Movers and shakers

House of Travel has appointed Sonia Buckley as business analyst. She was working most recently with ASB Bank in Auckland and ExxonMobil in Melbourne. Direct Mail Solutions has appointed Jackie Wells as business development manager for the Auckland region. Previously she was a team leader/account manager with Actionmail.

Westpac New Zealand has appointed Geoff Officer to the role of general manager people & performance. Bill MacGowan has been appointed executive manager of the Franchise Association of New Zealand. MacGowan was previously New Zealand managing director of companies within the P&O Group, was chief executive of the Warriors rugby league club, and recently was chief executive of NZ Soccer.

Elaine Henderson has been appointed a partner of Tauranga-based Sharp Tudhope Lawyers. Formerly an associate with the firm, Henderson practices in general commercial work, commercial contracts, commercial financing, commercial leasing and company law.

Multi-channel marketing company Touchpoint has appointed Simone Kaho as senior account manager. She was business development manager for Euromoney Institutional Investor subsidiary Global Investor Magazine.

Don Stanway returns from London and joins Chapman Tripp as a senior solicitor, working closely with partner Tim Williams in his funds management / corporate team. Partingtons at The Langham has appointed sommelier Josselin de Gesincourt. He is professionally trained and hails from France and has worked as a sommelier in Paris and Ireland. Guido Paseri, the restaurant manager, has worked in similar roles in Sweden and Scotland as well as his native Italy.

Gen-i, Telecom's ICT business, has appointed Stephen Usmar as the company's business intelligence practice manager. Law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, has appointed Mark Stuart as a corporate and commercial partner in their Auckland office. Stuart rejoined the firm in 2004 as a senior associate, after working as a managing associate with Linklaters in London.

Engineering company Projenz has appointed Callum Wood as the managing director for its South Island company, Projenz South Island Ltd, to be based in Dunedin.