- Tell us about your life before IAC.
I read Economics and Politics at Loughborough and signed up to join the Army whilst there. Once I finished my degree, I went on to Officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. I loved my short career leading a Platoon of 30 guys whilst serving in Iraq and training around the world. I came home from Iraq straight to my wedding and the realisation that a more stable life would be best for a family! So, I left and entered the world of recruitment. I quickly realised that the industry had some issues around morality and professionalism, and I felt I could do it better, so IAC was born.
- What was your reason and motivation to start IAC?
As mentioned above I wanted to bring the values I had led my life with, and seen cemented in the military, into the recruitment world. Professionalism should mean something, Honesty is a strength, and none of us succeed without a tight knit Team. I also wanted to harness these to truly deliver a service focussed on long term results and success for our clients, not short-term financial wins.
I would also like to highlight that I was lucky enough to have a supportive investor who was willing to back me at a time (the birth of my second child) when money was a concern, and I wouldn’t necessarily have gone out on my own.
- Being a leading global recruitment specialist, what do you feel makes you stand out in the market?
Values and Results. Dealing with an IAC consultant is a rare experience. We genuinely know what we are talking about, we won’t just say yes, instead we will guide and advise. We encourage clients and candidates to walk away from an outcome not in their best interests, and we will also walk away when a potential deal does not fit our values and professional approach. We look to make a real difference to our professional network and the society around us, when we get that right the money follows.
- Over the life of IAC what has been the most rewarding?
My team, first, last and always 😊
- And what has been most challenging?
Understanding just how hard it is to sustain and grow a successful business over a decade whilst trying to take into account everyone’s best interests. As a leader in that context, I have learnt that some of the decisions I need to take can be hard for some people in some moments and that is just part of the job. Not always easy to accept.
- As a business owner, how have you found the current market conditions and what challenges have you/do you see your company facing over the coming months?
As of writing the current market conditions are not a substantial problem. Demand for our services remains high and we are busy. This allows us to reward our people and as they are heavily rewarded via commission the cost-of-living increase can be offset through success. However, I am not naïve to the fact we are in extremely volatile times and that dynamic is likely to change. We deal with that by investing very heavily in the skill and morale of our team so that we can continue to grow market share during any downturn and accelerate quicker than others when it turns.
- What interests do you have outside of IAC?
First and foremost, my wife and two children and then I have recently started to get involved in triathlons and am loving it!
- If you could invite (any) 3 people to dinner, who would it be and why?
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie: Their body of work is entirely different to the worlds I have worked in, and I would be fascinated to understand how they think and how they create such long careers, that are both varied and enormously successful. Not to mention the fact they are both very funny! Kevin McCloud: Grand Designs is my favourite programme of all time.
- If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
Consistency and resilience are everything, with those you can achieve anything.
Find who has done it and ask them, learn from those doing it and you will learn very quickly.
One step forward is infinitely better than none. Consistent forward momentum is the game changing winning formula, don’t worry about the speed. I could go on with a very long list!