We take our weekly look at appointments and promotions across the housebuilding industry and its supply chain.
Jack Pasley, Muse
Muse has brought in Jack Pasley is senior project manager for its Yorkshire and the North East team.
He joins the Leeds-based team from Queensberry Real Estate, where he played a key role working alongside public and private partners to drive forward the delivery of mixed-use town centre redevelopments in Nuneaton and Huddersfield. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Mott MacDonald as senior associate.
In his new role, Pasley will support the delivery of Bradford City Village, which includes some 900 new affordable and Build to Rent homes.
James Pitt, MD at Muse – Yorkshire & North East, said: “With extensive experience working with public and private partners to deliver major mixed-use places, Jack will add real value to our team.”
Jack Pasley said: “I am looking forward to helping the team curate and deliver new places focused on social value, sustainability and economic growth – not least in Bradford.”
Mark Calderwood, Wain Group
The Wain Group, which employs more than 300 people across three regions, has appointed Mark Calderwood as group HR manager.
He previously worked at the University of Manchester Innovation Factory before setting up his own independent consultancy.
Calderwood said: “The Wain Group already has excellent staff relations and a culture of inclusivity and growth.
“It is a great opportunity to work in a company looking to further improve and grow and I am really looking forward to meeting all the teams on the ground in the regional offices and better understanding their priorities.”
Group managing director Jim Wood said: “Our people are the key to the group’s success and as we continue to grow we need to ensure we deliver both best practice and best working conditions and we are delighted to have Mark join us to help deliver that.”
Karen Stafeckis, York Central
Karen Stafeckis has been appointed as development director of York Central, one of the UK’s largest city centre regeneration schemes, including 2,500 new homes.
Bringing extensive experience from her previous role as head of development (North) at CEG – formerly Commercial Estates Group – Stafeckis and her team will operate under Tom Gilman, managing director of McLaren Regeneration, and will collaborate closely with Allan Cook, founder of Arlington Real Estate, the strategic development partners of York Central.
“A key focus for me is to embed and deliver upon the generational environmental and social sustainability commitments and opportunities that this development presents.”
Two appointments, Anwyl Homes
Anwyl Homes Cheshire and North Wales has appointed two new directors to lead key departments.
Oliver Johnston has been promoted to commercial director, while Gareth Haslam has stepped up to technical director and are among a group of colleagues being promoted within their departments.
Johnston Oliver joined the company in 2023 as head of commercial for Cheshire and North Wales. After leaving school, he pursued a career in the Army, serving in the Royal Military Police. When he left the army in 2014, he joined Taylor Wimpey as a trainee quantity surveyor. He also gained a HNC with distinction in construction, followed by a first-class honours degree in quantity surveying from the University of Salford.
Formerly Anwyl’s senior design manager, Haslam began his career with an architectural practice in his hometown of Sheffield and has since worked for several housebuilders as an architectural technician, development architect and latterly design manager. A trained mental health first-aider, he joined Anwyl in January 2020.
Neo Rakodi, Magna Housing
Neo Rakodi has joined Magna Housing in the newly created role of head of growth.
He brings with him extensive investment experience in the public and private sectors. Early in his career he worked for local authorities then moved to a national property consultancy, where he qualified as a chartered surveyor.
Rakodi joins a re-structured team led by sustainability and investment director Paul Read, seeking out innovative and collaborative funding opportunities to help the housing association build more affordable homes across its communities.
He said: “Magna has timed its land and construction plans well and is ready to continue to play its part locally in this significant work. It’s great to see that Magna is ‘open for business’, well-funded and actively seeking new opportunities to deliver sustainable homes – including using unique precision-engineered homes, manufactured in our region for our region.”
Nick Jones, Persimmon Homes
Persimmon Homes East Wales and Persimmon Direct have appointed a new finance director.
Nick Jones joins after 11 years at ISG Construction Ltd, where he carried out several different appointments as finance director and has worked for over 30 years in major construction projects across all regions and sectors within the UK.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “It is an exciting time for Persimmon as we continue to deliver on our industry-leading financial ambitions and high-quality homes for local people across South Wales.
“So, I am delighted to be joining the business and look forward to working with the teams to build on their strong progress at both Persimmon Direct and the East Wales region.”
Jon Knowles, Persimmon’s regional finance director for Central and Wales, added: “Nick’s extensive experience in the construction industry will be an invaluable asset to Persimmon.”
Joel Owen, WDH
Castleford-based housing association WDH has appointed Joel Owen as its new service director for development as part of a programme to deliver 1,500 new homes over the next three years.
With over 20 years of experience in the housing sector, Owen has held several senior positions at local and regional housing associations and joins WDH from First Choice Homes Oldham, where he was development director for the last four years.
He is also on the FutureProof board at the homeless charity, St George’s Crypt, has also been a board member at Connect Housing, who operate across West Yorkshire.
Joel Owen said: “I’m excited to use my skills, knowledge and experience to help WDH create vibrant communities and homes our customers can be proud of.”
Sue Young, executive director of investment, said: “We’re looking forward to working together to continue to grow our new build programme and develop exciting projects, creating more places for people to feel at home.”
