Morgan Hunt Appoints Chief Strategy Officer

April 22, 2019 – Executive search firms continue to look for more ways to drive growth — and manage it. To that end, London-based search firm Morgan Hunt has appointed Darren Montagu as chief strategy officer.

Mr. Montagu previously spent 27 years working for global recruiting firm Hays plc. His career at Hays saw him starting as a trainee recruiter, eventually joining the Hays board as managing director of Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as the South East of England. Other highlights of his career include the opening of a Hays business in Holland and building its offering to the energy markets more broadly.

“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.”

Mr. Montagu said he gave great consideration to accepting his new role. “After a long and rewarding career with Hays, it’s a big personal decision for me to move to Morgan Hunt,” he said. “I am fortunate to have worked at Hays and been part of an outstanding group of professionals with a shared belief that it’s the people we employ that are the most important element of a successful recruitment company.”

Trusted Brand

“My new colleagues at Morgan Hunt remind me of exactly why I invested my career in recruitment,” Mr. Montagu said. “They have the vision, ambition and talent to leverage an already trusted brand to explore growth opportunities from existing operations and through acquisition, as well as attracting like-minded individuals to join us.”


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?”


Morgan Hunt is a U.K. consultancy established in 1994 and specializing in senior level recruitment for emerging markets with a particular focus on education, health, housing, local and national government and charities. The firm has offices in London, Manchester, Bristol, and Birmingham.

Related: Options Group Names Chief Growth Officer

Morgan Hunt, which is looking to grow its business significantly over the next five years, said it is currently seeking more search consultants to its staff in coming months.

Strategy Officers

Chief strategy officer has become an increasingly valuable member of many leadership teams. Harvard Business Review defines this executive as the person responsible for assisting the CEO with developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining corporate strategic initiatives.

Today, many CEOs have less time to devote to executing strategy, while at the same time uncertain environments increase the need for professional strategy development. As a result, chairmen, presidents and CEOs in academic, non-profit and corporate organizations are appointing CSOs. In recent years, the position has grown in popularity, which is reflected by the high number of U.S. companies (nearly 50 percent of S&P 500 firms) who have created CSO positions in their top management teams.

Related: Search Firms Focus on Innovative Ways to Manage Growth and Expansion

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

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