Appointment News in Brief.

Martin Hibbert has taken the position of group financial controller at ARRIVA, the public transport operator. He was previously at Yorkshire Electricity Group where he worked as corporate accounting manager and group audit manager. Prior to that he spent two years at Robson Rhodes as client services manager, joining from Deloitte & Touche.

David Cook has been appointed group finance director for Friendly Hotels, which runs, among others, the Comfort and Quality chains. Previously he was group finance director of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. With 36 years in the hotel industry he has held a number of senior finance positions. He is also chairman of the British Association of Hospitality Accountants.

Robert Shapton has been appointed by QEK Global Solutions, which supplies services to the automotive industry, as its chief financial officer. Shapton joins from Unisys, where he acted as chief operating officer of the company’s telecommunications business and was responsible for 500 staff in 17 countries. A fellow of ACCA, Shapton spent ten years with vehicle rental company Avis prior to joining Unisys. He will be based at the company’s European headquarters in Oxfordshire.

Dewsbury College has appointed Jonathan Tilt as director of finance. Previously he worked at the Wigan Borough Partnership as director of finance from April 1999 to July 2001. Prior to this he was employed with Staffordshire Careers for three years. In his spare time Tilt competes in triathlons, road races and long distance swimming events.

Blackburn firm Pierce has strengthened its practice with four senior promotions. Paul Hilton has been promoted to senior manager, whilst John Duckett, Linda Wilkinson and Jane Smith have all been made managers. Forensic accountant Hilton joined Pierce in 1992. He will now play a senior management role within the corporate finance team. Duckett, also based in the forensic department, will take up a new management position, whilst Wilkinson will take on senior finance responsibilities within the firm’s audit department. Meanwhile Smith has become business service manager in the audit department.

Tax expert Kevin Honey has joined Ernst & Young as partner in its global automotive group. Honey, who will be based at the Birmingham office, has during his career advised big names such as Ford, Toyota, Goodyear, Dunlop and GKN.

Kim Rayment, corporate recovery partner at PKF, has been appointed to the new post of national head of lending services. His role will be to develop the team and market the firm’s specialist services to banks and asset-based lenders.

BDO Stoy Hayward has appointed a VAT senior manager at its Nottingham office. Peter Williams hopes his move from London will bring his taxation expertise together with his sporting aspirations in cricket and football. He spent five years in London having gained his qualification as a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Manchester firm Champion has announced the launch of its corporate finance department and the appointment of Kirsty McGregor to head the new service. Originally from Rennie Evans, McGregor has over five years’ corporate finance experience advising entrepreneurs on company acquisitions, company disposals and valuations.

Simon Hill has been appointed senior manager for corporate and business services at the Derby office of Cooper Parry. Formerly manager in the audit and business assurance group at Arthur Andersen, he is returning to Cooper Parry where he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1996.

East Anglian firm Larking Gowen has promoted Clare Goodswen to tax manager. Based at the Norwich office, Goodswen has been with the organisation since 1987 involved with general practice focusing on agriculture, trust work and personal tax.

Mark Eardley has joined Leeds and Harrogate firm Wilson Braithwaite Scholey as a corporate finance partner. His previous jobs include a stint with merchant bank BZW, time running his own company, Yorkshire Corporate Finance, and work for a Jersey-based entrepreneur.

Jonathan Hunter has been appointed assistant director at Bentley Jennison. He is a former international swimmer who competed for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, setting a Scottish record in the 100m backstroke. He joins Bentley Jennison from Granville Baird, a US-owned investment bank, prior to which he was a member of PricewaterhouseCooper’s corporate finance team in Hull.

Peter Penneycard has been appointed as director of taxation at PKF. Penneycard has worked in tax for 25 years, most recently at KPMG. Before that he was group taxation controller at Sedgwick Group where he was responsible for all taxes worldwide. Commenting on his appointment he said: ‘I am delighted to join PKF at a time when the business is strengthening its taxation services.’

Philip Peacock has been appointed to the tax team at south Manchester accountants Styles and George. Peacock spent 12 years with the Inland Revenue followed by a move into industry as UK tax manager for Unilever. Apart from a period as a senior tax advisor with Price Waterhouse, he has spent the rest of his career in industry as an associate director and head of group tax at Great Universal Stores, and latterly as tax director at Coats Viyella.

Alan Wintersgill, managing partner at Bradford-based Naylor Wintersgill has been elected president of the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants. He officially took over his role at a ceremony at the district offices in Leeds. During his year as president, he will be supported by deputy president Deian Tecwyn of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Wintersgill began his career with Isles Verity & Co in Bradford. On qualifying he joined PwC and then moved into industry for eight years before setting up his own accountancy firm in Bradford in 1986. The people page is edited by Lois Fettis. She can be contacted on [email protected].