Global Equity International Forms Internal Search Division
July 23, 2015 – As private equity firms expand their company portfolios, many have turned to a number of executive search firms to help them with their talent acquisition requirements.
Now, according to Hunt Scanlon Media, one of them is creating an internal search firm to handle its leadership needs. Global Equity International and its subsidiary Global Equity Partners Plc, providers of corporate restructuring and financial and corporate advisory solutions, has launched Kingsman James, an executive search division to be led by recruiting professional James Payne. Kingsman James will specialize in the construction and banking sectors, delivering a range of executive search capabilities and leadership solutions services.
“Many of our clients require some form of guidance in appointing or growing a senior management team, be it a CEO, CFO, or CTO, but we have been unable to offer any real support service other than guiding them to a range of headhunters or people in our network,” said Peter Smith, chief executive officer of Global Equity. “Now with the creation of Kingsman James and the recruitment of James Payne we are able to offer an in-house service to find, qualify, and ultimately appoint those C-level people crucial to a company’s development.”
Mr. Smith said he had been talking to Mr. Payne for a period of time, looking at how to structure the new division and examining how it would work practically and financially. “James not only brings a wealth of experience and knowledge; he also brings a great contact base and his ever-growing network to complement our own clients’ requirements.”
Mr. Payne was previously an executive search consultant with Parkhouse Bell International Recruitment & Consultancy, where he established and developed relationships throughout the property & construction industry across Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Prior to that, he was a business development manager at Axonn Media, a U.K.-based content marketing company.
Mr. Payne said he was delighted to join the group and to develop what will become a “significant arm” for the company. “I have been looking to establish the concept of Kingsman James for quite some time; when Global Equity Partners contacted me, it seemed like a natural fit and I am looking forward to building this division under the guidance of the board of directors.”
Global Equity International advises business leaders on critical decisions and opportunities pertaining to growth, capital needs, structure and the development of a global presence. With offices in Dubai and London, Global Equity has developed relationships in the U.S., U.K., Central Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.
“In-house recruiting is one of the hottest corporate talent management initiatives we have seen in more than two decades of reporting on the executive search business,” said Scott A. Scanlon, founding chairman and CEO of Greenwich, Conn-based Hunt Scanlon Media. “We have been tracking this particular development with great interest, looking at a range of companies from Coca-Cola, Walmart, CBS, JPMorgan Chase, Nike and many other prominent organizations. But this is the first instance we have seen of a private equity company going so far as to bringing its own search capabilities in-house, thereby effectively by-passing executive search firms altogether.”
Mr. Scanlon said the private equity sector was one of the few “sweet spots” remaining for recruiters where business has been non-stop. “This might very well be an expansion of the somewhat recent corporate trend to bring search capabilities in-house, allowing tighter management oversight and stricter cost controls over talent acquisition programs,” said Mr. Scanlon. “At the very least it adds further pressure on search firms to focus more on their client relationships and perhaps a bit less on moving from one transaction to the next.”
Hunt Scanlon Media is completing a new industry report on the subject of global in-house recruiting, examining the topic through more than 25 corporate case studies. Interested parties can email tripp@huntscanlon.com for more information.
Contributed by Christopher W. Hunt, Executive Editor / Publisher, Hunt Scanlon Media
