Last night, in honour of our 20th anniversary, Directorbank held a celebratory event at the Dakota Deluxe hotel in Leeds for members of our board-level candidate network and PE investment clients.
During the welcome address, board director James Searby reflected on our journey to date …
“In 1998 Directorbank launched from a small office in central Leeds. We fast-earned a reputation for adeptly sourcing board-level talent for the booming private equity market, at the pre-deal and portfolio stages of the investment cycle. Our mid-market client base grew quickly, and our innovative subscription offering gained traction granting PE clients access to our expert network of proven industry leaders.
During the recession years we realigned, opening up our executive search offering to privately-owned and listed SMEs wanting to augment their boards with experienced, entrepreneurial directors. We also expanded our role focus from the core positions of Chairman, NED, CEO and CFO to include critical directorships in Operations, Sales & Marketing, IT and HR.
Fast forward to current day and we have completed over 2,000 appointments. Our client and high-calibre candidate network has evolved, and notably our Germany operation has gone from strength to strength.
Importantly we have built a skilled team of consultants, researchers and support staff, most of whom have been with the business for a considerable length of time. In April 2017 this position was further strengthened when Directorbank’s Management Team completed an MBO taking 100% equity ownership from Nova Capital.
Looking to the future, our focus is to continue supporting our clients with comprehensive searches which unearth the best talent throughout Europe. We will continue to enrich our candidate network through expert research and personal networks ensuring we can react quickly and effectively for our clients. We will also continue to expand the Directorbank team, bringing in fresh talent who will keep the Directors on their toes for years to come!”
From left to right: Board Directors: George Heppenstall, James Searby, Dorothea Kronenberghs, Graham Jones and Simon Thomas
