Richard Smelt has been appointed HR director at Northern Rock

Smelt, who was previously HR director at The Carphone Warehouse, will move to Newcastle to take up his new job. He will be involved in restructuring the workforce and concentrating on building up employee engagement. He said: "I'm looking forward to rebuilding the organisation. It's an enormous challenge but has the potential to be a fulfilling role." Lynne Weedall and Rob Barnard take over his role at The Carphone Warehouse.