BAKERS Oven has promoted Andrea Malt to the position of consumer research co-ordinator. She will be based at the company's head office in Jesmond. She joined the company two-years ago from Courtaulds Coatings.

* The Explorer Group has appointed Michelle Harris as its new marketing assistant. The 22-year-old from Consett, will be directly responsible for the marketing department's administration and liaison with caravan and motorhome dealerships. She is a graduate of the University of Stirling where she studied accountancy and business studies.

* Abbey National's factoring and invoice discounting arm First National Invoice Finance is boosting its presence in the North-East with the appointment of an area manager at the organisation's Newcastle office. An MBA graduate, David Blakey, 30, brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from working in the invoice finance division at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

*Bellway has recently appointed David Fryer as group public relations manager. David, 41, will be based at the North-East builder's head office at Seaton Burn in Newcastle.

* Stefan Lepkowski, managing director of Newcastle based marketing and PR consultancy Karol Marketing, has been elected as the new chairman of the North-East branch of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

* The Tees Valley Development Company has appointed John Leer as project executive. He will help customers with their investments and also attract new investments into the Tees Valley.

* Martin Tait Redheads (MTR), the Newcastle-based advertising agency, has strengthened its account handling team with the appointment of a new art director - Neil Watson. Neil, 38, lives in Ashington and has completed a four-year HND course in graphic design at Newcastle College.

* Home Housing Association has appointed Anthony Fellows as head of its Wear and Tees region on a twelve month secondment. This follows Jim Rafferty's move to the North-West area of its operations. Anthony, 34, is married with two children