UK Training Industry Press Releases

A trio of high-profile appointments has been made at a leading business development organisation on its third anniversary.

The new posts of commercial director and operations director have been created at Acua, as the leadership and organisational development specialist looks to build on its successful first three years by expanding in the UK and overseas.

Chris Gale joins Acua as commercial director and Neil Withey has been promoted from operations manager to operations director.  Frank Lauriello has been taken on as corporate services manager.

Acua has developed significantly since being established by Coventry University in 2008 to meet an identified skills shortage needed to drive business growth and improve performance in the UK.

The company's workforce, based at its head office in Coventry, has more than trebled to meet its growing client base which includes high-profile organisations such as Santander, Jaguar, Ford, TNT and The AA.

Withey, who joined Acua in 2009, takes responsibility for the operations team along with the delivery and development of products and services.

He said: "The development of the company has been tremendous, especially as it was launched at a time of economic uncertainty, and is mainly due to us being innovative, flexible and an ability to make a massive impact on our client's businesses.

"Over the next year we will be adding to our growing portfolio of products and services, as we aim to become the obvious partner of choice establishing strategic alliances globally with bluechip organisations."

As commercial director, Gale takes charge of sales, UK and international business development and marketing.

Following a lengthy career in the financial services sector, Gale established a successful sales and leadership skills consultancy and has worked with major clients including BT, Boots the Chemist and Oxford University.  He joins Acua from a commercial management role at Tarmac where he played a key role in developing their approach to accredited training and development.

Gale said: "I am very passionate about the value of excellent training and development.

"I am currently studying for a business, management and communications honours degree so I understand the challenges faced by talent managers and it's very exciting for me to be part of an organisation that excels in leadership and management training with university accreditation.

"There is huge potential to develop Acua further and I am looking forward to helping to elevate the company in UK and international marketplaces."

Lauriello takes on IT, HR, finance and customer services, having gained a wealth of experience in those areas within distribution and industrial services.

He said: "Although I am new to this industry, I really enjoy working with developing organisations and am looking forward to helping Acua operate as effectively as possible as it grows, whilst ensuring that the customer experience remains paramount."

PICTURE - left to right - Acua commercial director Chris Gale, corporate services manager Frank Lauriello and commercial director Neil Withey