Trading Places - this week's appointments

KPMG has made a number of appointments amid what the accountancy giant called a “rebalancing of the oil and gas economy”.
In response to increasingly positive signs of an upturn in the north east, KPMG said it wanted to bolster its oil and gas industry expertise. 
Deborah May, David Mubarak and Chris Harvey arrive with a combined 21 years’ of direct oil and gas industry experience and knowledge to KPMG’s Aberdeen office. 
Ms May joins as senior tax manager following a six year period at Proserv as global tax manager. 
Mr Mubarak is joining KPMG’s corporate finance team as an associate, specialising in mergers and acquisitions. 
And Mr Harvey, who joins KPMG as a manager in supply chain operations, has worked within oilfield procurement and supply chain management for more than a decade for a major operator. 
Martin Findlay, senior partner at KPMG in Aberdeen, said: “As the oil and gas sector starts to respond to the end of the recent downturn and reports a steady economic adjustment, we are bolstering our teams with direct, relevant industry knowledge."

Royal Blind names new chief

VISUAL impairment organisation, Royal Blind and Scottish War Blinded, has announced the appointment of Mark O’Donnell as chief executive.
Mr O’Donnell, currently chief executive of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, will take over from Richard Hellewell, who will be retiring this summer after a decade years at the helm. 
With a background in health and social care in the charitable and public sectors, Mr O’Donnell joins the Royal Blind Group during a period of significant expansion, as 150 jobs will shortly be created in Paisley at Royal Blind’s new care home for visually impaired older people and Scottish War Blinded’s activity and support centre. 
He said: "It is a huge privilege to take over from Richard Hellewell as chief executive of such a respected and important organisation. It is a particularly exciting time to join with an expansion of services underway. I look forward to working with everyone connected to the organisation to make sure the next chapter in the organisation's history is a great success."
 

Edmondson back at Hillington

HILLINGTON Park has named commercial property specialist Grant Edmondson as commercial director.
Mr Edmondson returns to Hillington Park having previously held the position of estate director for 13 years with the previous majority owner of the ark.
In the intervening period he held property development and asset management positions with property companies in Scotland and Yorkshire. 
Hillington Park is a business park west of Glasgow that is majority owned by a joint venture between Oaktree Capital Management and Patrizia UK.
As commercial director, Grant will oversee the park’s asset management activity and the development and infrastructure plans which, in the last year, has seen major investment arrive with international brands including Jaguar, Harley-Davidson, Ducati and Volvo.