The latest appointments, promotions, and moves in the Welsh business sector

Sign up to FREE email alerts from BusinessLive – Professional Services – a round-up of key appointments, mergers and news every ThursdayInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Subscribe

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time.More info

Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice

As the world looks to emerge from the pandemic a number of people are changing roles and jobs across the Welsh business community.

Here are some of the big moves across all sectors, from legal to online learning, accountants to commercial property.

Please send your appointments news to [email protected].

S4C appoints new secretary to the Board

S4C has appointed Geraint Pugh to the position of secretary to the Board of the channel.

Originally from Lampeter but now living in Aberystwyth, Mr Pugh has worked as secretary to Aberystwyth University for more than eight years.

As part of his new job, Mr Pugh will be responsible for advising the S4C Unitary board to ensure appropriate and effective governance across all of S4C’s work. He will also be the main point of contact for the UK Government’s DCMS Department.

Mr Pugh said: “I am very much looking forward to joining S4C, especially as the channel prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2022. I have fond memories of growing up watching S4C in the 80s, and with enormous changes in the world of broadcast since then, I’m certainly joining at a very exciting time in its history.

“My priority will be to work with the Unitary Board, the Management Team and the channel’s staff to approve and deliver S4C’s new strategy for the next period.”

Mr Pugh will be starting his role in October.

Bond Digital Health appoints new CEO

Health tech company Bond Digital Health has appointed a new CEO in a bid to take the business to the next level.

Ian Smith has held CEO and CFO roles in businesses in various sectors, including health technology, medical technology, biotech and finance. He was most recently CEO of Time Finance plc, an AIM-listed company offering business finance solutions to SMEs.

Throughout his career Mr Smith, a qualified chartered accountant, has sought to help businesses commercialise R&D, manage rapid growth, raise development capital, merge, and float on the stock exchange.

Mr Smith takes over as CEO at Cardiff-based Bond Digital Health from its co-founder Ian Bond, who is stepping back to a part-time role acting as an ambassador for the business.

Bond has grown rapidly over the last 18 months as it developed its key product Transform, a data capture and reporting solution for lateral flow diagnostic tests.

Mr Smith will be tasked with growing the business internationally and preparing it for further investment and in due course a potential public listing.

Mr Smith said: “Bond Digital Health is an impressive company with exciting prospects.

“We’ve seen in the pandemic how lateral flow tests have become a valuable and trusted diagnostic tool, but they are analogue and we know there will be huge demand for tests to be enabled with digital data capture and data management in future.

“For Bond, that means there is real opportunity for international growth across various markets and sectors. This is a business whose digital and data-led technology could become essential in diagnostics, not only in human and animal health, but also in growing sectors such as environmental testing and food and drink safety.

“I am very excited to be joining a very talented team in a business with significant potential.”

Outgoing CEO Mr Bond said: “I’m honoured to be handing over the reins to Ian. With his successful track record of transitioning companies from one stage of development to the next, he is the ideal person to lead the business into the next phase of our growth.

“With products already in the market and global demand for our technology growing, the next couple of years will be crucial for the future of Bond Digital Health.”

Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

Cell-based therapeutics firm ReNeuron Group have announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer.

Catherine Isted, ACMA, will be joining the board effective October 11, 2021.

Ms Isted has 23 years’ experience across the healthcare industry. This includes 12 years at partner level in two healthcare banking teams, undertaking multiple IPOs and follow-on fundraisings. Within the Healthcare industry, Ms Isted has also held various in-house financial and strategic roles.

Ms Isted is joining ReNeuron from Oxford Biomedica plc, a cell and gene therapy company, where she sits as part of the finance leadership team heading up the corporate development and IR. Ms. Isted holds a 1^st Class chemistry degree along with experience as a bench scientist, before moving into finance and training as an accountant at Merck.

Ian Ross, ReNeuron Group chairman, commented: “Catherine has an excellent knowledge of the healthcare sector and is highly skilled in equity capital markets, M&A and strategic business development. She will be a fantastic addition to the ReNeuron Board and I am thoroughly looking forward to working alongside her and welcoming her to the ReNeuron Board.”

Ms Isted added: “I am delighted to be joining ReNeuron at what I think is an exciting time in the company’s evolution, not only for the Groups lead stem cell programme in Retinitis Pigmentosa but also for their proprietary Exosomes and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform technologies where there is growing excitement in the healthcare industry around their significant potential in a multiple of therapeutic areas.

“I look forward to working with the whole team and Board at ReNeuron to help realise the opportunity for the company in these leading fields of science.”

Online learning company appoints former OU vice chancellor

Cardiff-based online learning provider, Learna, have appointed a new non-Exec Director and Chair of their board.

Peter Horrocks was formerly vice chancellor of the Open University, where he spent four years leading the distance learning provider.

Prior to that, Mr Horrocks held numerous roles at the BBC, including head of television news and head of the BBC newsroom. Most recently he headed up the BBC World Service, where he was responsible for overall editorial leadership and management from 2009 to 2014 with a particular focus on digital transformation.

Learna says it has brought Mr Horrocks on board as non-exec Director at Learna to support the ongoing growth of the business, utilising his expertise in distance learning, higher education, and digital transformation to support Learna’s business strategy and expansion plans.

Speaking of his new role, Mr Horrocks said: “I’m delighted to be supporting Learna in its growth plans. The company combines two of my personal passions – innovation in pedagogy with delivering widespread human benefit, through supporting medical specialists around the globe. I’m looking forward to working with the fun and dynamic team at Learna.”

Courtenay Probert, COO at Learna, added: “Peter’s track record speaks for itself, and his experience will be invaluable to us as we continue to scale Learna by partnering with more and more higher education establishments, both within the UK and internationally, in order to bring the most diverse range of medical and EMBA programmes to our learners across the world.

“Learna is growing at pace and Peter’s industry knowledge will be vital as we endeavour to consolidate and continue our success within the online learning sector. Particularly at this moment in time when online learning has never been the subject of so much focus, or demand”.

City Hospice appoints new business ambassadors

A number of figures in the South Wales business community have joined City Hospice as the charity’s newest ambassadors.

City Hospice is Cardiff’s local hospice, providing care to people with terminal and life limiting illnesses such as cancer, dementia, motor neurone disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in the capital, City Hospice provides care and compassion to 550 patients at any one time, in addition to essential counselling and support services for the families of their patients.

The newly appointed ambassadors will champion and spread the word about the charity’s work within their communities, in addition to supporting events and fundraising campaigns.

Joining Spiro Borg, managing director of Spiro’s Fine Dining, and Chris Macnamara, managing director of The Brogue Trader as business ambassadors are Kim Bird, CEO of Before You Go; Catherine Brannigan, The Waterloo Foundation; Sarah Clifford, commercial and sales; Terry Edgell, CEO of Premier Forest Group; Sarah Hughes, communications officer at South Wales Police; Sarah Lister-Sims, managing director of Hospital Innovations; Alastair Milburn, managing director of Effective Communication; Sara Nurse, SLC Consultancy; Clive Thomas, managing partner at Watkins and Gunn; and Andrew Walker, business development director at Resource Ltd.

Speaking about his new role, Mr Walker said: “I have helped to raise funds for City Hospice over a number of years now, and the more I learn about their work and their impact on our capital city, the more I realise it’s a charity that is often overshadowed by others locally in the charitable health sector.

“Covid-19 has brought the reality of end-of-life-care into sharp focus. Indeed, having lost my own father to this dreadful disease and then waited over a year to hold a service for him, I realise how vital it is for those who are terminally ill to have the chance to die at home if that’s what they want.

“City Hospice is one of the hidden jewels within the crown of Cardiff’s healthcare provision. A lot of business people know the name but don’t have a clue what it is or what it does. I hope that I, and the other City Hospice Business Ambassadors, will help raise its profile amongst the South Wales business community, understand its role as a ‘non-residential hospice’ and encourage other business people to support its work.”

Newport accountants make 10 appointments

A South Wales-based accountancy firm has appointed 10 new members of staff as it continues to invest in supporting its clients in digital recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

HSJ Accountants has appointed Alex Finch, Zoe Hobbs, Malek Ammar, Kojo Baisie, Sarah Fox, Bethan Rice, Hannah Pockett, Alexandra Edinborough, Ashleigh Faulkner and Sarah Harris to the practice.

The 10 new members of staff will work across payroll, administration, client care, audit and accounts to help service the practice which specialises in helping businesses utilising automation software to further improve their efficiency.

Leanne Owen, Partner at HSJ, spoke of the new appointments: “It goes without saying that the past 18 months have been incredibly challenging for everyone. We are incredibly lucky that our staff have been able to work remotely in a seamless fashion and continue to service our clients when they have needed us the most.

“That is why I am delighted to welcome our 10 new recruits which demonstrate our commitment to continuing to help our clients and guide them through what is hopefully the end of the pandemic.

“As our business is more than just accounts, we are able to work with our clients on their business processes and systems and identify where smart and easy-to-use technology can help free up time and make businesses better.

“As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, we need to be able to support businesses who wish to operate globally at the touch of a button. We can support these businesses and are committed to being at the forefront of the digital recovery from Covid-19. ”

The recruits range from assistants to trainees, to managers and senior hires, with Alex Finch coming into the practice as audit and accounts manager. Mr Finch joins HSJ after spending time with a national top-15 firm as well as experience with a big-four practice specialising in audit services.

“Aside from this investment in supporting our clients, we are extremely pleased that nearly all the staff joining our team are either from the local area or studied at neighbouring universities,” Mr Finch said.

“This goes to show what an excellent talent pool we have in south Wales and it demonstrates our commitment to supporting those who wish to further their career by working with some of the most exciting businesses in the country.”

New director appointed by Ringley Group to oversee its expansion in Wales

Residential property consultancy Ringley Group has appointed Anthony Kingdon as a director to head up its operations in Wales.

Mr Kingdon will be focused on driving Ringley Group’s presence in Wales and will report directly to Mary-Anne Bowring, the company’s group managing director and founder.

Mr Kingdon will be working across Ringley’s offices in London and Cardiff, and will be tasked with playing a leading role in working across Ringley Group’s portfolio in Wales, including the UK’s largest Right to Manage building in Cardiff Bay, comprising 906 apartments.

The building, known as The Century Wharf Estate, is managed by three RTM companies – one for each of the freeholds – representing the 906 apartments on Century Wharf Estate. He will also be looking after Ringley’s second RTM building, comprising 982 apartments in Cardiff Bay

Mr Kingdon will also be tasked with looking after Ringley’s build to rent operations in Cardiff.

Mr Kingdon joins Ringley Group from Xenia Estates , a student and residential block management company, where he was operations director for more than two years.

Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at Ringley, said: “Anthony’s specialist experience in property management will play a vital role in expanding our operations across Wales. He will bring significant knowledge and expertise to our growing team.

“Having recently signed up the largest Right to Manage block in the UK, Anthony will be responsible for working with new and existing clients to provide a high-quality level of service in all things property management.”

Mr Kingdon added: “I’ve been aware of Ringley Group for many years now having previously worked with Mary-Anne in one of my previous roles. I’m really excited to be working with the established team at Ringley going forward, and with their industry-leading bespoke property management software.”