Movers & Shakers: Two new recruits for React Computer Partnership

Ed Osborne joins the firm, based at Deben Mill Business Centre, having previously worked with an IT training organisation developing and providing training courses for their clients.

React partner Richard Pledger said: “Ed was keen to develop his IT networking skills and was keen to join a company offering support services in this area.

“With our continued growth, despite the global economy, we needed another support engineer to bolster our support department, ensuring we could maintain the excellent levels of customer service we offer. Therefore React was the perfect match for Ed.”

Alex Davies originally joined React as an administration apprentice on a six month course but it was soon clear his real passion and skills lay within the more technical aspect of IT systems and support.

Richard said: “I’m happy to say due to the increase in contracted customers over the past 12 months we were able to accommodate Alex in a new role and so he has now been taken on as a full time apprentice embarking in a certified Microsoft Apprenticeship Course.”

: : EAST Anglian accountancy firm Lovewell Blake has appointed Chris Carter as senior para planner. In this role Chris will work with the financial planning team preparing and managing financial reports for clients.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector, Chris will specialise in corporate and high net worth clients’ pensions, investments and protection needs. He will be based in the organisation’s new Bury St Edmunds office.

Graham Walker, director of Lovewell Blake Financial Planning, said: “We are extremely pleased to have attracted an individual of Chris’ technical expertise to our company and he will be able to make a major contribution to the Lovewell Blake Financial Planning team.

“This represents not only further. expansion of our Bury St Edmunds office but growth in our financial services business.”

: : IPSWICH-based Suffolk Life, a provider and administrator of Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), has appointed Will Self, its product and operations director, as its new managing director.

It follows the announcement that David Hobbs will move to take up the position of managing director, operational services, designate in the cofunds business unit of Legal & General.

Will joined Suffolk Life in 2003 and initially headed an administration team before joining the corporate development team where he was instrumental in launching several joint ventures.

In 2008 he became head of client services, managing 70 staff, before becoming director of operations in 2010. Will has managed SIPP operations during recent acquisitions and is focused on delivering high levels of customer service.

He completed his MBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) at Cranfield School of Management and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute. He is a trustee of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Will said: “Having been with Suffolk Life for over 10 years, I have seen and been heavily involved in the growth plan and acquisitions.

“Taking the reins as managing director is a natural progression and the strong management team remains in place. David will be a hard act to follow but we will continue to work with him in the extended Legal & General business whilst we grow Suffolk Life both organically and through market opportunities.”

David added: “I am proud of what I have achieved at Suffolk Life but the time is right to hand over to Will who will continue to drive the acquisition processes and innovation in terms of the products being delivered and the continuing high level of service.

“Our combination of home-grown talent and structured succession planning maintain the stable foundation needed to compete and grow in today’s regulatory environment.”

: : LETTING agent Martin & Co of Bury St Edmunds has taken on Julie Carpenter as a USAF (United States Air Force) specialist lettings negotiator.

Julie’s arrival heralds an era of expansion as the business goes from strength to strength, within the residential sales and lettings industry.

With more than 20 years’ experience working in the residential lettings industry, Julie has extensive local knowledge of the Bury St Edmunds area, having started in her home town of Cambridge, specialising in renting properties to visiting scholars.

Julie previously lived in Mildenhall where she became well known by landlords for achieving high rents and finding quality tenants.

Julie said: “I am delighted to be part of the Martin & Co team.

“This is a great opportunity for me as Martin & Co has established a superb name and reputation across the country and I am looking forward to contributing to the continued success of the Bury St Edmunds office.”

Julie will be responsible for generating new and repeat business opportunities for market appraisals, instructions, viewings and lets within various markets, as well as liaising and negotiating offers between landlords and tenants.

: : IPSWICH-based Smart421 has appointed Chris Turvil as the new lead of its AWS (Amazon Web Services) practice.

The appointment follows an internal organisational change designed to take Smart421’s expertise in cloud computing to the next level.

The move builds on outstanding work by Steve Williams who has led the AWS practice for two years to become a significant revenue stream.

Recent projects include disaster recovery on the AWS Cloud for Ipswich-based Haven Power, part of Drax Group, Big Data Analytics on the AWS Cloud for Quotemehappy.com, part of insurance group Aviva, and Services Transition to the AWS Cloud for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).

Chief technology officer Robin Meehan said: “Steve Williams’ leadership has ensured our AWS Practice has arrived at a strong place ready for its next stage of growth.

“We welcome Chris Turvil as AWS Practice lead. His skills and expertise will help us to drive forward and answer the growing demand we are experiencing for cloud services.”

Chris Turvil joined Smart421 in November 2012 as a lead consultant and solution architect. He brings a deep understanding of enterprise architecture and application lifecycle management, combined with practical expertise across a variety of technologies.

He has a proven track record successfully delivering large projects for both the public and private sector, in particular within financial services. He has a first class degree in computer science from the University of Southampton.

: : IPSWICH-based creative agency White Space Design has welcomed a new digital designer, along with a new intern and apprentice to its busy team.

The company’s newly appointed digital designer, Cedric Bousquet, initially heard about White Space Design online.

Anna Peachey who is currently interning at White Space, said: “After graduating from university, to then hear about White Space via Facebook, I’m now managing the agency’s social media pages which is a really exciting opportunity, along with assisting the account management team on client projects.”

: : EXPANDING Ipswich-based solicitors’ firm Oliver Legal has taken on another associate solicitor.

Duncan Brown joined the firm in May, from a law firm specialising in property litigation.

He will assist the firm’s owner, Murray Oliver, offer niche legal services to HGV, coach & bus operators.

Duncan qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and has undertaken civil and commercial dispute work since qualification. Formerly a litigation partner at another Suffolk law firm, he has spent all his career in Essex and East Anglia, developing a useful knowledge of the region’s commercial landscape

He specialises in employment law, landlord and tenant law and disputes concerning defects in residential and commercial properties. His clients have included businesses, individuals, management companies for apartment blocks, property managing agents and charities.

Murray Oliver said: “I am very pleased to have Duncan on board at Oliver Legal. He is committed to our client-focused way of working, such as offering our clients direct out of hours telephone contact, and visiting clients at their places of business which provides us with an invaluable understanding of their business practices and individual legal requirements.

Duncan brings with him sought-after landlord and tenant law experience, such as advising leaseholders of flats on how to extend the leases on their properties or challenge service charge demands from their landlord.

He also possesses detailed knowledge of the niche area of building disputes, with judgments from several of the cases he has managed being reported and commented on in legal journals.

His unusual skillset is invaluable to owners of leasehold flats, be they owners who need to extend their leases to protect the value of their flats, or those whose flats are situated in blocks, new or old, which are experiencing significant and worsening defects.

“He has already begun assisting our vehicle operator clients by drafting staff handbooks for their drivers – such driver handbooks being unique requirements of the HGV and PSV industries,” added Mr Oliver.

: : SUFFOLK-based web service provider Infotex has welcomed Abi Fawcus, previously creative director of Phoenix London for 12 years, to head its growing digital design department.

Abi has spent her first months at Infotex, which is based at Melton, near Woodbridge, playing a key role in the firm’s business development, while designing for a variety of clients, including the massively successful Essex-based Micro Scooters and Suffolk’s award winning up-and-coming food brand Stokes Sauces.

Abi said: “Infotex has a wealth of great local, national and international clients, including some really forward thinking businesses, and I look forward to translating these into fantastic websites that create the right impact.”

Managing director Anthony Agar said: “This is the right time to enhance our strong technical capabilities with another creative force – a top quality professional designer with deep experience of the Internet, who can relate to the entrepreneurial spirit of our clients.”