New MD Appointment at Rooflight Manufacturer

A ROOFLIGHT manufacturer brand has appointed Shane Kerlin as managing director for UK and Ireland to help boost the next stage of growth plans at Keylite Roof Windows.

Coming from 18-years’ experience in multiple markets and business sectors, Shane has been director of finance at Keylite since December 2019.

Shane will focus on the sales and distribution performance of domestic markets, alongside newly appointed sales director for the region, James Malkin.

New MD

Having graduated from Queen’s University of Belfast with a BSc in Finance, Shane started his early career in the food industry with Kerry Group PLC.

Since then, he has held a number of senior positions for companies, most recently as FD for Bunzl McLaughlin, part of Bunzl plc.

Shane Kerlin said, “I joined Keylite as finance director in 2019 with responsibility for the finance, procurement and IT within the business.

“However, after only 12 weeks on the job, Covid demanded that both the UK and Irish economies locked down, necessitating the need to understand the true workings of the company in a very unfamiliar landscape.

“We continued to have some of the most turbulent years in construction with great upside and downside risk for companies, which has required strong management to ensure that customer service was at the heart of the company at all times.”

Change of Structure

To enable Keylite to accelerate growth, current MD, Jim Blanthorne will also take on the role of Keylite Group managing director as part of the new change of structure.

Jim Blanthorne comments, “I have every confidence that, with the support of the wider sales team, including our relatively recent appointments of James Malkin as sales director, Lee Squelch as regional sales director GB, Rob Lee as regional sales director for Ireland and Lewis Scott as national account manager for house builders, this sales organisation will accelerate our market share growth actions.

“I will take on the role of Keylite Group MD, with a focus on the International expansion of our innovative range into new market areas, oversight of our planned multi-million-pound factory automation programme and the development of new product ranges that we have identified to manufacture in-house.”

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