Top Talent in the Net

Executive hunt is on in cyberspace - a dotcom is using the web as a unique business 'dating agency'.

A dotcom is using the web as a unique business 'dating agency'. Directorbank.com matches top managers with venture capitalists looking for executive talent to help run buy-out and start-up businesses.

Jonathan Hick, chief executive of Directorbank, says: "Venture capitalists approach us seeking to fill chief executives', chairmen's and financial directors' posts."

The carefully vetted candidates are recently retired senior managers and directors, or those seeking fresh fields to conquer, who have submitted their CVs to Directorbank. They must be ready to take the job within three months.

The free service publishes their CVs and contact details in a password-protected area of the website, ready to be browsed by venture capitalists and other corporate financiers.

Hick says: "About 25 venture capital firms subscribe to our database because, if an opportunity crops up, they may have to find the right candidate immediately, or miss the boat. A normal headhunter search may take months."

Most venture capital deals now call for a non-executive director.

"In fact, hardly one is done without at least one non-executive," says Hick. "And they're getting younger. We're happy to talk to people in their thirties."

At first, it was hard to persuade top executives to allow their names to be displayed on the database. "Some thought it was almost like prostitution," says Hick, "but they came to realise that one has to be seen to be counted".

Ralph Kanter, a former managing director of Thomas Cook, became chairman of software and healthcare consultancy Agora after his CV was seen online by Mercury Private Equity.

He says: "Directobank is one of several routes I use to make contact with possible prospects."

Gresham Trust, which invests £100 million a year, uses Directorbank in its search for non-executives. It says: "It comes into its own when we're looking for people to make up a well-rounded team."