The search for the next Bond Girl is over

Derek Curtis MD Bond pictured with Katie Dodds

The search for the next Bond Girl is over. 

Katie Dodds, 23, has beaten off stiff competition from other finalists in the Miss Sunderland beauty contest to be crowned Bond Solutions’ Bond Girl.

The Wearside business software solutions specialist picked Katie, from Cleadon Village, Sunderland, to represent its business after hearing Miss Sunderland had returned to the region after several years’ absence.  Seeing the call-out for local business support, Bond decided to back one of the girls through to the final, and hopefully all of the way to Miss England.

Katie, a teacher at Horndale Infant and Nursery School in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has modelled in the past and thought it would be a great experience to get involved in the competition.  Katie said: “I am honoured to be picked as the ‘Bond Girl’ and I hope I can make the company proud at the final. My friend was recently diagnosed with Leukaemia and I am trying to arrange a fundraiser to raise awareness of the disease. The team at Bond has said they will help me with this, which is fantastic.

“I haven’t told the children in my class that I am through to the final yet, but when I do I know they will all be very excited.  “I’m sure that they will have lots of questions about the contest and I can’t wait to see their reaction when I tell them.”

The grand final takes place on May 22 at the Stadium of Light and the Bond team will be at the event cheering Katie on.

Bond Solutions’ managing director Derek Curtis said: “We were very keen to support a local girl and cheer her through the final stages of the competition.

“I thought Katie was a great choice and I’m sure all of her students and fellow teachers will be very proud of her.”

Tickets for the final are available now and company sponsorship is still available for some of the final 24 girls – find more information at www.misssunderland.co.uk.

 

My Working Week

Derek Curtis, pictured, is the managing director of Sunderland-based management software company Bond, which specialises in technology-based Customer Relationship Management. He lives in Co Durham with wife Julie and Dalmatian Cubby.

Monday
I return home after a weekend in Monaco with Sage. Bond recently won a Circle of Excellence Award and Sage took us away to congratulate us and catch up on work, of course. I head straight to the office to begin working through my emails and then head out for a new business meeting with an engineering firm.

Tuesday
After picking up a nice strong coffee, I check my emails before heading into our weekly internal product meeting. Most of the rest of the day is filled with meetings. The first is a Scottish-based printing company who are interested in one of our new products. I then head off to my final meeting of the day which is with an existing client. I like to keep in regular contact with clients and the meeting today is regarding customer service, which the client advises has been excellent. I then drop my staff an email before heading home to walk my Dalmatian Cubby.

Wednesday
I head straight to a new business meeting with an offshore oil supporting company and then head to the office. After checking my emails I embark on finding the next Bond Girl. Miss Sunderland 2009 has returned to the region after several years’ absence and I am going to be sponsoring a finalist this year so I fill in the sponsorship form and send it across to the event organisers. I then have a meeting with Sage, our key partner, where we discuss our sales pipeline and any customer issues which have recently arisen.

Thursday
Early morning I am in an internal meeting where we are discussing the development of new products, something which I am always keen to push. The meeting proves very helpful and I leave with lots of exciting ideas. I then head across to Newcastle for a meeting with my PR company to discuss marketing my new products and creative ways of finding my Bond Girl. I then head back to the office for a training session on leadership management with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). Our key members of staff are all involved and they all seem to have enjoyed the session.

Friday
I host a meeting with the support team about any outstanding or recurring issues and we develop a way forward by discussing all possible resolutions. I then walk Cubby - we have a pact in the office about losing weight so I take him out on my lunch to give him - and I – some exercise. I then head back to the office and catch up on my accounts and other various tasks before heading home to relax.

Bond bucks the recruitment trend

Business solutions specialist Bond has bucked the recruitment trend by adding a new member to its growing workforce.

Contrary to recent reports of staff cuts and increasing unemployment in the region, the firm, which helps other organisations grow through implementing business management software, has just welcomed a new software consultant to its Sunderland-based office.

Nick Bevan, who joins the Sage-accredited software solutions company with a strong background in software consultancy and sales in the technology sector, has been working in the industry for over eight years.

Nick, who commutes from his home in Great Lumley, County Durham, said: “I wanted to work somewhere exciting and interesting, with a wide range of large clients and this led me to Bond.

“Even though my background is mainly in consultancy, over the past three years I’ve developed skills in software sales. Also, as I’ve got a wide knowledge of third-party products that work best alongside Sage, hopefully this combined experience will benefit our customers and Bond alike.

“It’s been great so far, and the team here are fantastic. I’ve even managed to work with some major clients already and hope this will continue to grow. When I looked into business solutions companies in the area, Bond always came out on top for not only client care, but staff wellbeing too."

Bond managing director Derek Curtis said: “Nick is an excellent addition to our growing team. With his extensive knowledge of our products, as well as an understanding of how to communicate with our customers, he adds huge value to our existing customers.”