John Kirby has been appointed projects manager of York-based building firm Guildford Construction.

Mr Kirby returns to his native Yorkshire from Birmingham where he was with national contractors Balfour Beatty.

While working in the Midlands he was in charge of the multi-million pound refurbishment of Telecom House in Wolverhampton, a project that won the British Telecom Site of the Year award.

He brings 24 years experience in the construction industry to the Huntington Road headquarters of the rapidly-expanding Guildford Construction, having started his career with his father's firm, Leeds-based Allan Kirby Builders.

Garbutt & Elliott, the biggest independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers in North Yorkshire, has appointed Allan Dunn to join its corporate finance team. Mr Dunn was previously with Pricewater-houseCoopers in Leeds where for three years he handled major corporate finance transactions. He has also worked for four years as a venture capitalist providing development cash for small and medium sized enterprises.

He said: "There has been a polarisation of the Big Five towards bigger deals. This has resulted in an opportunity for independent firms to provide corporate finance advice to the SMEs in the North - and I have now joined the leading firm of this type in Yorkshire."

Corporate finance partner David Dickson believes that Mr Dunn's experience would help strengthen Garbutt & Elliott's growing reputation in this area. In just six months the practice completed £128 million worth of deals.

London York Group of Companies, which claims to be York's largest advisory team, has appointed Russell Hirst as senior pensions adviser.

Only three months ago, the organisation appointed pension specialist Dorothy Wheeler. Mr Hirst's arrival brings the pensions team to nine professionals, backed by a total staff of 40.

Mr Hirst, who specialises in self-administered pensions and company benefit schemes, left a career in banking with NatWest to join an accountancy firm where he qualified as a member of the Institute of Taxation while working as a pension and investment specialist.

Glyn Diggins has become York-based Shepherd Training and Development Service's first business development manager.

Over the course of a busy last year there have been more requests for training than the existing team could handle. They came from organisations in the commercial, education, design, engineering, manufacturing and construction sectors. And it prompted Mr Diggins' appointment.

Mr Diggins joins Shepherd from CATS Consulting Ltd of Leeds where he has worked since 1995, adding to his 15 years' strategic account management experience in the training and educational services sector.

Chris Johnstone has been appointed as the first ever regional director of the Yorkshire branch of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The new post is part of radical reforms which agreed by the 5,000 Yorkshire members of the RICS last week.

The regional director has the task of ensuring that the RICS has a greater impact across Yorkshire and Mr Johnstone brings to the role years of sales and marketing experience.

Nick Fisk has been appointed finance director for Yorkshire Electricity's supply business.

Mr Fisk 43, joins the company from National Power where he was head of finance for its international division.

In his time with National Power, he worked on numerous projects, including acquisition of the Midlands Electricity supply business and the sale of power stations to the Eastern Group.

He recently acted as secretary to the 100 Group of Finance Directors, a representative body of the 100 FTSE finance directors in the UK.

Mr Fisk qualified as a chartered accountant with BDO Stoy Hayward in 1984, then worked for KPMG in Hong Kong for three years before returning to the UK to work for an American bank in London. He joined National Power shortly after its flotation in 1991.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.