IPSWICH-based recruitment specialists David Mills Recruitment has appointed a director of driving with more than seven year’s experience in local transport and logistics recruitment.

Barry Griffiths began his career as a financial advisor before moving into the local recruitment market in 2004 as a trainee consultant and soon worked his way up to management level.

Barry said: “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity as working at David Mills Recruitment has given me the chance to develop a core team of like-minded professionals working in a market in which I am very familiar.”

David Mills Recruitment is based at 25 Princes Street, Ipswich, and specialise in the supply of temporary manufacturing and warehousing staff as well as professional, qualified drivers for all sectors.

Managing director David Mills said: “Having worked with Barry for a number of years now I have watched him develop and grow his reputation within the local recruitment market and I’m very pleased to be able to offer him this step up to director level”.

The Saffron Building Society, based in Saffron Walden, had announced the appointment of Geoffrey Dunn to its board as a new non-executive director.

Geoff, who has been co-opted on to the board, has more than 35 years’ financial management experience, particularly in the financial services sector but also covering corporate finance, treasury management and IT.

After graduating from Manchester Business School, he began his career with smaller company investment firm 3i. Following corporate finance roles with the merchant bank S G Warburg and later GKN plc, he joined Midland Bank (now HSBC) and became head of finance and planning for the international division of the bank.

Subsequently he spent several years as finance director of the global financial broker Exco International plc. A move to Brussels followed, initially as chief finance officer of SWIFT, the bank messaging network provider, and then in the same role at multinational telecoms operator Global One before he returned to the UK as group finance director of Xansa (FI Group), the FTSE listed IT company.

In the last decade, Geoff has undertaken a number of major interim assignments including as finance director of the Bank of England, business finance director for Co-operative Financial Services and latterly as chief financial officer of Northern Rock plc for the reconstruction and split of Northern Rock.

Most recently, Geoff has become a non-executive director of Citadele Banka SC (the Latvian equivalent to Northern Rock) as well as Saffron Building Society.

Saffron chief executive Andy Golding said: “It’s a real honour to be formally welcoming Geoffrey to the board. He was introduced to members at our April AGM and I’m sure our members will value the extensive experience that he brings to the society.”

Norfolk farmer Christopher (Kit) Papworth is taking over from George Bell as chairman of buying group Anglia Farmers.

Accountant George Bell, who steered the merger process to form Anglia Farmers in 2003, has been instrumental in the considerable growth of the co-operative. He will remain on the board as a director and will chair subsidiary company AF Affinity Limited.

Kit Papworth joined the board of Anglia Farmers in 2005 and became deputy chairman in 2009. He is a director of his family farm, L F Papworth Ltd, based at Felmingham, near North Walsham in Norfolk.

He and his cousin Tim farm more than 2,000 hectares of arable land on long and short-term contracts. Kit is BASIS qualified and is responsible for the farm’s agronomy and crop recording and specialises in combinable crops as well as looking after the sheep enterprise.

In 2004 he was awarded the title Arable Farmer of the Future by Arable Farmer Magazine.

Outgoing chairman George Bell said: “As soon as the merger process was complete I thought my job was done but I was persuaded to stay and I am glad I did.

“The last eight years of helping to run Anglia Farmers have been really rewarding. The group has grown fourfold. Apart from helping its farming members to reduce input costs, AF’s business growth has contributed significantly to the local economy and helped others in the rural community.

“World agriculture is facing unprecedented uncertainty likely to lead to unpredictable changes. The leadership of AF needs to be in touch with that world and having worked closely with Kit Papworth over the last year or so, I am absolutely sure that he is the right man to lead AF through the next stage of development.”

Kit Papworth added: “I am delighted to be taking over the role of chairman at Anglia Farmers at such an exciting time for the business. Managing volatility in these turbulent times is vital for all farmers, and Anglia Farmers is well placed to meet this challenge on behalf of its members.”

Strutt and Parker, the national firm of chartered surveyors has announced the promotions of Charles Loyd to national partner satus and Carl Eastwood to associate partner level.

Charles Loyd takes over as the partner responsible for Strutt and Parker’s Ipswich office, as well as heading the firm’s East Anglian land management department, covering Norfolk and Suffolk.

Charles was brought up on an estate in Norfolk and previously worked as a resident agent on the Chatsworth Estate before joining Strutt and Parker in 1992. He leads a team of seven professionals specialising in the management of more than 30,000 acres on behalf of private clients, as well as providing consultancy advice to individuals and corporate clients.

Commenting on his recent promotion Charles said: “It is a great privilege to lead the Ipswich office and to work as part of one of the few remaining private land agency partnerships and I am very much looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead”.

Carl Eastwood heads the firm’s country house department in the Ipswich office which sells a wide range of properties from small cottages up to the very best country houses. An estate agent for 20 years, he has lived in East Anglia for six years and started his career in central London before working as a country house agent in Hampshire and Oxfordshire for Lane Fox, which merged with Strutt and Parker in 2007.

Essex law firm Birkett Long has significantly strengthened its partnership with five new partner promotions and three associate promotions – including promoting two non-solicitor staff members to the role of partner for the first time.

Recent changes in the rules governing the legal profession have meant that non-solicitor staff members, who contribute a great deal to a firm, can be recognised at a senior level and rewarded with a partnership.

This has enabled Birkett Long, which has offices in Colchester and Chelmsford, to invite David Cant, director of business development and marketing, and Louise Pisano, director of finance, to become partners as well as promoting associate solicitors Liz Jones, Amanda Smallcombe and Kevin Sullivan.

Adrian Livesley, managing partner at Birkett Long, said: “For too long solicitors’ firms have not been able to properly recognise the contribution that people like David and Louise make to their businesses.

“We are delighted to be able to take the opportunity to get maximum benefit from our non-lawyer professionals. This will enable us to continue to increase the value and knowledge we deliver to our clients.”

Louise Pisano, a chartered accountant by training, joined Birkett Long 11 years ago and has control and responsibility for the financial management of the firm. David Cant joined in 2004 and heads the business development and marketing team.

The three solicitors also invited to become partners are Liz Jones who works in the family team and specialises in child care issues, Amanda Smallcombe, who works in the commercial litigation team and specialises in personal injury and contested probate work, and Kevin Sullivan, who also works in the commercial litigation team and specialises in the insolvency field.

As well as five new partners, Birkett Long has also appointed three new associates: Craig Bloomfield, IT and business operations manager, Vicky Raynes, part of the personal tax, trusts and probate (PTTP) team and the rural business team, and Nicola Ward, head of the financial services team, who specialises in giving independent financial advice.