Testimonials

“Paul Knight at Churchill Executive Search delivered a comprehensive process for a complex senior hire in a newly created role. His advice on an alternate process to the norm used by the bank was first rate, tailored to our needs and goals. A wide range of candidates assisted Directors’ thinking on the remit of the role and relevant skills, with Paul providing quality advice, challenge and observations throughout.”

Derren Sanders, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer, FCMB Bank

“We recently worked with Richard in the search & selection of a new Group Chief Finance Officer. The quality of the candidates they presented was first class and the process has led to a great outcome. The Lexon board have been most impressed by the professional approach and the personal commitment of Richard to engage with the process and go the extra mile in helping us find what looks like the ideal person for the position. This was the first time that Lexon have recruited at this level and the support of Richard and his team was invaluable. I would not hesitate in recommending Richard and his team to anyone with a recruitment need.”

Pritesh Sonpal, Director, Lexon Group

“Egholm A/S recently engaged with IRC and Churchill on two searches, one in France and one in England. Both led to a great outcome and we have found the consultants were extremely professional, communicative and responsive throughout the process. They easily understood the DNA of our company and were able to find the right candidates, which matched the values and ideals of our company. I would have no hesitation in recommending their service and look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Søren Christensen, Sales director - CSO, Egholm A/S

“I want to give a special thank you to James for the time and dedication you’ve shown not only to me but to your client in ensuring the role and fit would work for both of us.”

Donna Peerless, Senior Finance Business Partner, Parkdean Resorts

“Paul has successfully supported us here at Bibby Financial Services several times with senior recruitments in various countries. The most recent one being a challenging Country Managing Director position in Hong Kong where HR and the hiring manager were both based elsewhere. Paul managed the remote search efficiently and managed to present us with really high calibre candidates in a short amount of time and supported the process in an extremely professional yet down to earth and pragmatic manner. We were thoroughly impressed by the quality of service and the shortlisted candidates and will definitely work with them going forward.”

Nina Forsberg, HRD Europe and Asia, Bibby Financial Services

“As you assume more accountability, you get to interact with
recruitment firms on a regular basis. Most often the interaction is as
the recruiter but at certain times in a career, you become the
candidate. I've just made what I hope to be the last move of my career
thanks to Paul Knight. The process took time - because
matching candidates and firms should take time - but throughout the
process I was struck by how candid Paul was and how this
helped manage my expectations. The key to this was how well he
knew the firm and how well he knew the individuals involved in
the hiring process. The difference is that Paul clearly acts as a
partner, not just a service provider.”

Richard Burrows, Treasurer, BACB

“I had the pleasure of working with Paul as a candidate and I was more than satisfied with the quality of the service they delivered, particularly the service I received from Paul Knight. He did a very good job of guiding me through the process and I was very pleased with the level of communication between us, the professionalism he showed and knowledge of the organisation he had. It is clear that Paul has a passion for placing the right candidate with the right client. I will not hesitate to use them again in the future as I believe their understanding of the client and candidate’s needs is palpable.”

Celeste Du Plessis, CFO, BACB

“From the first meeting, they demonstrated a professional and effective approach to the process of recruiting our new Managing Director UK. The process itself was of high quality, with outstanding result. We don’t hesitate to recommend their services to others.”

Dag-Adler Blakseth, MD/Group CEO, Element Logic AS

“I really appreciated the highly professional approach from Paul Knight, from start to finish Paul ensured I was updated around how the process was going and what the next stages would be etc. Paul had a very good understanding of the company, the structure and values of which were needed for the search. He also spent a number of hours with me to understand my background and ability to make sure he put forward the best candidates. I’m loving my new role thanks to Paul matching us together.”

Christine Blackburn, Head of Operations, BACB

“Paul has been a valuable partner on a senior recent hire. What stands out with Paul is his deep knowledge of the industry, the market and our geographies. What I have valued is Paul’s ability to listen, keep me updated and the insight into the different candidates. The service has been efficient with expectations managed every step of the way. Paul acts with the highest level of integrity at all times and working with him has been a refreshing experience!”

Kam White, Head of HR Partnering, Bibby Financial Services Ltd

“We are an early stage, listed, automotive business. As the business scales up and matures, our people needs change. Against this background, Richard helped us in a key executive replacement search. It is not always easy to attract high-level candidates, with secure career paths in large Companies into the world of early stage, complex technology, high risk – high return. Nonetheless, they “came up trumps” with a very strong short list where all the candidates had relevant strengths and all wanted to work with us. Furthermore, as a listed Company, confidentiality was crucial and throughout the process there was not a single leak. We were delighted with the process and would work with them again.”

David Bundred, Chairman, Surface Transforms plc

“I have been impressed at the quality of the candidates that were identified. Our most recent hire is an outstanding fit for both the role and our firm; this reflects the thoroughness of your research and understanding of our business.”

Paul Robinson, Group HR Director, Arup

“We engaged Richard and Paul on a critical search, (a senior Operations role in our largest Financial Services account) with an acute sense of urgency. We had been looking for six months without success and beginning to wonder what more we could do to identify and attract the right person. However, within a few short weeks of taking the assignment they had built a comprehensive profile of the ideal recruit and developed a long-list of no less than 30 appropriate candidates!

Working closely with us they filtered this down to a shortlist of 8 to undergo panel interview. The quality of the candidates was outstanding – we had real difficulty narrowing them down and making a selection from the final 4 (a GREAT problem to have!). In due course our new recruit arrived and it quickly became apparent that we had struck gold; he on-boarded quickly and easily and delivered on our pre-employment expectations.

All-in-all a fantastic service; professional, efficient, considerate, courteous and highly competitive from a pricing perspective. Most importantly is that we landed a great addition to Business Process Services. My grateful thanks and I look forward to working with them again on our next key recruitment!”

Steve Hendry, COO, Business Process Services, Atos UK

“Paul Knight's approach to selecting candidates is very professional and imaginative. In addition, he was always responsive, collaborative and he invariably showed an interest in the end result, throughout the recruitment process. The highest recommendation I can make is that Paul’s commitment to the candidates is yet another admirable quality. ”

Jean Francois Kouassi, Directeur Général, British Arab Commercial Bank

“BACB have worked with Paul over recent years with great success. In 2015 we partnered on a project to source an Office Head for our new Cote d’Ivoire office, and succeeded in finding not just an excellent candidate to fill the role, but also filling the ‘number two’ role at the same time. They provided detailed lists of potential candidates located in different parts of the world including Africa, and conducted telephone and Skype interviews. The candidate reports were thorough and the follow up arrangements for interviews were seamless. We also found the business model cost-effective, and will be using their services for other projects in the future.”

Derek Joseph, Managing Director, Human Resources, BACB

“We have been delighted with the way that you have carried out this search and found us such an outstanding candidate, plus others who came very close in the process. Please accept our thanks for the very professional way you have handled our assignment.”

Peter Maskell, Chief Executive, BHSF Group Ltd

“I still struggle to believe how you managed to find a unique specialist for the position as our new UK Managing Director. But they did. The process was excellent, result even better! Our best recommendation!”

Peter Thomsen, CEO, Consignor Group

“Excellent service. Not only did they systematically take us through the recruitment process painlessly, but they also provided us with some high quality candidates. We have been able to fill our CEO post and we feel confident that we have the best of the best available for our organization. When time is at a premium, the effectiveness of the services offered by Paul and his team is invaluable.”

Peter Dent, Founder and Chairman, Edwards Trust