Friisberg & Partners Adds New Member Firm in Ireland
May 15, 2019 – Friisberg & Partners International has added Dublin-based executive search firm Vertex Headhunting as its newest member firm. Shane Collins and Julian Chambers founded the firm last year to find senior executives for Irish companies.
Vertex will be rebranding to Friisberg & Partners International in the coming months. The firm is looking to reinforce to clients and its markets that it is positioned to meet increasing demand for consistently high-quality executive search that can reach across national borders.
“With numerous multi-national businesses locating in Ireland, there is a clear requirement for an Irish office in any genuinely international search firm,” Friisberg & Partners said. “Equally, any Irish search firm would be sub-optimal without wider access to international executive talent. Brexit has accelerated an already well-established trend for banks and corporates to re-center their European activities in Ireland and such organizations are finding that attracting the best talent is increasingly challenging in a much more competitive Irish market.
Mr. Collins, a chartered accountant and qualified banker, has the combination of knowledge and networks to support corporate clients with senior appointments, particularly with CFOs and senior finance professionals, said Friisberg & Partners. He previously served as a director with Priority Placements Recruitment. Mr. Chambers has a similar background, having previously been an executive in the hotel and catering sector as well as a director with Priority Placements Recruitment.
“We have built a successful executive search practice in Dublin as Vertex and we are very excited at the prospect of serving our Irish clients better in Ireland with access to more internationally experienced executives from around the world,” Mr. Collins said. “Equally, we are now ideally placed to work with our Friisberg Partners elsewhere in servicing the needs of our multi-national clients with access to the rising numbers of world-class executives based in Ireland.”
“Ireland has been the economic success story of Europe in recent years and it has been a long-held desire of Friisberg to find great representation here in Dublin,” said Peter Strandberg, chairman of Friisberg. “We are looking forward to working with Shane and Julian on executive search assignments – they were an obvious and easy choice for us, with great clients in their home market and as a gateway to Ireland for our clients.”
“With partners in almost all the EU member states and with U.S., Indian, African and South American partners joining in recent times Friisberg is becoming a progressively more attractive search partner for global corporates,” he said.
Founded in 1977, Friisberg & Partners International has been involved in executive search in Europe for over 40 years. Today, it has more than 200 search professionals in upwards of 40 major cities around the world.
Irish Market
Ireland has a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. The country’s famous drinks industry employs about 92,000 people and contributes billions to the Irish economy, making it one of its biggest sectors. It supports jobs in agriculture, distilling and brewing. But a growing financial services sector base is also important, employing some 35,000 people and contributing billions in taxes annually to the Irish economy. Ireland is the seventh largest provider of wholesale financial services in Europe.
This, and Brexit, has encouraged search firms to look to Ireland for growth and a safe haven. Here’s a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
Amrop, a partnership of recruiting firms, expanded with the addition of talent management veteran Pauline Houlihan as a partner in Ireland. Ms. Houlihan joins Amrop from international professional services firm RGP, an international professional services firm where she spent 12 years as talent management director.
Executive recruitment firm RM Nephew and Associates formed a partnership with Cronin Partners International Search, a retained executive search firm headquartered in Dublin. “Having a trusted partner based in Ireland will enable us to significantly improve our offerings to clients with needs in the European and international markets.”
Odgers Berndtson opened a new office in Dublin. The move will enhance the firm’s capacity to support global companies looking to establish new centers of operation in Europe in readiness for Brexit, according to Odgers. The new location will be led by Damian Ringwood, who becomes managing partner, Odgers Berndtson Dublin.
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
