Directorbank places Group Talent and HR Director at privately-owned Lucideon

Lucideon is a development and commercialisation company specialising in materials technologies and processes. Its application of cross-industry insight, materials science expertise and innovative thinking allows industry to develop and implement disruptive technology platforms, providing cost and/or product performance benefits and enabling real market differentiation.

Lucideon is based in Stoke-on-Trent with three further sites in the US. The business employs c.250 scientists and engineers, the majority of whom are technology and materials specialists.

Chris Bill, Lucideon’s recently appointed CFO, has known Directorbank’s Simon Thomas for a number of years having worked with him on roles previously. Chris joined Lucideon to support its CEO, Tony Kinsella, in the development and execution of a growth strategy across both the UK and US markets.

With ambitious growth plans in place, Chris and Tony identified the need to appoint a Group Talent and HR Director to provide vital input and support on recruitment and the development of both new and existing talent.

Read the full case study here

“With Lucideon’s ambitious growth plans I knew we needed the right partner to identify strong candidates for this newly created role. Having worked with Simon before I was confident that Directorbank would be able to quickly understand our needs, advise us on potential candidate profiles and then run a smooth and professional selection process. I am pleased to say that we were not disappointed. The process ran as expected and we are delighted that we have been able to secure Nik to join our team.”

Chris Bill
CFO, Lucideon

Directorbank places CFO at privately-owned Sandpiper CI.

SandpiperCI is the largest retailer in the Channel Islands, with a high-quality portfolio of brands covering food, clothing and specialist products. In food, it operates franchise stores for Morrisons, Iceland and M&S Jersey, along with its own chain of convenience stores. Non-food brands include Apple, Costa Coffee, Burger King and George.

The company operates over 80 stores across Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and Spain as well as the Islands’ largest covered shopping centre, Liberty Wharf. It employs 1,100 staff, conducts 280,000 transactions a week within the Channel Islands, and supports more than 50 local suppliers.

After almost twelve successful years with the business, the incumbent CFO, Stephen Harrison, approached Directorbank’s George Heppenstall to identify a successor to enable him to make the transition to a NED role within SandpiperCI.

Read the full case study here

“I’ve known George for many years and selected Directorbank for the assignment largely because I’ve seen him deliver many successful recruitment programmes in the past. He and Faye quickly understood the brief and produced a high-calibre shortlist, from which we were delighted to select Tony.”

Stephen Harrison
SandpiperCI

We are delighted to welcome Nina Halstrick to our Frankfurt office.

Nina is an experienced and well connected executive search specialist having held previous roles at Odgers Berndtson, Strametz & Partner and Korn Ferry. She will work alongside our Director Europe, Dorothea Kronenberghs, and support the team across all sectors.

Dorothea comments:
“Nina is a great asset to Directorbank and she has already become a much valued member of the Frankfurt team. Through her experience and connections, she will be instrumental in strengthening our German practice by further developing our candidate network and service offering to clients.”

Nina comments:
“With a strong candidate network and a growing client base, Directorbank has deserved respect in the executive search market. Its experienced team is hugely dedicated and I very much look forward to supporting them in developing the business further.”

Nina Halstrick
Consultant, Europe
n.halstrick@directorbank.com

The fastest growing owner-managed companies in the North West region have now been revealed.

Part of the Insider Growth 100 series, the OMB100 covers the North West region and ranks companies by turnover growth over the last year. The Managing Director must be listed as a shareholder.

To view the full 2019 North West OMB100 league table, click here:
North-West-OMB-100-2019

From professional services to construction, manufacturing to IT, engineering to retail, OMBs are the backbone of the North West business community. Insider’s OMB100 recognises those businesses that have achieved rapid growth and Directorbank is proud to be supporting this initiative alongside mid-market private equity investor LDC, investment management firm Brewin Dolphin, and law firm Gateley.

George Heppenstall, Directorbank’s Head of North West, comments:

“The OMB100 promotes the entrepreneurial capabilities and niche skill sets of some of the region’s most effective business leaders. Last year, almost 30% of Directorbank’s executive, non-executive and senior management placements were into Northern businesses, and a good number of these were North West-based. We look forward to supporting more regional businesses with Board and senior-level talent solutions in the future.”

About Directorbank:

Founded in 1998, Directorbank provides executive and non-executive search solutions for entrepreneurial growth companies across the SME market. With an exceptional talent network – developed over 20 years – and a knowledgeable, experienced team, we can demonstrate a strong track record of success covering all key sectors and roles from Chairmen, NEDs, CEOs and FDs to other critical directorships in Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT and HR.

Directorbank has also worked with more than 100 Private Equity houses, supporting them at both the pre-deal and portfolio stages of the investment cycle with a suite of recruitment solutions.

Should you like further information on our services, or a confidential discussion regarding a recruitment requirement, please contact:

George Heppenstall
Director and Head of North West 
0161 509 3508
g.heppenstall@directorbank.com