Finlay James Names Chief Commercial Officer
June 18, 2019 – Executive search firms continue to look for more ways to drive growth — and manage it. To that end, U.K.-headquartered search firm Finlay James has appointed Andrew MacAskill as its chief commercial officer.
Mr. MacAskill will also join the technology-focused firm’s board of directors alongside owners John and Sara Gaughan and managing director James May. He was brought on to deliver key commercial input and guidance on the organization’s future strategic direction. Mr. MacAskill will assist with Finlay James’ client acquisition and be responsible for marketing as well as guiding Talentskowt, Finlay James’ sister company, which focuses on graduate and entry-level sales and marketing roles. He will report to Mr. Gaughan.
“After spending 30 minutes speaking with Andrew at a TRN networking event I knew that he was the missing piece of the Finlay James family,” said Mr. Gaughan. “We are delighted that Andrew has joined the team to help us with our growth and lead on bringing new clients on board.”
Mr. MacAskill previously worked for EO Executives, where he served as managing director for the last five years. Having initially worked as an accountant, he has over 15 years executive search and recruitment experience and has a passion for talent and technology.
“I am excited about the opportunity that Finlay James presents for me,” said Mr. MacAskill. “I was blown away with the culture, people and opportunity and so joining the journey at Finlay James was an easy decision. The road ahead with the Finlay James family is going to be an exciting one as we look to continue to completely transform the tech recruitment sector globally.”
Founded in 2003, Finlay James works with seed-stage start-ups all the way through to billion dollar tech unicorns to find talent. With offices in Manchester, London and San Francisco, the firm’s expertise spans AdTech, MarTech, fintech, cybersecurity, IT services, BI and big data, SaaS and PaaS. Finlay James has placed thousands of people in sales, marketing, presales, customer success, technical and support roles.
Firms Looking to Excel Growth
Finlay James is among any number of search firms looking to boost growth with specialized executives. In May, New York City-based Crenshaw Associates added Margaret Gramann as chief commercial officer. Previously, Ms. Gramann was a partner with DHR International. Her addition will accelerate and support continued growth with technology-enabled capabilities and new service offerings targeted to leading public, private and PE-owned corporations. “We are thrilled to have Margaret at Crenshaw leading an aggressive growth agenda grounded in data and insights that evolve talent management solutions and development programs,” said Bill Glenn, executive chairman of Crenshaw.
In April, London-based search firm Morgan Hunt appointed Darren Montagu as chief strategy officer. Mr. Montagu previously spent 27 years working for global recruiting firm Hays plc. “I am delighted to have Darren on board,” said Daniel Taylor, managing director of Morgan Hunt. “All those who have worked with him will know of his acute knowledge of recruitment businesses and his ability to inspire and drive exceptional performance. His arrival builds on a very positive 18 months for the company and will apply focus to the ambitious goals we have set for the business to achieve over the next four years.”
Ensuring Survival in Executive Search
Remaining relevant in today’s highly competitive business climate is one of the executive search industry’s toughest challenges, according to Tim Sheffield, chairman of Sheffield Haworth, in a new report by Invenias, a global provider of cloud-based software for executive search firms.
“Clients are far more sophisticated in how they acquire senior talent than ever before,” said Mr. Sheffield. “Many have pretty impressive in-house talent acquisition teams, so our industry has to ensure it is adding value – or what is its purpose?”
DRG Search also added Amichaim Abramson as chief strategy officer. Mr. Abramson collaborates with the DRG team to continue providing top-notch executive search services across the non-profit sector. He also works closely with CEO Dara Klarfeld and David Edell, the firm’s president, “to build upon DRG’s experience in talent recruitment in order to diversify the products and services we offer our clients,” DRG said.
In addition, ZRG Partners added Alex Bennett as chief growth officer, respectively. Mr. Bennett works in ZRG’s London office and supports global medical devices, medical technology and diagnostic clients, leveraging his impressive track record of senior-level executive search. He also helps ZRG expand its team across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, finding new opportunities for growth in key targeted markets.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
