Captar Partners Opens to Serve Financial Sector in Greater China

March 2, 2021 – Financial services recruiting veteran Rick Chung has launched Captar Partners, an executive search firm headquartered in Hong Kong with an initial focus on the financial sector in the Greater China market. Mr. Chung told finews.asia that the firm will look to increase its headcount to 12 to 15 employees in the first year and expand its presence to Southeast Asia by the third year. “The executive search industry can sometimes be too transactional when consultants are overly focused on hiring for individual positions,” he said. “This often comes at the expense of a deeper client understanding, especially for multinational companies. We want to extend our engagement to develop an in-depth understanding of not only the position itself but also the firm’s overall hiring strategy to help them optimize their human resource allocation.”

The firm’s name, Captar, is based on a Spanish word that means to attract, understand, or capture, which Mr. Chung said encapsulates the firm’s vision and approach to the recruitment business which can sometimes lack a macro view of client needs due to tunnel vision.

Captar Partners’ start-up team consists of Cathleen Chen and Alvin Tang. “Our friendship has lasted for over five years,” Mr. Chung said. “We serve in the different industries but share the same values. Cathleen has abundant achievements in wealth management while Alvin is a veteran in the insurance headhunting. Just like the movie Chinese Partners, the three of us are not just doing business, we also hope to create value for the headhunting industry. We all have our own ideas for the foundation, promotion and connection of the new company.”

Mr. Chung has more than 10 years of experience in the executive search industry with a particular focus on private banking in Asia. He was previously a Hong Kong-based director with global recruitment firm Randstad where he oversaw coverage for banking and financial services. Prior to that, he gained finance experience with National Australia Bank and Citi Private Bank.

Captar Partners will initially focus on recruitment for financial services before expanding coverage to other sectors including consumer, retail, healthcare and more.

Open for Business

Over the past year, new recruiting firms have put out shingles around the world in a wide range of industries. Here’s a look at a recent sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Thomas Aprill, a seasoned human capital executive, has launched Level 5 Partners, a Chicago-based consulting-driven executive search firm. “Level 5 Partners was formed to help our clients achieve their goals by delivering industry-leading executives across the globe who align with their culture, principles and values,” said Mr. Aprill. “We believe that the best executives are sourced from the networks of other successful professionals and that the most successful hires are the result of a strong understanding of our clients’ businesses, challenges and long-term strategy.”

Mark Oppenheimer, former CEO Americas for Marlin Hawk in New York, has launched Modern Executive Solutions in Atlanta. He co-founded the new search outfit with his wife, Michelle Domanico, who serves as chief financial officer. Modern’s purpose, according to Mr. Oppenheimer – who serves as chief executive – is to improve “diverse representation within leadership teams.” The firm has spent months collecting, tracking, and analyzing feedback from hundreds of C-level executives before launching recently. Modern bills itself as “an innovative executive search and integrated advisory solutions firm,” underpinned with market intelligence and assessment capabilities – strong points of Mr. Oppenheimer’s while serving in various leadership capacities at Marlin Hawk over a 12-year career with the London-based recruitment provider. As he did with Marlin Hawk, Mr. Oppenheimer will address client talent needs with a customizable service approach. “We are determined to set a new benchmark for the search industry,” he said.

Vantedge Search has been recently launched by Rajesh Khanna and Sandeep Mitra. The Hillsborough, NJ-headquartered firm specializes in executive search and talent advisory for firms across industries. Belinda Burson has been hired as managing director to spearhead global operations. “As businesses realign themselves in the post-pandemic world, executive search and talent acquisition sectors are undergoing transformation to meet changing demands,” said Mr. Khanna. “We are adapting to the new normal, as our clients continue seeking top-notch talent. This bodes well for us since our globally distributed team at Vantedge is adept at spotting leadership talent equipped with the right combination of domain and soft skills in today’s digital world.”

Debra L. Lee, the former CEO of BET Networks, and Rabia de Lande Long, an executive coach and management consultant for top companies, have launched a bi-coastal consulting firm, the Monarchs Collective, centered on elevating black executives and women. “The Monarchs Collective answers the calls for – and clear business value of – diverse leadership, and partners with organizations and executives to make it easier to discover, develop, and promote exceptional black and women executives for boards and leadership roles,” said the firm’s new leaders. “Frustrated by a perceived lack of qualified candidates who bring diversity but inspired by the great number of extraordinary talent in their networks, the co-founders launched the Monarchs Collective to break old systems and networks. They seek to accelerate efforts to expand leadership pipelines and create measurable and sustainable systems for engaging and retaining diverse talent.”

Recruitment industry veteran Tim Walsh has launched Vetted, a boutique recruitment and outplacement firm focused on supporting Greater Boston’s innovation ecosystem. “We want to help companies navigate this new world of talent acquisition, where remote hiring and the renewed importance of diversity hiring have come to the forefront,” said Mr. Walsh. “With all that’s happened in 2020, it’s more important than ever to give back. To put that into action, we’re proud to donate 10 percent of our profits to local charitable causes while partnering with Boston-area businesses who share that mindset and are excited about the good we can do together.”