Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire:
Megan Powell Vreeswijk (pictured above) will become chief executive of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in January. She has been head of enterprise at Nottingham Trent University for the past four-and-a-half-years, where she oversaw the launch of the Dryden Enterprise Centre and helped entrepreneurs throughout the region start, grow and innovate their businesses.
She has also recently served as vice-chair of the It’s in Nottingham (formerly Nottingham BID) board, supporting the city centre business community. In addition to this, the start-up expert is vice president of Enterprise Educators UK, a membership network for people in enterprise education.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role at such an exciting time here in the East Midlands. I have a passion for supporting businesses and organisations locally and this is a great opportunity to continue doing that.”
Matthew Montague Architects:
Matthew Montague Architects, which is based in Longford, near Ashbourne, has promoted Paul Myers to associate architect and Chris Bayliss to associate.
Paul completed his RIBA Part I at Lincoln University in 2012, and completed his Part II studies at the University of Kingston, prior to joining the practice in 2015 as a Part II architectural assistant.
He completed his RIBA Part III at The University of Nottingham in 2018.
He has been involved in a range of projects, covering all stages of work from preliminary design through to production information and contract management. Clients he has worked with include Repton School, Hanson’s Auctioneers and Marketing Derby.
Paul’s designs are influenced by Scandinavian and Nordic architecture and he has worked on several housing developments including the award-winning Elms Barns in Newton Harcourt, Leicestershire and Quarndon Hall.
Lamp:
Lamp, the Leicester-based mental health advocacy charity, has appointed Liam Deacy as its new chief operating officer. Liam brings over a decade’s experience in charity, fundraising and business development roles to his new role and will be responsible for leading the charity’s engagement, business relationships, events and fundraising operations.
He joins Lamp from Menphys, where he was head of fundraising and marketing, and head of development for The Menphys Sports Club.
Prior to that, he was business development manager for Cross Productions in Leicester, and fundraising & communication manager for Dorothy Goodman Academy.
Liam was also the founder of the ‘Life Outside of Sport’ Podcast, where sports professionals talked openly about the challenges they face following retirement, including mental health challenges.
Derby College Group:
Laura Smith, a former student at Derby College Group (DCG) who now works at the college as a member of its teaching staff, is celebrating after being awarded runner up in the national Association of Colleges’ (AoC) student green commitment category at the Student of the Year Awards.
The awards celebrate the unique students from AoC member colleges across England who deserve recognition and will go on to inspire others. The green commitment award is given to students who have made a significant impact on sustainability, biodiversity, and/or green skills at a national, regional, local or community level.
Laura is now involved in the upcycling qualification at DCG.
Label Apeel:
Leicestershire-based label printers Label Apeel have appointed Michael Cronan as sales manager for Scotland.
Over the last decade, Label Apeel has carved out a reputation as a top printer for premium beers, wines, and spirits brands. Looking to expand the business north of the border, the business has been working with many of the leading independent beverage brands from across Scotland, including Kilchoman Distillery, Wolfburn Distillery, GlenWyvis and Glenturret.
Mr Cronan worked for Label Apeel from 2018 before leaving during the pandemic. He re-joined the team in September and is based in Stirling. After just two months, he is already in talks with numerous Scottish distillers to “bring their labels to life”.
Based in Thurmaston factory, Label Apeel has a team of 50 employees and a turnover of more than £5 million.
MTMS:
An army veteran with a passion for the environment and restoring classic motorbikes has joined the team at an East Midlands rail maintenance firm.
Ed Wakeford is the new project manager at MTMS, which is based in Moira, near Swadlincote, and will manage its operations at the Craigentinny Train Maintenance Centre, near Edinburgh.
This depot, which is operated by Hitachi Rail, is vital for maintaining trains from many locations in Scotland and from the north of England and is the biggest depot of its kind north of the border.
Ed’s role at Craigentinny will include overseeing the work at the depot, communicating with suppliers and manufacturers and liaising with clients.
The 43-year-old said he was looking for a new challenge when he joined MTMS, but it was the team that sealed the deal for him.
Originally from West Sussex and now living in Derbyshire, Ed served in the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment for five years where he spent time in Germany, did tours of Afghanistan and trained in Canada and Africa.
Since leaving the Army, he has also worked on a new-build housing project, creating open spaces and play areas before joining MTMS.
Shakespeare Martineau:
Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has appointed leading corporate partner Daniel Banton.
With more than 15 years’ post-qualified experience, Daniel has returned to private practice almost three years after co-founding and developing a European litigation business.
Prior to this, he spent more than 10 years in Howes Percival’s corporate team, working his way up from solicitor to partner and, eventually, leading the corporate, commercial and banking department – more than doubling its headcount.
Specialising in corporate law, Daniel advises public and private companies, family businesses, individuals, and institutions on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, reorganisations, and corporate finance. He has particular expertise working with mid-market corporates, PLCs, litigation financing companies, OMBs and education institutions.
Daniel will be based at Shakespeare Martineau’s Nottingham and Leicester hubs but working with clients nationally.
Topps Tiles:
Leicester-based tile retailer Topps Tiles has announce the appointment of Denise Jagger as an independent non-executive director, senior independent director designate and chair of the company’s sustainability committee.
Denise will join the board of directors of on February 1, 2024, succeeding Keith Down as senior independent director at the AGM in January 2025, at which point Keith will retire from the board after having served his term under the UK Corporate Governance Code.
Denise is an experienced non-executive director in both public and private businesses, stretching over 25 years. She is currently a non-executive at BusinessLive publisher Reach PLC and at CLS Holdings, and was previously a non-executive at Redrow, SCS Upholstery and Scarborough Building Society.
She was also a non-executive director and SID at Bellway and Pool Re, having retired from the latter in September 2023.
A qualified solicitor, she was previously company secretary and general counsel at Asda Walmart and is a trustee of the National Trust and the recently retired chair of the University of York.
