Heathrow: Sketch Studios appoints new MD
Sketch Studios, the UK’s market-leading commercial furniture specialist, has appointed former divisional director Jon Odey as its new managing director. Sketch’s existing MD, Justin Bass, who has recently been shortlisted for the IOD’s Director of the Year award, is taking on a new challenge as Fourfront Group’s director of special projects.
Odey officially joined Sketch in 2007, becoming one of its first employees. As divisional director he has worked on projects for Cameron Oil, Serco Group and Opentext. Before joining Sketch he was sales director for Arenson Group, where he worked for almost 10 years.
The promotion comes as Sketch documents record growth, which has resulted in a restructure of the company. Sketch will remain under Fourfront’s umbrella, but will operate as a standalone business, capitalising on the fact that its client-offering complements but differs from that of the other businesses in the group, which consists of office design and fit-out specialist Area Sq, interior contractor Cube Interior Solutions and workplace consultancy 360 Workplace.
Lee Day, who launched Sketch with Justin Bass nine years ago, has been promoted within the group to the Area Sq board, as director of workplace concepts. Today’s workplace design requires a seamless fusion of both fit-out design and furniture specification, and he has a unique background in both areas.
Day commented: “Last year we began to reorganise the business and branched out into different sectors, which was really exciting. This positive new stage for us has meant we can launch Sketch as a more independent business and still remain stronger together as Fourfront Group. Our success has also seen us move to new offices this month, and be named 11th on the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For.”
Sketch provides a fully-integrated range of services and solutions including the specification, supply and installation of office and outdoor furniture together with a package of complementary services, including move management, storage, archiving and warehousing.
