AN award-winning North East technology firm is continuing its upward surge in growth, with the appointment of a new operations director.
Aspire Technology Solutions, based at Heworth Hall, Gateshead, specialises in hosted services, data centre solutions, communications and traditional IT support.
Now it has promoted former operations manager Tony Dougan to the role of operations director.
Mr Dougan, 29, grew up in Pelaw, just a stone’s throw away from the firm’s Heworth Hall base.
A former pupil at the nearby Heworth Grange, he worked in the IT department while he studied for his degree, before taking up full time employment in his former school as his first job.
He started at Aspire in 2010, based in the technical support department as one of 15 members of staff.
Working his way up through various technical areas, he was named operations manager in November 2014, a role he held until this month when he was promoted to operations director.
Under his new position, Tony will be responsible for tech support, customer service and internal app development, and says he is very excited about his new challenge.
“I’m delighted to have been made operations director here at Aspire, as it’s a company which I’ve been a part of for seven years and have watched it grow and grow.
“When I first arrived, I was one of about 15 people who worked here, and now we employ some 130 staff.
“Being part of such a strong and forward-looking team is something I’ve always thrived on, and being here in my home town is a bit of a dream come true for me.
“My new role will be concentrating on things like stability and growth of support teams and improving service based on customer feedback.
“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do so it is vital we can offer them the best service we possibly can. With this in mind I’ll be working to develop internal systems which will improve customer communication and transparency.”
Aspire Technology Solutions has become one of the UK’s most influential small firms, and was this month the first in the region to become an accredited Silver Partner with global communications company Mitel.
Set up in 2006, the firm has also been ranked in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track top 100 private technology companies thanks to its rate of growth.
It now employs 130 members of staff and boasts clients across a number of sectors including the public sector, manufacturing, financial and legal services.
For further information visit www.aspirets.com