Wilton & Bain Adds Chief Client Officer to Senior Leadership Team
September 26, 2025 – Wilton & Bain has expanded with the addition of Olly Wakefield as chief client officer and a member of the senior leadership team. He will be based at the firm’s London headquarters. “We’ve waited a long time, but I am delighted to welcome Olly to Wilton & Bain’s senior leadership team as chief client officer,” said David Heron, CEO of Wilton & Bain. “He will take central responsibility for leading all sales and marketing activity across the Group, while continuing his focus on private equity clients within our global network. Olly brings fantastic experience, positive energy, and a great sense of humor. We are excited to work with him.”
Mr. Wakefield brings extensive leadership experience from PLC, private, and PE-backed recruitment and executive search organizations, where he specialized in finance before moving into divisional and group sales leadership roles across the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. His expertise spans financial services, technology, media & telecoms, business services, and industrials, and he has a strong track record in supporting organizations to hire interim leaders and permanent talent to achieve their strategic goals. Previously, Mr. Wakefield was a senior partner with Drax Executive. Before that, he served as the head of the CFO and financial services practice at La Fosse Associates.
In his new position with Wilton & Bain, Mr. Wakefield will be responsible for driving the group’s go-to-market strategy, deepening client relationships, and enhancing the use of technology and data. He is passionate about employing a customer-first mindset through effective key account management and a clear focus on exceeding client expectations.
“I’m excited to join Wilton & Bain, a firm I’ve long respected for its boutique approach and reputation,” said Mr. Wakefield. “As we continue to scale our executive search and interim leadership offerings across the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East, my role will focus on evolving our go-to-market strategy and deepening our value to clients.
The sector is ripe for disruption, and we are committed to innovating by challenging traditional models and delivering more agile, insight-led solutions,” Mr. Wakefield continued. “Thank you for the warm welcome – I look forward to seeing what we achieve as a team and the value we will create for our clients.”
Established in 2001, Wilton & Bain is twice backed by investor Beechbrook Capital. With offices in London, New York, Austin, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Dubai, the firm provides executive search and interim management services to the professional, financial, technology & digital services sectors.
Global Interim Practice Expansion
Wilton & Bain recently added Jack Syred as partner in the firm’s global interim practice. He leads executive interim appointments that drive transformation and value creation within private equity-backed businesses. “We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of Jack Syred to Wilton & Bain’s interim business,” said James Humphreys, managing partner. “His proven track record as a trusted, high-integrity partner in safely delivering top-tier transformation and value creation experts to investors and their portfolio companies will be invaluable as we continue to build our reputation for excellence in this space. We’re confident Jack’s energy and expertise will drive significant success for our interim team and the broader group across Europe and beyond.”
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Mr. Syred has over 15 years of experience in executive interim and search. He has built a network of interim chief transformation officers and transformation directors – alongside functional experts – who support funds and portfolio leadership through growth, restructuring, integration, and operational improvement. His primary focus is on delivering senior leadership for Pan-European portfolio companies.
Previously, Mr. Syred led the Pan-European interim management transformation and value creation function at a prominent private equity focused search firm, where he partnered with leading PE investors and portfolio business board members to deliver complex change through best-in-class interim talent. His approach is rooted in a deep understanding of the demands of private equity environments – speed, execution, and results.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
