SWR Group and Rothley Executive Search Join Forces

June 19, 2019 – M&A activity, in many cases with the support of private equity firms, continues to heat up in the executive search industry. The latest: New Zealand-headquartered search firms SWR Group and Rothley Executive Search have merged. Under the agreement, Rothley operations become part of SWR Group.

Rothley founder and managing director Sean Brunner will be based in SWR’s Wellington offices, also working closely with the group’s team in Auckland. He has extensive experience managing search processes for executive, director and functional leadership positions in the private, not-for-profit and public sectors.

SWR group director Graeme Sandri said that the merger means that SWR’s networks are now even wider and deeper, enabling the firm to be even more effective. “The merger makes a lot of sense for both our organizations,” he said. “We’ve known Sean for years, our values align, and we have long had mutual respect for each other’s organizations.”

Rothley Executive Search works nationally across all professional disciplines and sectors, from chief executive and board appointments and through to mid-level leadership, technical and specialist positions. Prior to founding Rothley in 2015, Mr. Brunner was with Robert Walters from 2002 to 2015, the last nine years as director of the Wellington business. The role was initially focused on establishing Robert Walters presence in Wellington and grew into ongoing general management and the development of specialist practices.

“SWR exists to help our clients to build great leadership teams,” Mr. Sandri said. “The merger is great news for our clients because not only does it mean that we can service their executive search needs better with Sean on the SWR team, but we also now have broader reach across Wellington and Auckland. Sean’s arrival into SWR will ensure our continued focused on excellence in sourcing leadership talent, specialized and hard-to-fill roles for you, whether permanent or contract.”

SWR Group covers all leadership role, permanent and contract, from directors and the C-suite on down. The firm has offices in Auckland and Wellington to engage personally with clients and candidates, and providing stronger reach, extensive networks, collaboration and technology to help clients find top leaders.

Partnerships and Mergers

Executive search firms have seen a rise in partnerships and mergers in recent months. Here’s a look at a few from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Search firm Opus Partners has integrated the executive search business of CBO Partners Recruiting, a Charlottesville, VA-based human-capital management firm, into its national higher education and healthcare practice. Jay Scott, CBO’s founder and president, becomes an associate partner at Opus in the firm’s Charlottesville, VA office. 

London-based SpenglerFox and Cowley Brown Recruitment, located in Dublin, formed a strategic alliance aimed at growing and expanding both firms’ search business in Ireland. The alliance will target the retained executive search business in the Irish market with an initial focus on C-suite roles in life sciences and related sectors. 

Toronto-based Caldwell is partnering with Hattonneale, a Sydney-based executive search firm. Under the affiliation agreement, Hattonneale will represent Caldwell in Australia and drive further growth into key practice sectors and geographies across Australia/New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.

Search firms College Sports Solutions and Buffkin / Baker formed a new partnership. Under the strategic alliance, the two firms will combine their executive search services to better serve universities and colleges, intercollegiate conferences and collegiate athletic organizations. 

San Francisco-headquartered Riviera Partners has merged with Alpha Advisors, a boutique search firm specializing in senior information technology and quantitative talent for financial services and technology clients. Its founder and executive search veteran Jeff Campbell has joined Riviera to drive continued expansion.

FaithSearch Partners, an executive search firm for faith-based organizations, has merged with Halftime Talent Solutions, a recruitment firm that serves mission-motivated non-profit and for-profit clients. The union creates a wider resource base through their combined networks. 

Executive recruitment firm RM Nephew and Associates has formed a partnership with Cronin Partners International Search, an 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.”

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