INSIST Executive Search Opens Doors in India

April 30, 2018 – An array of new recruiting firms has been launching around the world in recent months. The latest: INSIST Executive Search was recently launched in India by veteran search consultant R. Suresh.

“INSIST primarily focuses on servicing Indian conglomerates for hiring global top league talent and supporting PE invested turnarounds in Indian landscape and highly specialized R&D positions,” Mr. Suresh told the Economic Times India. The firm opened two offices in Mumbai and Bangalore with plans to open a third in Gurgaon this year.

It has established a global research center in India for tracking Indian-origin talent in the U.S. and Europe across the pharma, automotive and digital technology sectors. The firm’s mapping exercise covers about 60 percent of senior executives of Indian origin in those areas, said Mr. Suresh.

INSIST has partnered with artificial intelligence and big data consulting firm QuantFarm, which will act as an advisor on executive research. “This will help Indian companies induct talent to lead transformational journey replete with big data, AI and automation projects,” said Mr. Suresh.

Mr. Suresh has more than two decades of experience in the search industry, primarily in India. He was the founder and managing director of Stanton Chase-India franchisee operations, recently acquired by RGF, which is the global brand of Recruit Holdings, a Japanese HR and information services group worth $12.3 billion. As the managing director of RGF India, he was responsible for all RGF executive search practices in India.

Mr. Suresh was with Stanton Chase for 14 years. His executive search experience includes a large number of managing director and CEO appointments. He has extensive background in consulting, manufacturing, sales and distribution, supply chain and projects. Prior to executive search, Mr. Suresh held managerial positions for sales and distribution at Colgate Palmolive, for projects at Amco Yuasa Batteries and as head of manufacturing services at Kirloskar Electric.

Mr. Suresh is joined by Sanjay Muthal, who serves as executive director. Dr. Muthal has over three decades of corporate HR, consulting and executive search experience in India and abroad. He has been involved in helping appoint CHROs, group strategy heads and independent directors. His consulting background spans strategic HR consulting, learning & development and organization development. He also was previously with RGF.

Open for Business

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

Wealth management industry veteran Michael Brody, along with KDS Strategic Search, announced the establishment of Fiduciary Search Group (FSG), a recruiting, placement and search firm offering a new model designed to provide fiduciary representation for premier wealth managers, RIAs and small to mid-sized broker dealers. 

Flashlight Partners, an executive recruitment firm based in Carmel, IN, has opened for business. “I believe that one should live intentionally and not vicariously,” said founder and CEO Laura Latham, in a recent interview. “For me, being intentional meant starting a company where values and relationships mattered more than business transactions.

Former Credit Suisse banker and personnel consultant Christian Haas has opened Haas Associates in Zurich to focus on the asset management industry. Mr. Haas has more than 10 years of practical experience in the field of asset management. Previously he was active as, amongst other things, the head of business development institutional clients at Credit Suisse.

Simon Pollock has launched Simon Pollock & Co in London, specializing in senior level executive search in global media and entertainment. Mr. Pollack most recently served as head of the media & entertainment practice at Heidrick & Struggles. Before that, he was a partner at the SevenArts, a boutique search firm.

Veteran executive recruiter Jennifer Muller has launched Academic Career and Executive Search (ACES), a higher education search firm focused on high precision, flexible executive search services, career planning and candidate coaching. Ms. Muller has 20 years of experience in research and development for higher education and Fortune 500 companies.

A new executive recruitment firm, Hanning Recruitment, has been launched in the U.K. It is headed by Toby Speke and backed by Rory Penn and Thomas van Straubenzee of the London agency VanHan. Mr. Speke previously worked for VanHan as well as global real estate firm Knight Frank.

Anuj Dhawan, former director and partner at Positive Moves Consulting, an angel investor in a Seattle-based healthcare IoT business, has founded executive search firm Cognitive Talent Partners LLP. Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, the firm provides executive search services to private equity funds, banks, consumer lending clients and global technology corporations.

Veteran Edward Batchelor has launched executive search firm Hardman Batchelor International, LLC. Based in Austin, TX, the firm specializes in recruiting and assessing leading board directors, CEOs and C-level executives with a particular focus on cultivating the Austin market.

The U.K. office of global search firm Boyden has launched a new executive search and interim management business called Savannah Group. Savannah’s team of 50 includes 20 partners that are specialists in their fields, including board and corporate functions, financial services, hospitality travel & leisure, industrial, digital and media, sport & entertainment industries.

Search industry veterans Ian Macleod and Paul Atkinson have joined forces to form Atkinson Macleod Executive Search. The firm focuses on board and senior executive level searches for the private and public sectors. Mr. Macleod spent 16 years running the Scottish arm of Odgers Berndtson after serving for 10 years with the Norman Broadbent.

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