Directorbank reaches ’20 Year’ milestone!
This month, in honour of its 20th anniversary, Directorbank held a celebratory event at London’s iconic ‘The Ivy’ restaurant for its network of clients and candidates. A second event takes place in Leeds later this year.
During the welcome address, Directorbank’s Simon Thomas reflected on the business’s journey to date …
“In 1998 Directorbank launched from a small office in central Leeds. The business 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. Its client base grew quickly, particularly across the mid-market, and its innovative subscription offering gained traction granting its PE clients immediate access to Directorbank’s expert network of proven industry leaders across all key sectors.
During the recession years the business realigned, opening up its executive search offering to privately-owned and listed SMEs wanting to augment their boards with experienced, entrepreneurial directors. The business also expanded its 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 the business has completed over 2,000 appointments. Its client network has steadily grown, as has its market-leading candidate network, and notably its Germany operation – lead by Dorothea Kronenberghs – has gone from strength to strength.
Importantly, the firm has built a skilled team of consultants, researchers and support staff – a family of employees, most of whom have been with the business for a considerable length of time. In April 2017 this position was strengthened further when Directorbank’s Management Team completed an MBO taking 100% equity ownership from Nova Capital.”
Commenting on the future direction of the business, Board Director James Searby said:
“Our focus is to continue to support our clients – both old friends and new acquaintances – 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.