What is your Laurence Simons office like?
I am based in our London office and we moved over the Summer to a new location in Watling Street, close to St. Paul’s. The team chose it from a shortlist delivered by my EA, Jess and April who has responsibility for the London office. They used the budget to great impact, with branded walls, and the colour palette of the LS brand is reflected throughout. To me, details are hugely important in an office. They matter. It sets the tone. Not just the policy parts – e.g., clear desk every night before leaving – but also having the space rise up to greet you. Flowers and plants, the look, feel and smell of a place all impact on how we work. We have a fully hybrid policy at LS, which means the team can work in the office or wherever they chose, which to me makes it even more important that the office should be somewhere you want to be.
How did you come to be the Chief Executive Officer at Laurence Simons?
I was headhunted in September 2015 to be Global Managing Director of Laurence Simons when we were part of a PE-backed group of specialist recruitment businesses including accountancy, marketing, HR and IT. In 2017, the opportunity presented itself to lead a management buy-out which was completed in March 2018, and I became the CEO of this brilliant group of people at Laurence Simons.
What does your role encompass?
As CEO I have responsibility to build a long-term, profitable, and sustainable specialist legal executive search business. To do that it is about ensuring that the right people are in the right roles and to empower them to deliver. My number one priority is to build and grow the LS team.
My role also involves meeting new potential clients and candidates, collaborators, and contacts, and understanding how these can cross-pollinate to create something greater than the sum of the parts. That’s exciting and something I love.
What projects are you currently working on?
Nothing that I can share here!