Northcoders – one of the UK’s leading independent providers of training programmes for software coding – has grown its senior team with the appointment of Steven Oakes who joins as its new director of marketing.

Steven will lead, plan and execute Northcoders’ marketing strategies for its existing product range as well as for all new launches. He will also be working closely with the board on identifying new business opportunities, reviewing changes to the market, and advising on core consumer trends.

Steven joins Northcoders from Shoot The Moon Group where he was group digital director. During his six-year tenure there, he held various positions and was instrumental in its acquisition of JGM in 2019 and its merger with Delineo two years later.

Following the merger with Delineo, Steven sat on the group board and leadership team of the newly formed STM_GRP. He was responsible for digital work across the group of 90-plus people and five agencies which had a combined turnover of £6.5m.

His role included building relationships and operating at a senior and strategic level with key stakeholders, helping to resolve issues smoothly and effectively whilst staying focused on the group’s big picture goals. He also maintained agency budgets and developed, implemented and managed HR policies and procedures which were integral to the success of the business throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his career, Steven has worked at Red C Marketing, Bauer Media, Hidden Creative and Universal Music. In 1999, he founded his own digital marketing agency called Design Esti which created websites for the likes of Elbow, Stereophonics and Underworld. He also worked with Sony Music, Universal and EMI on a broad range of digital marketing campaigns.

Amul Batra – chief operating officer at Northcoders – said: “We are delighted that Steven has joined us as he brings with him over 20 years’ experience of developing robust insight driven, customer centric marketing strategies for global brands. This knowledge and expertise – along with strong digital and performance marketing skills – will add huge value to Northcoders as we continue to grow, innovate and diversify.”

Commenting on his appointment, Steven added: “Coming from an agency background, I knew first-hand the issues around trying to recruit good quality software developers along with the lack of diversity and inclusion in the industry. Northcoders’ mission is to address that head on, so this opportunity was too good to pass up. It’s not an understatement to say that we are living in a time where technology is defining what it means to be human, and I passionately believe that our future should be built by people from all walks of life. My new role will allow me to help lower those barriers and make careers in tech as inclusive as possible.”

Manchester-based specialist small case litigation funder, Thaxted Capital, welcomes a new Partner to join the newly launched firm.

Litigation specialist, Mark Dawkins, joins as Partner to support the firm as it aims to deliver specialist small case litigation funding across the North and Midlands regions. Thaxted Capital will support cases with a funding commitment of up to £1million, charging on multiples of deployed capital and offering a capped return.

Mark’s career to date has spanned nearly 30 years, during which time he has accumulated an exceptional breadth and depth of experience in commercial disputes, in addition to his management and leadership experience. Mark qualified at Simmons & Simmons and worked his way through the firm to become the Global Managing Partner and most recently was Head of Akin Gump’s London Disputes Group.

Jack Bradley-Seddon, Partner Thaxted Capital explains “I am delighted to welcome Mark to Thaxted Capital. This is a real coup as we look to establish ourselves as the go to firm in the North for our straight-talking approach to litigation finance which is backed up by an extremely experienced legal team. Mark has a wealth of experience and has been ranked as a leader in litigation by legal directories for many years.”

Mark Dawkins, Partner Thaxted Capital added: “I am delighted to be involved with Thaxted Capital. I was fortunate during my time in private practice to be the Managing Partner of an international law firm and to head up litigation groups in different firms. This is the first time that I have been involved with a start-up business and it’s very exciting. I am also thrilled to be working with Jack again. We worked together in private practice on a number of cases and, as well as being one of the best lawyers that I have worked with, he is also one of the most entrepreneurial. Thaxted Capital will do well under his leadership.”

Mark’s appointment forms a key part of Thaxted Capital’s strategy to establish itself as a specialist small litigation funder with a focus on the North East, Yorkshire, North West and Midlands.

BGN – the Manchester-based brand-led design and digital agency – has added five new members to its team as it continues to build on its recent growth. Earlier this year, BGN announced that it expects its revenues to hit £1m with a net profit of around 30% by the end of the 2022/23 financial year.

The agency’s first new starter is Mel Yates who joins as a senior creative. Mel will be focusing on bolstering BGN’s brand and campaign design output. She will also be working closely with Dave Newton, creative director, on managing the wider design and studio teams. Prior to joining BGN, Mel worked at Absolute in Horwich for eight years.

The other new starters in the design team are Ryan Stockall, Nick McLoughlin and Francesca Smith.

Ryan has been appointed as a digital designer. Ryan’s previous role was at Persona where he worked for nearly four and half years. Before that, he worked at Black & Ginger.

Nick is BGN’s newest motion designer. This is Nick’s first agency role after working as a freelancer for seven years.

Whilst Francesca joins as a junior designer specialising in brand, packaging, campaign and digital work. Francesa is a graduate of the University of Leeds, and she recently completed a placement year at Rise at Seven.

The final new appointment is account manager Kat Fogg. Kat has joined BGN from Caspa Marketing and will be handling the day-to-day management of a client roster including Fasthosts, North Highland and Leeds Victoria.

Commenting on her new role, Mel said: “’I’ve always been impressed by the work that BGN produces, and I knew that for my next move I wanted to join an agency which had a wide breadth of clients that were more tied into some of my own passions of food, fitness and pets. This position was perfect for me, but I also quickly realised the team had a collective passion for producing creative work which was inspiring.”

Antonio Giansante, MD and founder, added: “We are delighted that Mel, Ryan, Nick, Francesca and Kat have joined the BGN family. Each are incredibly talented at what they do and bring real energy and enthusiasm which is what we all thrive off. The next couple of years look set to be a strong period for the business and I’m sure they will play a valuable part in taking us to the next level.”