Chief executive appointed to Brightwork Group

Derek May: 'Very exciting time to be taking helm'. Picture: Contributed

Derek May, a chartered management accountant, has acted as the firm’s finance director since 2013 and will now assume day-to-day running of the business, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

May, who had been providing accounting support to Brightwork on an interim basis for a number of years, has worked for a string of blue-chip companies including engineering consultancy Atkins and transport giant FirstGroup. Prior to joining Brightwork Group in a full-time capacity he had his own accountancy practice supporting SME businesses in Lanarkshire.

He said: “This is a very exciting time to be taking the helm at Brightwork Group. The firm has maintained a strong and sustainable growth trajectory, both organically and through acquisition.

“In challenging times, it has maintained headcount growth and industry-leading training programmes.”

The firm was established by recruitment veterans Charles Turner and Anthony Knight in 2006. Since then it has established itself in drinks and industrial recruiting.

It has also built up a thriving specialist recruitment arm, BWSR, focusing on the professional, technical and managerial sectors. Turnover in this division has risen almost ten-fold.