Edinburgh-based award-winning digital consultancy xDesign has announced two new appointments to its senior team.
Grant Thomas has joined as chief commercial officer (CCO), with Susheel Dodeja joining as director of business development.
The hires follow a minority ‘eight figure’ investment from Soho Square Capital and the acquisition earlier this year of innovation and design company CreateFuture.
Both have joined xDesign from competitor BJSS where Grant was a board director responsible for its sales and marketing practices, and Susheel, its head of presale.
Together they were part of the team that steered the company to revenues of over £250m in just eight years.
Founded in 2010 by its CEO Euan Andrews, xDesign employs over 450 experts across the UK and has offices in Edinburgh and Leeds.
Speaking about the latest hires, Euan Andrews said: “This year has seen us make a number of strategic decisions, each preparing the way for us to meet ambitious growth targets.
“Securing minority investment from Soho Capital; our joining of forces with CreateFuture, and now the appointment of Grant and Susheel can all be seen as important milestones on our growth journey.
“In making these latest appointments, we now have two senior figures that not only bring a wealth of proven leadership experience but also provide us with the knowledge and expertise we need to expand and consolidate our footprint in a number of important industry sectors.
“Both are also huge advocates of the award-winning people-first culture we’ve built here at xDesign – one that continues to unleash the potential of our people, clients and the communities we collaborate with.”
Talking about his new role, Thomas said: “I’m joining xDesign at an extremely pivotal moment in its growth journey.
“It’s an organisation known for the quality of its work, a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to delivery, and an award-winning culture – one that puts its own people, its clients, and the communities it works within, front and centre.
“This combination is the perfect starting point when it comes to building a digital consultancy that can add so much more value to people’s lives – whether clients or end users.
“I’ve worked with Susheel for the past eight years and between us we have a raft of experience and approaches that will support xDesign in reaching new audiences in a variety of industry sectors – financial services and the public sector being just two of these.”
In joining xDesign, Dodeja will be focused on consolidating the company’s profile in the industries it already works within, whilst driving greater awareness of it in those that it’s looking to make a bigger impact within.
He added: “xDesign’s phenomenal growth to date can be attributed to its strong belief in the power of company culture, its unwavering focus on employee wellbeing, and its proven track record of technical excellence.
“These are all elements which perfectly align with my own values and which I believe give us an edge in what can sometimes seem like a largely homogenous digital consulting market.
“I’m particularly excited to put my experience of working with public sector clients to good use – supporting the company in making positive impacts on the lives of those using vital public services.
“I’ll be playing an active role in leading the xDesign charge into new sectors as well as helping it to provide more value in those it’s already serving.”