50 For 50 - Celebrating Fifty Years

“Happy 50^th anniversary Hoggett Bowers! I have personally known Karen and the business for well over 10 years and in the guise of both candidate and client. It is quite a unique business in this space. The group takes it time to understand people, culture and organisations and on that basis gets much more right than it gets wrong. This considered and respectful (whilst responsive and communicative) approach helps both the candidate and client feel at ease and take confidence that this is all about a two-way fit. Karen and her team compound the sentiment post activity to ensure people have settled well, assumptions have materialised and that any much needed follow up is always there and very timely. A team that has always been a pleasure to work with.”

Kevin Moore CCO Greencore PLC, NED

“I’ve worked with Hoggett Bowers over the last 20 years as both a candidate and client.  Throughout the period, I’ve found the team driven to get what is right for both the candidates and the clients and in doing so, becoming a trusted partner.”

Andrea Davis, Investcorp

“I have been working with Tariq and the Hoggett Bowers team for many years now, across different organisations and various roles. Their pace, passion for what they do, and partnership skills are superb. They have consistently delivered high quality short lists, pre-vetted and well prepared based upon clear requirements but, more importantly, tailored to the style of the organisation and me as a leader. This is all built around their broad and deep network of professionals in the markets they specialise in, but also the way they work to understand the cultural drivers and the people involved. Much appreciated, thank you to the team.”

Matt Kimber, Chief Risk Officer, Aon UK Limited & Chief Compliance Officer, Aon EMEA

“I have had the pleasure of working with Hoggett Bowers for many years. Karen has an extensive network of both organisations and candidates across many different sectors. This is one of her unique talents, as a Search specialist she is able to consider candidates for roles that have deep subject matter expertise and are highly transferrable across different organisations and industries. She plays a key role in candidate care, ensuring that when presented to you as a client they are well briefed and informed.  If Karen cannot, for any reason, take on a mandate, she will not only tell you, but offer free advice and guidance on the best route to satisfy your requirements.

Karen has a “firm but fair” approach and is always 100% committed to delivering service excellence. She is a joy to work with, a commensurate professional, but also has a great sense of humour. I would always advocate and refer Hoggett Bowers across my network as an organisation of great integrity and commitment to deliver service excellence.”

Paul Awcock, former Head of Talent Acquisition (Financial Services, London Markets) 

“I put great value in my relationship with Simon. It has endured over many years, and he has always had my best interests at heart. He has extended my network, brokered introductions between firms and has been generous in sharing both his market insights and best practices in corporate governance. Between assignments, Simon has always been proactive at keeping in touch and has always been there when I needed help. In my experience I have known few professional advisors of Simon’s integrity and dedication to clients. There is much I could say… the tag line… one to keep and one to trust.”

Erik Bonino, former Chairman, Shell UK, currently Chairman, Bute Energy and NED Tokamak Energy

“I was prompted to reflect on my working experience over the years with Hoggett Bowers, as part of their 50^th anniversary. It was a dawning realization that I am now old and have been in the financial services trade for a long time! My first interaction, which was with the founders, was in 1993 when I worked in Human Capital for the asset management arm of the Prudential Corporation. Hoggett Bowers were a go to adviser/provider for tight mandates in our market, and what stood out was their ability to understand the culture of the client, the nuances of a brief, and to filter candidates that would fit technically and culturally. That is the norm now, but it was not in 1993!

I am now the founder and CEO of a large platform and pension business, and recently utilized the specialist risk team at Hoggett Bowers to source a Chief Risk Officer. The experience was remarkably similar. They delivered quality insight, preparation, assessment and conversion in a supply tight market for quality. The bottom line for me, is over the nearly 30 years through which I have worked with them they provide great value, they do what they promise and they are fun to work with. I couldn’t give a higher accolade to a search partner, hence I will no doubt be doing this again when they are 60!”

Phil Smith, Group Chief Executive, Embark Group

“I was recruited to my role in Highways England by David Brown and I was very impressed by the professionalism of both David and the Hoggett Bowers team. The quality of service was excellent and very smooth. It has also been good to remain in contact with David over the last two years since I joined Highways England.”

Malcolm Dare, Executive Director, Commercial & Procurement, Highways England

“Congratulations on your 50th Anniversary. Over the years I’ve worked with Hoggett Bowers, and Karen in particular, on a number of assignments both as a client and as a candidate.  They have always demonstrated that they know their space and clients well, and you can always count on a full, frank and fair appraisal, and to “tell it like it is” which I’ve always appreciated.”

Ian Bull, NED, St Modwen

“I have been associated with Hoggett Bowers for nearly 20 years and for me they are the global standout Executive Search firm – No 1. Primarily, Hoggett Bowers have supported me as a client in the sourcing of interim and full-time executive roles.  Not only do they consistently source outstanding talents at pace, they also remain in touch throughout the process and afterwards with both the candidate and client to ensure all is working properly.  Their listening skills are exceptional and as a firm they are highly cognisant of the soft skills and competencies needed to fit within cultural transformations.

I have operated in several mission critical transformation environments, and they have never failed me.  Turning to a most prized element of Hoggett Bowers DNA they maintain and invest in client relationships year in and year out and it has fostered unequivocal trust and a deep-rooted partnership mindset.  Rupert Dobson walks on water for me. Happy 50th birthday – you have been a key part of my corporate and personal success.”

David Etherington, NED, Embark Group, former COO, Zurich Life

“It is great to work with individuals who really care and invest their time in getting to know our business and as a result develop a great match for our recruitment needs. Great people, delivered in a great way which underlines the approach taken by Hoggett Bowers.”

Roger Hunt, Chief of Business Services, AGS Airports Ltd

“It has been my absolute pleasure to work with Hoggett Bowers for over a decade.  We first met, rather appropriately, at the launch of my personal journey to create disability confidence in recruitment.  The first ever RIDI 100 recruiter, Karen and the team have taken every opportunity to increase their own knowledge and confidence as an inclusive employer but equally, and very generously enabled us to collectively share that knowledge across so many sectors and positively influence an inclusive candidate experience for all.  Congratulations Hoggett Bowers let us continue in partnership to change the world, just a little bit, every day.”

Kate Headley, Director, The Clear Company

“As a client-candidate I have a unique perspective and there are many reasons why my experiences with Hoggett Bowers can be described as outstanding. As a candidate their brilliant blend of (very human) challenge and support was welcome, helpful, stretching and ultimately successful. Strong communication and a relentless focus on the plan ultimately helped me land the job.

As a client and reflecting on a recent key hire, they demonstrated a deep understanding of the environment as well as the culture of our business and proved that they had an incredibly broad and deep network of talented candidates. It was clear that they had an incredible instinct for what fit and what did not. They had great ideas for the approach which included building strong diversity into the search, culminating in a very diverse shortlist. I have found that Hoggett Bowers drive each search with pace whilst providing a holistic and balanced view of individuals. Reading their search plans and reports, you know that a lot of work and consideration has gone into the project. In terms of their style, I trust them to represent both the business and the opportunity in a constructive and authentic way. They are a great strategic partner, and my trusted adviser for any key executive appointment.”

Karen Lewis, People Director, LNER

“I met Karen and her team at Hoggett-Bowers when I decided to move roles. I was so impressed with their ability to think about me as who I could be rather than what I had done. Throughout the process of moving to the Co-op, Karen ensured I was comfortable and I always felt that she had my best interests at heart. Since then, I have maintained a relationship with Karen and her team both as a client and on a personal level. This is one of my most valued relationships and I am very grateful to be working with such caring, networked and knowledgeable professionals.”

Shirine Khoury-Haq, CFO, The Co-operative Group  

“Karen and the team really invest the time and effort to fully understand what you are looking for. They help expand your thinking and have the networks and expertise to consistently deliver a strong and diverse choice of candidates.”

Simon Linares, NED, Nottingham Building Society

“Karen Wilson at Hoggett Bowers has been a true partner in helping me successfully recruit into numerous senior finance roles over the years in both the drinks and insurance sectors. The quality is very high on all the core requirements of the recruitment process including thorough long lists, high quality short lists with diverse and suitable candidates for each role, attention to detail throughout, fast response rates and in depth understanding of the profession as well as each candidate. The additional elements that stand out for me though are Karen’s knowledge on the general market, industry and specific country requirements. These, coupled with her knowledge of the business, role and candidates lead to really good challenge, sound advice and great hires.

In addition to recruitment, the updates, special events and topical roundtables organised by Hoggett Bowers are always of great interest from a personal learning perspective as well as networking opportunities. Karen and her team always deliver.”

Elisabeth Ibeson, Chief People Officer, Tokio Marine Kiln

“I began working with Hoggett Bowers as a client in 2015, firstly on building senior capability within our major projects teams (within an Infrastructure organisation) and then on a number of Exec Director searches. What struck me from the onset and throughout was the care and attention placed on key relationships within the client organisation as well as the attention to detail which delivered a quality search service with excellent results. As a HRD I have worked with many search partners who I compare to the Hoggett Bowers standards of quality and professionalism. My relationship with David has remained strong despite moving organisations and roles and as is often the case, I have worked with him as a candidate too, benefitting from his integrity and professionalism once more, along with just the right amount of information and contact to make the candidate experience a positive one.

Well done to all at Hoggett Bowers for creating a service style that transcends the candidate/client status and instead focusses on the benefits of strong, trusting relationships.”

San Johal, Chief People officer, EDF

“Hoggett Bowers’ success for half a century is based on the excellent people representing the firm; in my case I’ve had interactions with Flemming both as a candidate and as a client recruiter.  What is special is that some years after being placed by Flemming we have developed a good friendship and I see Flemming very much as a confidential sounding board and a really great listener.  He has been able to profoundly understand the dynamics of my firm from the outside looking in and that is some achievement.  Congrats on reaching this milestone!”

Sean Lowe, CEO, Atlas Hotels

“As a candidate, I was impressed by Rupert and the team at Hoggett Bowers Interim.  Concise but courteous, they never failed to return my calls or emails promptly and were always able to give me a straightforward answer on where we were in the recruitment process.  Sadly, this isn’t always the case in recruitment and for me it set Hoggett Bowers aside from the pack.

As a company, our experience of dealing with Rupert has been first class.  He engaged with the Board quickly but thoroughly to understand the context of the Interim brief and the investor’s needs and aspirations for the business.  He urged us to set clear success criteria from Day 1 so we could judge the success of the appointment in the future.  His service was flexible, supportive and focused on helping PALLITE® to succeed.”

Iain Hulmes, CEO, The Alternative Pallet Company Ltd.

“I have known the team at Hoggett Bowers for many years and recently was approached by one of the research team to discuss an opportunity that would have applied my experience to a very different sector. I was impressed at the level of research that had been undertaken and the clarity of thinking that led to those connections made. The opportunity progressed to the final stages and I wouldn’t have been part of the process if the research team, and Karen Wilson herself, hadn’t made the connections in my experience to this role. Karen was supportive and responsive in the process throughout and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Hoggett Bowers to others.”

Matt Britton, CFO, Get Living London

“I was extremely impressed with the engagement that I had with Karen from Hoggett Bowers during my recruitment to Northern. I felt very well appraised throughout the process and I had a strong feeling that Karen managed both her client and the candidates with an even hand. It was a great experience in what can be a challenging process for a candidate.”

Matt Williams, Finance, Director, Northern Rail

“I’ve worked with Hogget Bowers in general and Fiona Landon specifically over a number of years and in a couple of different organisations. I think, whilst there are many excellent activities, Fiona has been especially great at keeping candidates warm and engaged whatever machinations we have been going through from a recruitment perspective. It’s great to deliver a “cracking shortlist” but to ensure that we remain front of mind for a candidate and their preferred option helps us to recruit the best.”

Duncan Short, Director of Resources, Vivid Homes

“I have had the privilege of working with Rupert Dobson and Hoggett Bowers for well over ten years. In that time, they have found several excellent senior interim assignments for me in both media and property, all of which were extended and led to permanent job offers. Rupert is the consummate executive recruiter. Always helpful, informed, focused, and practical, I value our professional relationship and rely on his wise counsel. More broadly, Hoggett Bowers is the kind of recruitment firm you want in your address book, taking away any frustrations in securing a role, I genuinely look forward to working with Rupert and Hogget Bowers in the years to come and continue our winning streak of finding and securing the most interesting interim assignments. Happy 50th!”

Simon Leadbetter, Chief Marketing Officer

“I was referred to Hoggett Bowers by a colleague of mine. I had only had one other experience of an executive search process with another company before this and I was not impressed with the outcome, so I was sceptical to start with. From the first interaction with the team I could tell this was different.

The whole process is designed to limit the amount of time you have to spend on search and selection, and to only put the most qualified people in front of you. After we successfully recruited for a very senior role I asked if Hoggett Bowers could help with an interim role placement for another senior position. I am delighted to say both candidates are now working at ILG full time and have gotten off to a great start. I am delighted with the outcome, I will certainly work with Hoggett Bowers again and would be very happy to recommend them to anyone.”

Mike Stephenson, Managing Director, ILG

“Fiona Landon was excellent and very patient in quite trying circumstances which helped to keep me on board and select this assignment versus another one received at the same time.”

Helen Cooper, Interim Consultant

“I have known Alistair for over 10 years, and he has been responsible for identifying, engaging and securing some of the best talent in the energy space for me and my team. His combined depth of market knowledge and decades of experience has proved invaluable when establishing realistic expectations for candidate selection and integration. He has consistently delivered on challenging assignments across the globe and always maximised the benefits of undertaking an external search. He was good enough to introduce me to an investor which resulted in my first NED position at Atlantic Petroleum. Alistair is extremely professional, personable and a pleasure to work with.”

Yves Paletta – CEO – Clearstream Energy