Tag Archive for: Manager

Paul Smyth named General Manager at Wembley

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Paul Smyth named General Manager at Wembley: Wembley Stadium connected by EE has promoted Paul Smyth to the role of Stadium General Manager.

Smyth moves up from his previous position as Head of Event Operations. He will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of events at the stadium, in addition to managing day-to-day operations.

Paul Smyth named General Manager at Wembley

Paul Smyth named General Manager at Wembley

Having been part of the Wembley team since the new stadium opened in 2007, Smyth has contributed to numerous enhancements in event delivery, maintaining Wembley’s status as one of the world’s premier multi-purpose venues.

Recent accomplishments include the collaborative effort with his teams to introduce two sensory rooms and British Sign Language (BSL) at every event. These initiatives have played a huge part in reinforcing Wembley’s commitment to leading on inclusivity.

Smyth’s promotion coincides with the departure of Stadium Director Liam Boylan, who, after nine successful years, is embarking on a new venture in the music industry next year.

Chris Bryant, the current Director of Tournaments & Events at the FA, will serve as the Interim Stadium Director while the search for Boylan’s successor is underway.

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ICL welcomes Lewis Blois as Business Development Manager

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ICL welcomes Lewis Blois as Business Development Manager: ICL is delighted to announce the appointment of Lewis Blois to the role of Business Development Manager – Landscape & Industrial for the UK & Ireland.

With over 15 years of experience in UK and Ireland amenity sector, Lewis’ journey started with Agrovista Amenity. He subsequently joined ICL in 2010 as a Technical Area Sales Manager within the T&L business. Lewis eventually ascended to the Key Account Manager role.

ICL welcomes Lewis Blois as Business Development Manager

ICL welcomes Lewis Blois as Business Development Manager

Lewis then joined Bayer Environmental Science as the Key Account Manager for Industrial Vegetation Management (IVM) and Rail, where he played a crucial part in launching and managing iconic brands including Roundup, Ecoplug Max, and Valdor Flex/Lockstar. His responsibilities also extended to managing key amenity distributors in IVM and Turf.

Before rejoining ICL, Lewis built on his expertise at Barenbrug as the Technical and Product Manager for their Amenity business.

On his appointment, Lewis expressed, “I am delighted to re-join the ICL team. My vision is to bolster the success of the Industrial and Landscape business, ensuring ICL remains the top choice for customers in these areas.”

For more information, please visit www.icl-growingsolutions.uk

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

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Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has revealed that Janne Lehto, course manager at Hirsala Golf, has become Finland’s first certified Master Greenkeeper.

Janne, 30, is chairperson of the Finnish Greenkeepers Association and is an agronomist for the Finnish Golf Union. He began his career at Hirsala, before spells at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland and Woodlands Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. He returned to Hirsala in 2016, before taking on the course manager role in 2017.

Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

Course manager achieves Master Greenkeeper status

Hirsala hosted the Finnish Open in 2011 and 2015, but is also considered one of the most forward-thinking and environmentally conscious golf clubs anywhere. The club is GEO Certified and has worked alongside WWF Finland on a number of projects including wetland management, waterway restoration and marine conservation. Additionally, the club powers machinery using biofuel rather than fossil fuels and both the clubhouse and maintenance facility have solar panels that means all of Hirsala’s electricity needs are fulfilled by the club itself. Fairways and rough are mown by autonomous mowers, each powered by clean energy drawn from the Hirsala’s solar power system.

The Master Greenkeeper Certificate is awarded to those members of BIGGA who have reached the highest standards of greenkeeping and golf course management. Candidates must pass three stages to achieve the certification, including an assessment of golf course operations and a case study and technical examination. They must also have 10 years’ experience as a greenkeeper with at least three years spent in a course manager, head greenkeeper or superintendent position.

“I was pretty thrilled,” said Janne of the moment he received a phone call from BIGGA’s Deb Burnett telling him he had become BIGGA’s 89th Master Greenkeeper. “It was a great feeling to get the process done because I started it over two years ago, but was held up by the COVID-19 pandemic that meant I could not have a course inspection, there being no other Master Greenkeepers in Finland. I started greenkeeping in 2011 and I’m always looking to develop myself and progress my career, so this was the natural next step.”

Head to the BIGGA website for more information about Master Greenkeeper and the other professional qualifications available to greenkeepers.

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New Product Specification Manager for Green-tech Specifier

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New Product Specification Manager for Green-tech Specifier: Seraya Sigsworth has recently joined Green-tech Specifier as their Product Specification Manager.

Seraya has worked in the water industry for the last seven years and has a wealth of experience and a thorough understanding of the importance of both blue and green infrastructure.

New Product Specification Manager for Green-tech Specifier

New Product Specification Manager for Green-tech Specifier

Green-tech Specifier is the specification team of leading landscape supplier Green-tech that focuses on technical specification and creates landscape solutions for Landscape Architects, Contractors, and Garden Designers. The Green-tech Specifier team help at the specification, estimating and drawing stages of their projects.

Business Development Director Mark Wood comments, “I am delighted that Seraya has joined the Green-tech Specifier team. Her primary role will be raising and developing the profile of our Urban tree planting portfolio and driving enquiries of our new TreeParker Urban tree planting cell system. Her previous experience has ensured her integration into the business has been smooth; she has fresh ideas and has hit the ground running and is already making an impact. Her past experience in water management and SuDS is already proving invaluable. We are working on new products to be launched over the coming months to complement our existing portfolio of irrigation products for this market. I am excited about the future and looking forward to seeing the positive impact that Seraya will make as we push further into the Urban greening industry and develop the opportunities available to us in the Blue/Green water management market.”

Seraya adds – “I’m really pleased to have joined Green-tech. My recent role saw me collaborating with engineers, landscape architects, local authorities, utilities, and policy makers to help design and consult on the challenging requirements of urban greening, sustainable development, and water management. I am passionate about urban greening and nature-based solutions in city areas to combat the effects of climate change, increase biodiversity and wellbeing in communities, as well as lowering flood risk via rainwater reuse/sustainable water management solutions. There is a great opportunity as part of the Green-tech Specifier team for me to really make a difference and I’m really looking forward to adding value to the team and expanding their existing customer offering.”

If you are interested in joining Green-tech and building a career within the landscaping industry, click the link below to check out their careers page with all current vacancies. https://www.green-tech.co.uk/about-us/careers

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BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

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BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has appointed an experienced project manager to oversee the implementation of the innovative First Green initiative and to create an online resource centre that will showcase careers in greenkeeping to a wide audience.

Jennifer Bledge has spent over a decade working in information governance roles within education. She is a former parent governor of Sandwich Infant School and is a qualified teacher. Jennifer also has experience of developing relationships with various stakeholders across education, which will prove vital as BIGGA seeks to engage with other organisations to successfully implement its outreach programme.

BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

At BTME 2023 in January, BIGGA announced it would be adopting the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America’s (GCSAA) successful First Green initiative. First Green transforms golf courses into STEM classrooms and Jennifer will oversee the development of a UK-specific toolkit that will aid in the roll out of this scheme.

She will also lead in the development of a digital careers in greenkeeping resource centre that is aimed at school leavers, graduates, second careers and golfers. Supporting this, she will liaise with ex-military and public services careers services, the National Careers Service, various charities and universities with related degree courses.

Jennifer has an existing understanding of the greenkeeping industry as her husband James Bledge is Royal Liverpool Golf Club’s course manager and is preparing to host The Open in July this year.

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “The appointment of a workforce recruitment project manager for BIGGA stands to be one of the most important strategic decisions the association has made in some time. It represents a fundamental shift in how we approach the challenges our industry faces and I hope gives confidence to our members that we are aware of the various issues relating to staff welfare, recruitment and retention and are addressing these head on.

“Jennifer was the outstanding candidate for this role and given her decades of experience working within education, I am thrilled she has joined the team. I look forward to sharing updates about the various projects she will be working on in the coming years with our members and the wider golfing public. There is a long way to go, but with the appointment of a talented project manager in Jennifer, I am confident we have taken a vital first step.”

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