GyroHSR in Manchester has appointed Marie-France van Heel, a former marketing controller at BSkyB, as its new head of planning.

van Heel, who is married to the shadow education secretary Andy Burnham, has been given a remit to develop the agency's "insight" offering. Her work will involve research and creating customer engagement and CRM strategies.

Danny Turnbull, managing director at GyroHSR Manchester, described his new recruit as "a shining star within the industry".

As well as working on the launch of Sky Digital, van Heel's roles have included head of marketing at MTV Europe and planning director at WRG Creative Communications.

In her new post she will head up a team of planners and work with clients including T-Mobile, HSS and Fujitsu.

Turnbull said: "Her all round understanding of strategic marketing and her ability to apply this knowledge make her an asset to the team. I am confident that she will bring huge value across our client base.”