Companies and organisations featuring in this week’s round-up include:
Banks Group’s graduate training programme, from left: Shabbir Boksh, Matthew Newton, Jaja Inskeep, Macauley Duke, Liam Young and Muhammed Kasuji.(Image: Banks Group)
North East property, housebuilding and mining firm the Banks Group has welcomed its latest graduate training programme intake.
Six new recruits have embarked on the two-year programme with the Durham-headquartered business which offers them support in building the key vocational, technical and professional skills needed for their respective roles, as well as opportunities to gain hands-on experience on live projects and evolving plans. Their predecessors on Banks’ graduate training programme, Matt Bishop, Ollie Pocock and Matthew Noble, have all been awarded permanent jobs with the family-owned firm after successfully completing their training.
Five of the six new graduate trainees are working within Banks’ property development and housebuilding divisions, Banks Property and Banks Homes, while the sixth is working on site with Banks Mining. Graduate development surveyor Jaja Inskeep and graduate project manager Muhammed Kasuji both studied at Leeds Beckett University, taking degrees in Real Estate & Property Management and Building Surveying respectively.
Matthew Newton holds a Civil Engineering degree from Teesside University and is now working as a graduate development engineer, while Shabbir Boksh has joined Banks as a graduate development engineer (housebuilding) after completing a master’s degree in Civil & Structural Engineering at Newcastle University. Liam Young is now working as a graduate development planner after completing a master’s in City Planning at the University of Glasgow, with Macauley Duke, who is working towards a Real Estate Management degree from The University of the Built Environment, joining Banks Mining as a graduate site engineer.
Russ Hall, managing director at Banks Property and Banks Homes, says: “Finding, training and bringing through skilled young people is crucial to the long-term, sustainable success of any business, and our graduate scheme has proven to be an extremely effective way of doing so for us. It gives ambitious young people the chance to get real responsibility at an early stage in their careers, and to learn, develop and deliver across a range of projects, disciplines and locations, and we see the benefits of their input to our work on a daily basis.”
The B Local North East co-chairs, from left: Jon Dudgeon co-founder and CEO of Blu Sky Chartered Accountants; Suzi McCreedy, chief commercial officer at UMi; Jessica Williams MBA, founder of Just Williams and Gemma Brannen, head of marketing at Robson Laidler Accountants.(Image: B Local North East)
The B Local North East group has appointed a new co-chair to the board.
The group, which convenes communities of people using business as a force for good and founded in partnership with B Lab UK, has recruited Jon Dudgeon, co-founder and CEO of Blu Sky Chartered Accountants, as its fourth regional co-chair. His business certified as a B Corp in 2024.
Mr Dudgeon replaces former co-chair Mandy Barker, founder of Sail Creative, who stepped down from the role to refocus her personal efforts on supporting more grassroots, political and community-based initiatives. He joins fellow co-chairs, Gemma Brannen, head of marketing at Robson Laidler Accountants, Jessica Williams MBA, founder of Just Williams and Suzi McCreedy, chief commercial officer at UMi.
Mr Dudgeon said: “I am looking forward to shaping a B Local that feels inclusive, diverse, and useful to both SMEs and larger organisations, working to create momentum and a stronger purpose led business community across the North East.”
New appointments at True North. From left: Harry Humble, Chris Hamill and Sam Roberts.(Image: True North)
True North Real Asset Partners, an afforestation investor and specialist climate action-focused fund manager, has expanded its forestry investment management team with two key appointments.
The company has welcomed two new team members to establish an integrated in-house forestry development capability. Chris Hamill has been appointed as a main board director, alongside Samuel Roberts. Both join True North from leading roles in the UK forestry sector, bringing extensive experience in woodland creation, forest management and sustainable land use across multiple large-scale projects.
James Jackson, CIO at True North Real Asset Partners, said: “We are delighted to bring Chris and Sam on board at an exciting time for the business. Creating our own in-house team sets the company apart, providing unrivalled expertise and seamless afforestation management from concept to operational handover. This marks a big and exciting step for True North as we begin new planting schemes this season in both Scotland and England, together with a strong pipeline of new schemes under development.”
Chris Hamill, the new director of forestry at True North said: “I am delighted to be joining True North to head up what will be a growing team of forestry experts. Investing in a specialist, in-house team demonstrates True North’s commitment to woodland creation and balancing sustainable forestry with environmental stewardship, providing hands-on expert management and support for all forestry projects.”
Metropolitan House’s Peter Conroy (left) and Ellie Taylor.(Image: Metropolitan House)
Gateshead office building Metropolitan House has appointed a new manager.
Ellie Taylor’s role as centre manager at Metropolitan House, where she started as a trainee apprentice six years ago, sees her taking responsibility for the overall management of business operations, ensuring high levels of customer service excellence and nurturing a working environment to attract new business and retain existing clients.
She will also manage day-to-day operations including staff activities, supervising and maintaining the building, equipment and supplies, managing administrative tasks, organising meetings and events, liaising with partners and customers, and negotiating with external vendors and service providers.
Metropolitan House owner Peter Conroy said: “As our tenants pursue their own commercial interests and plans, we continue to invest in homegrown talent and the skills to support their needs. We are rapidly building a reputation as one of the best flexi office space operators in the North East. This sees us committed to having the right people in place and providing them with the opportunity to develop their careers to the highest professional level.”
Stewart Stewart is the new CEO of Nova Pangaea Technologies.(Image: Nova Pangaea Technologies)
Sustainable aviation fuel innovator Nova Pangaea Technologies has appointed veteran cleantech leader Stewart Stewart as CEO.
The Texan brings brings 30 years’ experience in commercialising breakthrough energy and low-carbon technologies, and scaling venture-backed companies across the US and the UK. As CEO, he will lead the growth of Nova Pangaea including development of the first commercial plant using its proprietary technology, as part of its mission to decarbonise aviation.
The Redcar-based company, which is backed by International Airlines Group, is currently working with British Airways and LanzaJet on Project Speedbird, a government-supported collaboration to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. Mr Stewart joins from the New York-based investment bank Javelin Capital, where he advised on ‘green fuel’ opportunities, and previously held leadership roles in the US and UK.
Mr Stewart said: “Nova Pangaea has developed a truly differentiated platform to convert biomass into sustainable fuels at scale. I’m excited to work with the team and our strategic partners to accelerate commercialisation, develop projects in the UK and globally, and build a world-class company, delivering both climate impact and long-term value.”
