Independent optician and hearing care specialist Duncan and Todd Group has strengthened its senior team with two key appointments as it continues its plans to expand across Scotland.
Ross McLellan has been appointed as finance director while Cheryl Smith has joined as group marketing manager.
Following several acquisitions, the group is now the largest privately-owned optician and hearing care provider in Scotland, with 41 branches across the country.
Ross has almost 20 years experience as a chartered accountant in the energy sector in both the UK and Australia, where he worked for Ernst & Young
He joins Duncan and Todd from Seanamic Group Limited, an energy services group majority owned by Simmons Private Equity that delivers niche marine products and services from locations in the UK and USA, where he was finance director. Prior to that, he spent almost 10 years with Simmons Energy in their M&A and Private Equity divisions latterly as a director.
A keen walker and skier, he is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and holds the FCA-approved Investment Management Certificate
Cheryl Smith was previously marketing manager at city centre shopping centre Bon Accord, where she was responsible for the strategic planning, implementation and control of all marketing activity.
She developed and managed a successful integrated digital strategy which increased social media followers and engagement levels and created and managed the successful re-branding of Bon Accord.
She holds a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is a graduate of RGU.
Duncan and Todd Group managing director Frances Rus said: “We are delighted to welcome both Ross and Cheryl to our senior team.
“Ross brings many years of experience in the UK and overseas and he has a strong commercial focus as well as a strong background of working closely with private equity, banks and entrepreneurs.
“Cheryl is an innovative marketer with unrivalled experience in strategic marketing and communications in both consumer and business to business sectors, which are both vital for us. She will be leading our marketing strategy as we bring our various brands together, as well as expanding our hearing care service.
“Their vast experience and expertise in their respective fields will be invaluable as we continue to grow the Duncan and Todd Group and add to our portfolio of branches in the future.”
The last year has seen the acquisition of seven practices, with the acquisition of a further nine practices from Black & Lizars in April 2019 bringing the total to 41 across Scotland, from the Borders and central belt to the Highlands and Islands.
Duncan and Todd trades as 20 20 Opticians south of Tayside and as Duncan and Todd in the north, as well as retaining names which are well known locally, such as JM MacDonald in the Highlands.
The group has also invested around £1m in store refits to align the look and feel of the acquired practices with the Duncan and Todd brand.
The group has been developing a full hearing care service over the last 24 months and now offers this across Scotland, with free hearing tests and supply, fitting and tuning of a comprehensive range of hearing aids, including digital hearing aids.
As well as Caledonian Optical, its dedicated lens manufacturing facility, the group also operates Smart Employee Eyecare (SEE), a corporate eye care offering which provides a simple web-based service to satisfy a company’s legal HSE compliance requirements for employees’ eye care to large public and private sector clients.
group marketing manager, Cheryl Smith and finance director Ross McLellan