ICI tax man to be voice of CBI

Philip Gillett, group taxation controller at ICI, will take over from Nicholas Dee of GlaxoSmithKline, chairman of the committee since 1998. The taxation committee, comprising 20 member companies, is one of the CBI’s most influential policy committees, dealing with all matters concerning business taxation in the UK and elsewhere.

Gillett, a member of the committee for the past five years, has held his present job at ICI since 1995. He is also vice-president of the Association of Corporate Treasurers, vice chairman of the corporate tax sub-committee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and a member of the fiscal affairs group of UNICE.

• Business space developer Akeler has appointed chartered accountant Nigel Pope as financial director. Prior to joining Akeler, he was head of finance at security capital European realty – the European arm of the US real estate investment trust security capital. He was previously head of financial control at clothes retailer Etam, and international financial controller for real estate at Swedish pension fund SPP.

• Bristol-based Hydrex Group, which has seven plant rental depots across the UK, has appointed chartered accountant Paul Seymour as FD. Seymour qualified with Deloitte Haskins & Sells and acquired industry experience with Chemical Bank, Mitel Telecom and Bristol Aerospace. Using his IT experience, he intends to develop the group’s information management systems.

• Rical, the diversified industrial group, has appointed Paul Streatfield as group FD. Streatfield, 47, a chartered accountant, has worked in the oil, engineering, electronics and other manufacturing industries. He has held senior positions with a number of plcs and has been managing director of two companies. He lives near Winchester and joins the Rical Group from European venture capitalist Cinven, where he was a consultant.

• Luxury boat operator Connoisseur has promoted its financial controller Rosie Carter to director responsible for the financial affairs of the group, which encompasses France, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and the UK. Carter, an ACCA fellow, joined Connoisseur in March 1997. Based at the Wroxham office, she is responsible for the statutory and management accounts, IT, computerisation projects and tax for the group.

• Wigan-based firm John Fairhurst & Co has appointed a new partner to head its tax advisory department. Stephen Elliott, 34, has joined the 80-strong team from PwC, where he led the north west division responsible for mergers and acquisitions. Elliott started his career by qualifying with Grant Thornton in Liverpool. The life-long Liverpool supporter was transferred to the firm’s Manchester office to become tax adviser to Manchester United.

• Ian Smith has joined Horwath Clark Whitehill’s Bradford office as a senior tax adviser. He has many years’ experience as a tax adviser, and has returned to the sector following a four-year break where he completed a German degree. Still keen to continue his passion for languages and the arts, he is in the final stages of completing a part-time MA in European languages and culture. He has interests in building and playing the Celtic harp.

• Sandy Wood has been appointed senior manager for Bachmann Trust (UK) Ltd, part of the Bachmann Group, one of Guernsey’s largest fiduciary service companies. Wood moves to the Bachmann Trust from WJB Chiltern where she has been a senior tax consultant since 1998, specialising in employee tax, share schemes and offshore work. Before the move she was a senior manager with Horwath Clark Whitehill dealing with the tax affairs of owner-managed business and remuneration planning.

• A Wolverhampton firm of chartered accountants has won a prestigious award for its ground-breaking website. The Association of On-Line Accountants has made the award to Tildesley & Tonks. The association has given formal accreditation to Tildesley & Tonks, which launched its website last October. Mark Lloydbottom, chief executive of the Association of On-Line Accountants, said: ‘Tildesley & Tonks is a prime example of the new breed of accountancy firms, which believe in providing ‘added value’ to clients by using the latest technology available. This award is in recognition of the effort and imagination they have put into their website, which is one of the best of its kind in the west Midlands.’

Lois Fettis edits the people page. You can fax news to 020 7316 9250 or email her at: [email protected]