Caldwell Partners Strengthens its Financial Services Practice in London

November 9, 2017 – Executive search firm Caldwell Partners International has expanded with the addition of Alex Alcott as a partner in its financial services practice in London.
Mr. Alcott’s appointment furthers Caldwell’s expansion strategy across Europe.
Based in the London office, he joins Matthew Andrews, managing director of Caldwell’s European operations, and Lucy Antrobus, a partner and search consultant in the engineering, construction, and infrastructure space.
With more than 20 years of executive search experience, Mr. Alcott works across the global financial services sector on roles that include a variety of board, executive committee, chief financial officer, general auditor, treasurer and other function searches for global public companies and private equity portfolio company rebuilds. He also partners with infrastructure and private equity funds, and has completed many senior investment assignments for clients including domestic and foreign banks, funds, infrastructure, insurance companies, real estate and private equity firms in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
Valuable Addition
“Alex has well-rounded experience in searches for financial officers as well as investment banking professionals, which rounds out our capabilities extremely well,” said Paul Heller, managing partner of Caldwell’s financial services practice. “His reputation for deep content expertise and the level of trust his clients have for his objective counsel align very closely with our own, making him a valuable addition to our team.”
Mr. Alcott was most recently a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office, where he was a member of the global financial services and chief financial officers practices and led the financial services CFO practice in the U.K. He previously worked in the firm’s Wall Street office. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, he spent six years with a boutique executive search firm based in London and New York.
“We are delighted to have Alex joining the Caldwell team in London,” said Mr. Andrews. “His experience in the financial services space in both London and New York will be exceptionally powerful for us as we continue to build out our European operations.”
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John Wallace, chief executive officer, said the addition of Mr. Alcott is in perfect alignment with the firm’s mission. “Our goal is to make our clients better, more competitive and more successful by connecting them with transformational talent,” he said. “We continue to increase the breadth and depth of our team to strengthen our ability to achieve this goal. Alex is a fantastic addition to our team, adding significant strength for us in both financial services and the European market.”
Recent Appointments
Recently, Caldwell named Chris Beck as chief operating and financial officer. Mr. Beck, who is based in Boston, joined Caldwell in 2013. He has more than 20 years of experience in finance with a track record of leading and managing financial, accounting and business operations. “Chris is a collaborative and energetic leader with the vision to grow our organization, ensure our financial strength and operating efficiency, and drive the development of new products, solutions and services,” said Mr. Wallace. “Under his leadership and counsel, we have attained our financial goals, expanded our reach via acquisition and strategic partnerships, and enhanced the manner and degree to which we are able to serve our clients.”
This spring, Caldwell added Kathy Ventura as a partner in its consumer, e-commerce & retail, and marketing & communications practices based in its Stamford, CT office. Ms. Ventura recruits senior executives in all areas of consumer products and services, including consumer technologies, automotive, lifestyle brands and consumer financial services. She also specializes in corporate reputation leadership roles, including communications, public affairs and corporate marketing. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, private equity and other alternative asset firms, and their portfolio companies. Her work also encompasses diversity and inclusion initiatives for her clients. She was previously with Russell Reynolds Associates, where she led the firm’s corporate communications practice.
The firm also recently named Matt Comyns as managing partner of its cybersecurity search practice. He, too, is based in the firm’s Stamford office and was recruited out of Russell Reynolds Associates. Mr. Comyns has a distinct and well-regarded focus on recruiting chief information security officers and next-level-down top lieutenants in information security for large global corporations and fast-growing private companies, as well as cyber security consultants for leading professional services firms and top executives for cyber security technology companies. He previously co-led Russell Reynolds global cybersecurity practice, where he served for nearly six years.
In addition, Caldwell appointed Shawn Banerji as managing partner of the firm’s technology, digital and data leaders practice. Specializing in the global technology sector, Mr. Banerji recruits CIOs and CTOs across major industries, including financial services, telecom/technology, retail/consumer, healthcare, industrial/natural resources, as well as media and internet. He also has extensive experience in business process outsourcing, process improvement, and shared services. Like the others, Mr. Banerji joins Caldwell in Stamford and was recruited from Russell Reynolds Associates, where he most recently served as a leader in the firm’s technology officers practice.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media