Ridgeway Partners Expands Search Staff
October 23, 2018 – London-headquartered executive search firm Ridgeway Partners has expanded with the addition of Krystyna Nowak as a partner. In her new role, Ms. Nowak will join Louise Angel in the board practice, focusing on chairmen and non-executive director appointments across all sectors.
Ms. Nowak’s arrival comes at a key moment for U.K. boards. “When the revised U.K. Corporate Governance Code takes effect on January 1st, boards will face higher standards of good practice in a number of areas including succession planning, all of which are having an impact on demand for board appointments,” Ridgeway Partners said.
“In particular, the demands placed on boutique board search firms are increasing as a result of recent consolidation in the market leading to conflicts of interest within global search brands.”
Previously, Ms. Nowak was managing director for the board practice with Norman Broadbent. She has also worked as a director for specialist board-level search boutique Hanson Green. Prior to joining the search industry, she was with Citigroup where she spent nearly two decades in a variety of senior roles across shipping finance, oil project finance and risk management, in both Europe and Asia.
“We are thrilled to welcome Krystyna as a partner in our board practice,” said Ms. Angel. “She has a tremendous wealth of experience across companies of all sizes and sectors and a deep understanding of the challenges facing boards today. We have seen enormous growth in demand for a service that can provide specialist advice to boards across sectors and Krystyna joining will allow us to continue to respond to it.”
Ms. Nowak said she was excited to join Ridgeway Partners and looks forward to working with Louise Angel in the board practice. “Boards are rightly being subjected to much closer scrutiny and it is vital that senior appointments reflect the changes to the corporate environment,” said Ms. Nowak. “Given the ever-increasing expectations on non-executives, the need for the highest caliber diverse candidates is only becoming more important.”
Growing Search Firm
Ridgeway Partners is a global advisory firm specializing in executive search, board appointments and succession planning for a select group of multi-sector, domestic and international companies. The firm has offices in New York, Boston, London and Hong Kong. Its clients range from privately-held companies to Fortune 100 organizations. Ridgeway focuses in banking, asset and wealth management, private equity, retail and digital recruiting.
Recruiter Rankings: London Top 60
London’s need for talent has transformed it into the second largest executive search market in the world after New York. Hunt Scanlon has selected the most prominent leadership solutions providers in this dynamic marketplace, settling on 60 of the most influential and innovative.
| Top 60 |
Philip Marsden, who founded the firm in 2004, has been a professional advisor and business leader throughout his 35-year career. Before entering the executive search industry, he worked for 20 years in the financial services, oil and search industries, first at Citibank NA, then as head of M&A at NatWest Markets. Mr. Marsden currently serves as Ridgeway’s chairman.
In June, Ridgeway Partners added Katie Thomas as a partner. In her role, Ms. Thomas leads the firm’s growing omni-channel and retail practice. She has a particular focus on transferring leaders, not only from within the retail and broader consumer sectors, but also from other industries, particularly where digital knowhow and transformation are more evolved, the firm said.
Ms. Thomas has spent 25 years in executive search working at the international level for a broad spectrum of publicly quoted, private-equity backed and privately-owned businesses at the board and C-Suite level. She joins Ridgeway Partners from Russell Reynolds Associates where she co-led the global retail and luxury goods practice. Her experience covers all categories in retail, fashion, apparel and luxury across multi-channel and pure-play businesses.
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
