A NEW initiative from a Leeds-based online professionals’ profiles service allows business contacts to get information on a member quickly.

Profiled.com has been extended into a full portal service that brings together information from across the internet into one place.

The service was founded in 2008 by chief executive Steve Wainwright, pictured.

The portal service offers free tools such as a professional profile, testimonials, media monitoring, business blogging, a personal briefing sheet and a 60 second interview which shows a user’s personality.

Laura Eardley, partner - external relations at Profiled.com, told the YEP: “It helps bring together business contacts into one place.

“There is nothing out there like it at the moment.

“It’s like a huge electronic business card.

“It brings everything people want to know about you into one place.”

Ms Eardley said that users of Profiled.com can choose what people viewing the site can see and does not risk potential employers finding embarrassing information or photographs as can be the case if they check on an individual on social networking sites such as facebook.

She said: “You can portray yourself exactly how you want to be portrayed.”

She said that the Profiled.com website, which is run by a team of five, has built up “thousands” of users across the world and said that there are hopes it will continue to grow and attract more interest.

Ms Eardley said: “We are trying to do a Silicon Valley start-up from Yorkshire.”

Founder and chief executive Steve Wainwright said: “Your online footprint is now key to business success. The first thing people will do before meeting you or after a networking event will be to Google you, so it’s vital that your information can be found easily.

“Profiled mends a business person’s fractured internet presence and is a much better solution than having your contact wading through pages of internet search results trying to find your information, which is frustrating at best.”

Personal branding is becoming more important amongst the UK’s business community.

A LEEDS care home company’s director of nursing has been congratulated by her colleagues at a special event to mark her 20 years of service.

Bronwyn Gregory, who works for Westward Care Ltd, attended the special celebration at Headingley Hall Care Home on Shire Oaks Road in Headingley.

At the event, managing director Peter Hodkinson praised her “pioneering approach and ultimate professionalism.”

She joined Westward Care in 1992 as matron of its first care home in Roundhay.

Our picture shows Bronwyn Gregory, centre, sharing a celebratory glass of champagne with Carol Hill, finance director, and Peter Hodkinson.

quantitaTive easing funding from the Bank of England should be given to medium-level lenders like building societies rather than the big banks, says a Yorkshire finance leader.

Leeds Building Society chief executive Peter Hill said big banks are holding onto the cash whereas mid-level lenders would more easily release the funds through lending.

He told the YEP: “If we had access to that funding we would lend it.”

He said the big banks were “restrained by capital” and so limited their lending.

Mr Hill said medium-level lenders had had “discussions” with the Bank of England on the matter.

High street banks have been criticised for allegedly not lending enough to fund investment, which banks deny.