Latest news from Directorbank

1 August 2017

PLACEMENT UPDATE – Interim Ops Director at Stage Capital-backed Horizon Care & Education

Directorbank places Interim Operations Director at Stage Capital-backed Horizon Care & Education, a leading specialist care provider for children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Read the full case study here.

“I have been very impressed with the proactive and organised approach taken by Lewis and the Directorbank team. We have found the process to be highly efficient and speedy, resulting in the successful appointment of a very high calibre candidate. Liz’s vast operations experience across the health and social care sector, and notable track record of achievement, make her the perfect fit for the role.”

Antoine Raoux
Partner at Stage Capital

11 July 2017

PLACEMENT NEWS – NED at Allergy Therapeutics plc

Directorbank places NED at Allergy Therapeutics plc, a listed multinational pharmaceutical company.

Read the full case study here.

“I was extremely impressed with the process that Directorbank followed in order to identify a candidate with this specific range of experience. They produced a very strong shortlist with Dr Tunde Otulana ultimately being selected with his direct FDA experience being the key driver behind his successful appointment.”

Peter Jensen
Chairman
Allergy Therapeutics

21 June 2017

The Chairman/CEO relationship

When the CEO sees the Chairman’s role as an imposition …

In a series of mini reports, Directorbank explores the role of the PE Chairman – the draw, the required skill set, the opportunities and the challenges, particularly concerning the relationship with the CEO, the wider management team and the backers.

This report specifically explores the Chair/CEO relationship and encompass feedback from a survey of 240 experienced PE Chairmen from Directorbank’s network.

Advice given by the surveyed Chairmen was:

  • Understand the concerns
  • Remove the threat
  • Prove your worth – provide specialist knowledge; be a good mentor and sounding board; effectively manage the Board and its processes
  • If all else fails, consider more extreme action

    Read Part 8 here.

 

2 May 2017

Directorbank successfully completes management buy-out.

Directorbank’s current Management Team has acquired the business from private equity house Nova Capital Management and takes 100% equity ownership.

Graham Jones, Directorbank’s Managing Director who led the deal, forms part of the new leadership team alongside company directors Dorothea Kronenberghs, James Searby, George Heppenstall and Simon Thomas.

Loan finance has been provided by Enterprise Ventures, part of Mercia Technologies PLC and a leading provider of finance for SMEs. Advisors on the deal were Simon Fielder of international law firm Bird & Bird and Tony Perkins of BDO London. The transaction was also supported by Isabelle Inskip of Weightmans on behalf of Enterprise Ventures.

The buy-out provides an ownership model and capital which will accelerate the company’s ambitious growth plans. Founded in 1998, Directorbank has transformed from a focused provider of executive and non-executive directors to private equity backed buyouts to a leading source of Board and senior level talent to the wider mid-market in the UK and Germany. The new owners, each with more than 15 years of Board-level recruitment experience, have been instrumental in this growth and have invested much expertise, commitment and passion into strategic and operational development, client relationships and marketing to embed and grow Directorbank’s respected market position.

The MBO coincides with a recent London office move to Great Queen Street in Covent Garden and increased assignment activity from entrepreneurial mid-market firms requiring high calibre talent to implement change and drive growth.

Chris Pestell, Investment Director at Enterprise Ventures, comments:

“We are delighted to support Directorbank with this transaction and have been really impressed by the highly skilled Management Team, and their depth of experience in the markets that they serve. We look forward to working with the team as they build on the foundations that are already firmly established.”

DirectorBank_100517 072

 New leadership team from left to right: George Heppenstall, James Searby, Dorothea Kronenberghs, Graham Jones and Simon Thomas.

For further information please contact Nicola Hall, Head of Marketing, on 020 7255 7940 or at n.hall@directorbank.com