WorkNest, the Employment Law, HR, and Health & Safety specialist, today announced Iftikhar (Ifti) Ahmed as its new Chief Executive Officer and the promotion of Gary Jones to Chief Financial Officer.
Ifti has held the WorkNest Board position of Chief Operating Officer since September 2021 with his promotion to CEO effective from April.
Ensuring the required strategic continuity for WorkNest, Ifti is the natural successor to outgoing CEO, Gavin Snell, who is making an internal move within Marlowe plc – to lead its Governance, Risk and Compliance division in which WorkNest sits.
Ifti has extensive experience of scaling businesses having worked at the likes of Capita and Aon and has vowed to bring that rigour and experience to WorkNest’s next chapter.
Commenting on his appointment, Ifti said: “My passion has always been to deliver real value for our customers through high quality, personalised service. I remain dedicated to these principles as I focus on new challenges ahead. Through an exciting acquisition-led strategy, WorkNest is constantly evolving and maturing, and I’ll be working with our team to ensure that the benefits of this are passed to the tens of thousands of organisations we support nationwide.”
Chester-headquartered WorkNest, which employs over 500 colleagues nationally, has also promoted Group Finance Director, Gary Jones, to Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Andy Gunson who also moves into a new Group-level role in Marlowe’s Governance, Risk and Compliance division.
Gary joined the business over five years ago as a financial controller for Ellis Whittam, before its rebrand to WorkNest in October 2021. His experience, skill and corporate heritage has allowed him to quickly rise through the ranks since joining, playing a pivotal role in transitioning Ellis Whittam to plc ownership and commencing the impressive WorkNest growth story.
Gary said: “Having been part of the exciting WorkNest journey over the past five years, I’m thrilled to step up to the helm to navigate our next stage of growth. With many plans in the pipeline, I have no doubt the next five years will be just as exciting. As we continue to evolve, my focus is on consistency, integrations, opportunities, and optimisations that benefit both our fantastic colleagues and customers.”
Ifti added: “I’m delighted that Gary and I are taking on our new roles in tandem. Our cohesive aim alongside our Executive team, is to drive growth through excellence. Both product and technology innovation will support the delivery of our core business lines whilst our expert delivery teams remain the front and centre of our offering.”