Royal Dutch shells out for Boynton.

Judy Boynton has been appointed FD of oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group. She replaces Steve Hodge who retires in September. Boynton’s previous position was CFO at Polaroid Corp. She also worked for US oil company Amoco Corp – now part of BP.

British Airways has appointed John Rishton as CFO designate. He takes over ?from Derek Stevens this autumn. Rishton has served at BA for seven years, ?and currently holds the post of commercial financial controller.

He previously held several senior finance roles during 15 years at Ford Motor Company, including FD Portugal and FD Spain. Rod Eddington, BA chief exec paid tribute to the departing FD: “Derek Stevens has made an outstanding contribution to BA over the past 12 years.”

David Harding is Railtrack’s third FD in a year. CIMA-qualified Harding previously held a position at building manufacturer Rugby Group. He has also worked at engineering companies TI and T&N, and comes to the job with a reputation in the city for selling-off companies, prompting speculation about Railtrack’s future.

UK life assurance company Brittanic has announced the appointment of Bryan Portman as finance director, effective from July. The former chief exec at Old Mutual Life Assurance will also become chief executive designate of Brittanic Assurance.

David Howells has left his position as group FD at First Choice Holidays “by mutual agreement”. The move is believed to be part of a management shake-up aimed at driving the company forward internationally.

Department store group Bentalls has appointed Michael Seabrook as FD with immediate effect. Seabrook has been acting FD since April. He replaces Dermot Heffernan, whose departure was announced in February.

George Wimpey has announced the appointment of Andrew Carr-Locke as group FD. Richard Saville resigned as group FD following restructuring. Carr-Locke was previously group FD of Courtalds Textiles.

Halifax COO Mike Ellis is to become FD of the new company formed following its #28bn merger with Bank of Scotland. Halifax chief exec James Crosby is to take up the same position in the company, now known as HBOS.

Redstone Telecom FD Alan Harrold has resigned amid confusion over recent trading statements. Harold departed following a board meeting in which a trading statement was deemed to be incorrect. Andrew Walsh is acting FD.

Tibbett & Britten has promoted group FD Mike Arrowsmith to group CEO.

He will be responsible for financial and operating performance of the company, as well as business strategies. He will retain his role as group FD until a replacement is found.

Ian Millar is the new director of finance and corporate resources at the British Library. The post has been created through restructuring that attempts to link finance and other areas of corporate management. Millar has worked in finance at the library since December 1999.

Andrew Page will be the new FD of City Centre Restaurants, the owner of Garfunkels, Est Est Est and Frankie & Benny’s. Page is currently FD and chairman of the investment committee of incubator Greenchip Investments, and has previously worked in the hotel and leisure industry. Former FD John Wittich resigned his position “by mutual agreement”.

British medical services group Biocompatibles International has appointed Swagatam Mukerji as FD, replacing Julian Steadman.

Simon Samuel has been appointed FD at Target Direct Marketing, having spent six years in many UK agencies, most recently at Grey Global.

A boardroom shake-up at Newsquest sees former MD Paul Davidson appointed chief exec, with Paul Hunter taking up the role of FD.

UK fitness club operator Esporta has appointed Michael Ball as FD, following Mark Beadle leaving “by mutual agreement”. Ball is currently FD of Filofax Group.

Securities industry consultancy City Consultants has appointed Andrew Woods as FD. Woods has been with the company since 1999, having previously served as financial planning manager with international engineering group Delta.

Bridge-lending group Euro Sales Finance has lost its FD Bernward Rohmann and chairman Alex Hammond-Chambers, after the company admitted it had “temporarily exceeded its borrowing limits”.

Communications solutions company Convergent Communications has appointed Simon Barrick as FD. Tony Farmer, who has held the roles of chief exec and FD since 1999, will now concentrate on the former.

Nigel Drakeford-Lewis is the new CFO of network integrator Logical Group. ?He has been promoted from corporate planning director.

Appointments announcements can be faxed to us on (020) 7316 9250 or e-mailed to [email protected]

Age 39

Company Logical Group

Qualification FCA

What things other than finance do you do in your job? Strategy and supporting our operations with commercial decision making.

Would you rather spend more time doing non-finance things?

Finance can contribute to our business in so many ways. I currently spend more of my time on commercial issues than traditional finance areas although I am planning to re-balance this.

What is the best/worst thing about your auditors? Best thing – relatively high level confirmation of the adequacy of financial operating procedures.

Worst thing – they do not always add value.

What accounting standard/regulation/company law would you like to see scrapped? None, although FRS 10 on goodwill and intangibles should be revised. Capitalising purchased goodwill potentially distorts both the balance sheet and earnings figures.

What is the strangest/silliest question that a non-finance manager has asked you? “Why do I need to justify this investment? It’s obvious we need it.”

How would you rank our list of key FD attributes (most important first)?

(a) – accuracy – 4th

(b) – stewardship – 1st

(c) – entrepreneurial skills – 6th

(d) – people management – 3rd

(e) – strategic thinking – 2nd

(f) – leadership – 5th

Do you think an accountancy qualification is essential to the FD role?

Personally, having an accountancy qualification as a platform has placed me in an excellent position to develop my skills and experience.

Can you name the president of your accountancy institute without looking it up? Yes, Graham Ward.

What one question should we have asked you, but didn’t? What would you really like to be doing?