ScS Upholstery, based in Sunderland, has appointed RON TURNBULL finance director. He succeeds Sacha Beere, who has been appointed operations director.

Mr Turnbull, 47, from Fencehouses, in County Durham, joins ScS from his role as chief operating officer of Pubmaster, which was sold to Punch Taverns earlier this year.

He was at Pubmaster for 12 years where he was finance director until May last year.

At Pubmaster, Mr Turnbull developed and implemented operational and financial strategies. He worked closely with advisors and institutional investors and led Pubmaster through three bond issues.

His early career comprised 13 years with KPMG (formerly Thomson McLintock), where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant and subsequently became audit manager before joining Pricewaterhouse in 1988 as a senior audit manager.

Mike Browne, ScS chairman, said: "We are delighted to have attracted Ron to ScS. His impressive track record speaks for itself and I am confident that his hands-on experience with businesses many times larger than ScS will prove invaluable in our ongoing development of the company."

Sacha, 38, has been with the company since 1996, initially as financial controller, being promoted to finance director in 1999.

ScS has 63 stores across the UK including outlets at the Gateshead MetroCentre, and in Sunderland, Durham, Middlesborough, Stockton, Newcastle, South Shields and Darlington.

l TV extra TIM HEADS has taken on a role with a regional house builder.

Having appeared in TV drama series, including Wire in the Blood alongside Robson Green, Mr Heads, 25, from Bishop Auckland, is now working as a purchasing assistant at Yuill Homes.

Responsible for calculating the cost of the products required to build each home and development, he is also helping colleagues create a database system.

He graduated from Salford University with a degree in geography and pursued a career in purchasing, working as a procurer for a joinery and kitchen manufacturer.

He said: "I am really enjoying the job because it is so varied, which means I face new challenges every day."

Yuill Homes company secretary Andrew Pegg said: "Calculating the cost of build is essential to producing homes of a high standard using the best products and practices available. I am sure that Tim will prove a valuable addition to the purchasing team and will contribute towards shaping the future of the company."

Established 77 years ago, Yuill Homes employs more than 250 staff at its head office in Hartlepool.

l CRAIG STOBBART has been promoted to associate partner at GVA Grimley's Newcastle office following its expansion.

Mr Stobbart, a chartered surveyor with 14 years' experience specialising in the disposal, development and acquisition of commercial property in the private and public sector, helped open the Newcastle office alongside Newcastle managing partner Ian Parker last year.

Since setting up the Newcastle office, GVA Grimley has seen a significant rise in business and expansion with the appointment of Harry Hawksby from DTZ Debenham and Tie Leung as regional head of valuation.

Before joining GVA Grimley with Ian Parker, Mr Stobbart was an office agency surveyor with Chesterton and Storey Sons and Parker, in Newcastle.

He said: "In Newcastle, we are witnessing some terrific opportunities for the property market and for our clients.

"In my new position I will be responsible for supporting other members of the team, growing our business further and ensuring our clients continue to receive the highest quality."

Mr Parker said: "Craig's excellent contacts throughout the North-East will be a real asset to the continued development of the GVA Grimley's team."

l The Newcastle office of Kajima Construction UK, part of the Kajima Corporation, has appointed ALYN WILKINSON senior project surveyor.

Mr Wilkinson, from North Shields, will work from Kajima's Quayside offices.

Assisting the completion of Burnside School, in North Tyneside - the last of four schools to be built for North Tyneside Council in a £25m PFI arrangement - he is looking forward to the challenge of making projects come in on time and to budget.

Stan Inskip, senior project manager at Kajima, said: "Kajima is going through a very busy time at the moment and the successful growth of the Newcastle office is sure to continue.

"As our work on the PFI scheme in North Tyneside draws to a close, work has commenced in Darlington on a £34.9m PFI funded education scheme to design, build, finance and operate three new schools within a school village setting and such high calibre recruits strengthen Kajima's leading position in the field of construction. Alyn is already making a valuable contribution and I am sure he will become an integral part of our team."

* KAREN REDFEARN is returning to the region after a decade away to take up the role of investment administrator at the Teesside office of specialist regional fund manager NEL. She has spent the past ten years living in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, and working in retail and financial roles. Her most recent post was as marketing assistant at the Jersey office of the Royal Bank of Canada, which is a major employer on the island.