David Dale, Senior partner, Dickinson Dees

David leads the Wealth Management (formerly Private Client) practice with over 20 years experience at major national and international firms. He is practised at combining specialist knowledge in all areas that would affect an individual, his or her family and their business. As wealthy individuals’ affairs become more complex, it is more and more rare to identify specialists who are familiar with both legal, taxation and investment matters.
These rare qualities therefore, are ideal for leading the department and bringing the best out of each particular discipline to the clients’ benefit. His favourite areas of work include advising owners of small to medium sized enterprises, entrepreneurs and senior directors of PLCs. His rare ability to understand issues that affect both individual and business is highly sought after.

Paul Wilson, Business Founder, +catalyst

Paul Wilson, 32 and Newcastle born, is founder of +catalyst, a three year old recruitment company. He has over five years successful experience with one of the largest independent recruitment firms in the North East, with over four years being responsible for building a finance division from scratch.

As a graduate, he started in recruitment with a high growth, 3i backed, Leeds based executive search and selection consultancy. Before that, he began his career training for three years with a chartered accountancy practice in Newcastle.

Paul approached Benchmark Communications to co-organise the North East Accountancy Awards and has taken up the position of supporting sponsor for the Awards. The concept came about having received an extremely positive response from the Accountancy profession when introducing the idea of establishing the event as an opportunity to show the good people the finance sector employs and the great work they do.

Paul is a keen runner and enthusiastic footballer, rather average in both!

Chris Balxall, CFO, Kilfrost Ltd.

Chris Blaxall returned to the North East in 2006 having spent the previous nine years in Australia. He had left the North East in 1997 after successfully seeing Derwent Valley Foods (Phileas Fogg) through a trade sale to United Biscuits as Group Finance Director, and the turn round and refinancing of Tomorrows Leisure plc and its listing on the London Stock Exchange as Managing Director.

In Australia, Chris developed the national private equity advisory business as a partner with Deloitte before being headhunted for a global CFO role for a software company.

Upon returning to the North East, Chris assisted two of the Phileas Fogg founders in the development of the Tanfield Food Company and the Look What We Found range of ambient ready meals, soups and stocks, before recently joining Kilfrost Limited as CFO. Chris also continues to assist other developing companies in the area with strategic and general business advice.