Most of our work is UK and US based, but we have completed assignments in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We are one of the few London firms that has an office in Scotland. Ridgeway Partners Asia Ltd is our registered business in Hong Kong.
A recent client commented that they liked the way we worked because "Ridgeway Partners was eager to be part of our process, while the other firms wanted us to fit into theirs."
We help pre-IPO companies recruit non executive directors to achieve successful flotations; we help large and small companies introduce women onto their boards; we work with companies that need to internationalise their boards.
We put together advisory boards that help our clients build relationships with new customers or transform their business digitally.
A private equity client said: "Ridgeway Partners is a 'go to' firm for this kind of assignment."
Another said: "The creativity was better than other firms – interesting names were put forward and lots of them. We were spoilt for choice."
Chairs need to plan for the future. Who is going to run the company when the team moves on or retires?
We look at the strengths of an existing team. We work out what skills are needed and find the people with them. We help implement the changes when the time is right.
A former government body that had moved into the private sector needed a new chief financial officer. They had used another search firm and failed to find one. We were well known by the new senior team at the client. They trusted us to do what was a difficult assignment.
The salary was less than the market rate so candidates had to be attracted by the mission of the business more than the compensation.
The previous firm had suggested casting the net wide. We suggested a rifle shot approach and this was the key to solving the problem. We spent time working out what the successful candidate might look like by understanding the ethics of the business and who it would appeal to.
Helping a retail client get up to digital speed
We provided creative ideas on whom to approach that were not just pulled out of the database. We knew the up and coming people as well as the established names. The client commented that he felt we enjoyed the assignment.
Our client, an engineering and machinery business, is the European market leader in its sector. The Board wanted to add a non executive director. It wanted expertise on how to manage businesses across several European countries and business cultures.
Location was flexible and candidates did not need prior main board or non executive director experience. The client's preference was for a chief executive, business unit head or commercial director from another service company, but we persuaded them to look at functional heads in supply chain, procurement and IT as well.
The successful candidate was a female German national living in Munich. She was in a supply chain and procurement leadership role at a DAX company, one of the largest engineering groups in Europe. It was her first UK board and non executive role.
Helping a European board reflect its market
Our client, a support services business, derives most of its revenues from Northern Europe. They were looking for a very specific type of non executive director. Its clients, staff and investors are based largely in Scandinavia and the Board was keen to reflect that in its make up.
We were asked to find a non executive director who had run a multi-country services, outsourcing or process manufacturing business, and who came from Scandinavia. Candidates ideally needed to have experience of serving on a listed company board, but could be based anywhere in Europe.
We focused our research on blue chip manufacturing and services companies, with operations in Northern Europe. The successful candidate was a female Finnish national who had run regional business units in chemicals and metals businesses. She had sat on the boards of three listed companies in Finland.
An emerging retail bank asked us to identify future talent for its business. The analysis covered the main functional roles. The client wanted us to identify five to six possible future hires.
We were approached by the Chair, who we had a strong relationship with, but then convinced the HR team that Ridgeway Partners was the right firm for the work. They had a strong relationship with another search firm.
We were asked to identify candidates initially without approaching them, but who we thought were a good cultural fit. The client recognised our efforts to 'get inside' the company's culture so that we could source the most likely people. We completed two non executive director assignments for them at the same time.
The work was completed on time and to the brief and Ridgeway Partners was appointed to fill a head of risk role, which was a priority for the client.
A leading credit house asked us to assess its senior team. We had previously done non executive director assignments for them. We pitched for the business against a leading international firm. The firm was conscious of its own image problems. We won the pitch because we understood the culture of the firm and the dilemmas it faced. This was more important than having done a lot of assessment work.
The project pointed to the potential successors. It both confirmed the client's instincts but also told them things they did not know about their people. Those assessed were also positive about the project and felt they benefited from it.
Making sure the internal candidate compares with the best in the market
We suggested that an outside firm was needed to do this properly and proposed interviewing and referencing both candidates, as well as benchmarking them externally.
The client has big hiring plans and has suggested that we are involved in shaping those with them.
Technology is “digitizing” the world around us. As Michael Baresich, Chief Information Officer at Ally Financial Group puts it: “Every company is either a technology company or a technology company in hiding.”
