Stark Brooks Launches Supply Chain, Procurement & Logistics Practice
October 27, 2016 – Executive search firm Stark Brooks has expanded its range of specialist services with a new division focusing on senior positions in the fields of supply chain, procurement and logistics. The firm has appointed Richard York to head the practice.
Mr. York has more than 20 years of recruitment experience. Most recently, he was head of Liverpool-based executive recruiting firm Direct Search UK. He previously served as a director with Newton James and before that was a principal consultant with Ellis Fairbank Ltd. Earlier in his career he gained executive search experience serving in various roles with York Search, Hunter Maclean Associates and Austin Benn Consultants.
“The new division is part of our strategy to provide a wider range of recruitment services to our commerce and industry clients,” said Gron Ffoulkers-Davies, chief executive officer of Stark Brooks. “Richard has a superb track record in recruiting for senior supply chain, procurement and logistics posts and I am confident he will be a huge success in his role at Stark Brooks.”
Supply Chain Leader Success Factors
Value creation, competitive advantage, and enabling growth are at the forefront of today’s supply chain agendas. According to recruiters, the supply chain is first to feel the impact of rising costs, economy changes, and new technologies and software. Companies need talent, they said, with solid experience across the spectrum of supply chain activities, from procurement to product development, sourcing, procurement, production, logistics, and information systems.
A report from Korn Ferry said that cross-functional experience in product innovation, customer-facing functions, broader P&L responsibility, knowledge of current automation and systems technologies, multi-industry or channel backgrounds, and a balance of vision, results orientation, expert skills, and collaborative/relationships skills all exemplify success factors for today’s supply chain leaders.
Today, just 26 percent of companies have a function on the board representing the end-to-end supply chain,” said Jochen Grosspietsch, a partner in McKinsey’s European supply chain practice and leader of its consumer operations group in EMEA. He predicted that by 2020 nearly every supply chain-instensive business will have a supply chain executive, and that the supply chain function will be seen as a home to grow talent and develop senior management. That’s good news for recruiters specializing in the sector.
Based in the U.K., Stark Brooks is a search and selection recruitment consultancy specializing in executive, senior and middle management appointments. With its new practice the firm now serves the following sectors: finance & accounting; procurement & supply chain; banking & financial services; professional services; and human resources. Its clients include Starbucks, McDonalds, Adidas, Bentley and SurfControl, among others.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media