Their tireless hard-work and attention to detail means that our world-class product is continuously being improved and refined to reflect the needs of our global customer base.”

A representative of Grant Thornton’s judging panel commented: “Jim Kent and his team have created an industry-leading product at Smarter Grid Solutions, resulting in a business which has performed incredibly well in a competitive market.

“They have successfully transitioned to a software product model, expanded internationally and created a trusted reputation and brand, underpinned by the management team’s strong technical capabilities. There is huge potential for further growth.”