Rachel Smurthwaite, head of communications at Sewell Group

Rachel took on the role of head of comms in January, and what a busy first year it has been so far. From starting her diverse role covering all 11 Sewell Group brands during lockdown, promoting the group’s highest accolade, and doubling the size of the comms team, Rachel has certainly hit the ground running. We caught up with herto talk about all things comms, and what’s next for recent...

An Appointment With… Jo Barnes, Sewell Estates managing director

At the start of the year, Jo Barnes stepped into a new role as MD of Sewell Estates, the estates collection of businesses under the wider Sewell Group. As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, this appointment signals a new era for the Yorkshire-based company which is growing from strength to strength. Tell us a bit about your background. Originally from Lancashire, I came to East...

An Appointment With… David Thompson – celebrating 15 years at The One Point

David Thompson had worked in various job roles ranging from customer service to telesales when he found The One Point’s job advert in a newspaper back in 2006. David (since nicknamed Tommo) decided to ring the number on the advert and bagged himself an interview with The One Point’s then office manager. By the time Dave had got off the bus home, he’d received a call offering him a trial day at...

An Appointment With… Phil Hall, programme manager of HBEES

Following the launch of the Hull Business Energy Efficiency Scheme in September - a council-led scheme with the aim of helping businesses become more energy efficient - we caught up with programme manager Phil Hall to hear more about it. We spoke about his professional background, plans for the future, the opportunities for businesses through HBEES and other exciting, impactful projects that he...

An Appointment with… Helen Symonds

Helen, could you please tell us a little about your background? I have been involved in hospitality, sales and events since I embarked on my working career. Starting in sales support, sales research and event management at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, I was lucky enough to work on some amazing events, such as the Scottish PGA & the G8 Summit and to learn from some amazingly talented...