NEWS & VIEWS

Managing Director appointed for Osborne

We are very pleased to have assisted Osborne in recruiting a Managing Director for their Homes & Construction business. The assignment gave us the opportunity to work with some really outstanding individuals and we are delighted that Keith Taylor was appointed as Managing Director for Homes & Construction; he took up his post on the 16th August 2010. He will be responsible for Osborne’s projects in homes, airports, commercial property, education and healthcare, a portfolio of £150 million per annum. Keith was previously Managing Director for Mansell’s South East region, a role he held since 2004, having joined Mansell in 1997.

David Fison, Chief Executive of Osborne said “Keith Taylor brings both an impressive record of successful building projects and an obvious aptitude for building, consolidating and managing teams that make him the ideal person to lead our Homes & Construction Sector as we approach the next phase in our development in what promises to be a challenging economy.”

Managing Director appointed for Westbury

We are delighted to have successfully completed another key assignment for The Persimmon Group. Following a highly effective search campaign Andy McDermott took up his position as Managing Director for Westbury Partnerships on the 2nd August 2010.

Ashley Lane, Director of Group Partnerships said in Insite magazine “Andy brings exciting opportunities for market expansion and directing the future of the Westbury Partnerships business. His mixed tenure development expertise is particularly welcome at a time when affordable housing grant funding resources are under pressure. We are confident that he will have a major role to play in ensuring a robust commercial and customer-focused culture to meet the needs of a changing and challenging market.'

The magazine goes on to say that “His appointment is seen as a considerable coup for the business and Westbury Partnerships greatly looks forward to his major contribution over the months and years ahead”

Ronay & Ronay have worked with the Persimmon Group, through the Persimmon, Charles Church and Westbury brands, since 2000 and are delighted to have concluded such a successful assignment for the group in 2010.

Ten Years in Business!

Georgia and I are delighted to announce we will be celebrating ten years in business on 1st April 2010. Back in 2000 we had the idea of creating a specialist headhunting practice that delivered the best in personalised services to both clients and candidates, and that sought out, developed and successfully maintained long term relationships. Whilst optimistic from the outset we are delighted to be stronger than ever after ten years in business, and having weathered the recent economic storms.

We sincerely thank all of our many clients, candidates and friends, and look forward to celebrating with you in 2010!

Georgia Returns to Work!

We are very pleased to announce Georgia's return to work after the birth of her son Aidan in March 2009. She is really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things but does hope that Aidan grants her some good nights sleep!

Reflections on 'Resi 09'

Andrew was a delegate at September's RESI Event at Celtic Manor. He was delighted to be the only headhunter in attendance, and was pleased to catch up with many friends and to make new contacts in the business. Andrew reported back a general positive message of 'cautious optimism' with key players talking about bringing mothballed developments back online, starting new developments, expanding teams, and considering opening new regional businesses. All in all it was a very positive experience, and one that justified the RESI tagline of 'Re-building the market'.

The Wider Economy and Top 100 Leaders

It is widely acknowledged that the construction industry is rather conservative in its attitude towards recruiting senior players from outside the sector. There are a few good examples of major construction companies and residential developers appointing their leaders from outside the sector including the Wates Group's Paul Drechsler and Barratt's Mark Clare. And there are examples of top players being appointed in senior support roles including Finance, IT, HR, Sales & Marketing, and Customer Services.

But there has been a new, almost unnoticed trend in the UK where the FTSE 100 Companies have been recruiting foreigners into the top Chief Executive role.

The Spectator's Richard Northedge reported recently that 41 of the UK's top 100 Chief Executives are foreigners, and that they hail from 14 different countries. These countries include Mexico, The Ivory Coast and India. Interestingly, some of these top 100 companies appoint foreigners as Chief Executives every time. The London Stock Exchange has swapped a Dutch-Canadian for a Frenchman, Vodaphone has replaced an Indian-born American with an Italian and British Airways employed an Australian before replacing him with an Irishman.

Ronay & Ronay, in pointing out this phenomenon asks
'how long will it be before the UK Construction Sector has a similar percentage of foreigners in Chief Executive roles?'
Please let Andrew and Georgia know what you think.