bpesearch (bpesearch.com) is the executive search division of the Better Placed Group. They are specialist in identifying business and functional leaders in the UK and Western Europe. They have expertise and a broad client base across multiple sectors including Consumer, Financial & Business Services, FMCG & Consumer Good, Retail, E-commerce, Travel & Leisure, Technology, Life Science and Industrial Manufacturing.
Finance Director
My role as Financial Controller covers all areas of Finance including preparation of Management Accounts, reporting, budgeting, cash flow planning as well as liaison with auditors, tax advisors and banks. I am also responsible for the management of the administrative support of the business.Something you might not know about me. I am a Black belt in Kickboxing!!
Partner - bpesearch
Andy is a Partner within bpesearch and also of our Consumer Practice and brings a wealth of specialist sector experience. His core focus has been across FMCG businesses in particular, but his remit also spans into private equity, Direct to Consumer and SME’s (particularly where founder / owners are still in situ) in both food and “non food” organisations.He has partnered with local and international board members to deliver leadership talent at General Management and functional Director level for organisations of all sizes from plc to start-up. It is this track record, combined with his commitment to fostering long term, sustainable relationships that has enabled Andy to build a reputation for integrity and transparency as well as an unswerving commitment to delivering for both clients and candidates alike.Previously, Andy has operated in sales and marketing roles with Diageo, Pladis / United Biscuits and Coca Cola before making the move into Executive Search.Andy is married to Emily, living together with their two teenage daughters and “Darcy Valentine”, the 42 year-old family cat.
Partner - bpesearch & Board Director, Better Placed
With over 20 years’ experience recruiting across Marketing, Sales, Data and Digital. He was the founding Director of bpesearch in 2007 with the backing of the Better Placed owners. He focuses on working with corporate and commercial clients in the business services, finance and consumer arena.As an established and proven executive recruitment specialist, with a style and approach that reflects the values and beliefs of bpesearch, Paul has an established portfolio of clients across the UK and an enviable network of candidates at Director and Board level across FTSE 100 through to entrepreneurial and PE backed firms.
Partner, bpesearch & Board Director, Better Placed
Leads the Consumer & Luxury Practice with personal expertise within FMCG, Retail, Leisure and Travel and a passion for SME’s and PE-backed organisations
Board Director
I have built an exceptional reputation internally and externally since joining the Group in 2010. Now a Board Director, my expertise spans retail, e-com, hospitality and leisure sectors and I have a first class network throughout marketing and digital functions in particular. My clients range from major high street retailers to emerging scale-ups and disruptors and I've helped many individuals transition between the twoI'm not afraid to challenge traditional thinking and try to bring a fresh perspective to my client’s search criteria and I have a strong track record in helping women to secure leadership positions. I would like to think I have an incredible work ethic and a honest approach and this has proved a very successful combination throughout my career, and for that reason, I'm often the chosen recruitment partner for many businesses and candidates alike.
Director - bpesearch
Michael leads the Industry & Manufacturing Practice for bpesearch working in both consumer and industrial markets to deliver leadership assignments across Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering and Technical functions as well as General Management and MD appointments. Before joining the team, Michael had built his extensive network and expertise through lead roles in global plc, executive search and privately owned recruitment businesses including a successful spell co-running his own venture. Michael has a reputation for quality of service, integrity and professionalism and his approach is honest, constructive and consultative. He prides himself on delivering high quality shortlists and on building lasting, mutually beneficial partnership within his network.An avid runner, Michael has completed numerous half marathons and has his sights firmly set on the next London Marathon.
Senior & Executive Appointments
The newly appointed Director of recruitment consultancy Better Placed has outlined its “ambitious growth plans”, plans to expand its tech division and recent run of new hires. The Better Placed Group, which was founded in 2002, has appointed Alison Livesey as Director. She joins from recruitment agency The Candidate, where she was an Associate Director. The business specialises in digital, marketing, sales, executive search and tech recruitment with a broad list of clients including Costa Coffee, Co-op, AO, Iceland and CreativeRace. With offices in Manchester, Leeds and London, the organisation has outlined a “clear growth plan”. “We want to keep hiring talented recruiters across all our locations with a plan to double in size over the next few years,” Alison Livesey told Prolific North. Alison will be based out of the Manchester office but working across the North building on her existing relationships, whilst continuing to network at a senior or C-suite level. She has just over 10 years of experience in the recruitment world and has worked both agency-side as well as in-house specialising in digital, ecommerce and marketing. With multichannel recruitment experience across various sectors, she plans to utilise her experience to grow the Better Placed network of candidates and clients and aims to bring new ways of working to the table. She rejoins the recruitment agency after working as a Consultant and Senior Consultant at Better Placed five years ago. On why she opted to return to the company, she attributes this to its “unwavering dedication to quality”. “I’ve always known, and it’s known in the industry, that Better Placed hires good recruiters that are knowledgeable,” she said, “they are uncompromising in the standard of work they deliver”. In the last month, the company has continued with its growth plans by recruiting five new hires and anticipates recruiting additional new hires prior to the Christmas period. She revealed that the business has also hired an experienced Marketing Manager who is set to start within the month. “Our new Marketing Manager will play a key role in how we are represented in the market and bring a new dynamic to our candidate and client communications,” she said. Alongside the new hires she said the business is also making “major operational changes”, which includes a complete overhaul of its CRM system. Expansion of its tech division and demand for tech rolesAfter “successfully” building its tech division, which is approaching its first year, she said it has been a “hugely important part of the business for Better Placed”. “Traditionally as a business we’ve focused on ecomm, marketing and digital, so it was really important for us to have something that complemented that with tech,” she said. The tech division is led by Director Jonathan Moran and forms part of the organisation's ambitious growth plans. “Jonathan has built the team out really quickly. It has an outstanding reputation already in a really challenging market. “He plans to double in size again in 2022. It is a huge growth area for us,” she explained. The demand for candidates in tech roles has accelerated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with a plethora of roles ranging from self-taught and graduate developers right through to technical leads and CTOs. According to a report by Tech Nation in collaboration with Adzuna, 13% of all UK job vacancies are tech-related due to a boom in UK tech investment resulting in employer demand for tech jobs. “Our dedication to quality and being experts in what we do, will enable us to continue building our networks and ensuring clients and candidates keep wanting to work with us. “The more that happens the better, and enables us to keep growing not only in terms of headcount, but also the disciplines we work within,” she added. Trends and future plans“It’s positive to see the market growing so quickly after the 2 years we’ve had,” she explained. Many businesses may have found the past two years challenging - she explained the “market in digital and tech is now more buoyant than ever for candidates seeking new opportunities”. On the challenges facing the industry amid the pandemic, she said there is a candidate shortage across the board. “Our clients need more digital, marketing and tech talent than ever,” she said. She explained the demand for candidates in these sectors has “doubled or trebled” from this time last year, which has built a bubble effect around candidates with an abundance of vacancies to choose from. As a recruiter, she said maintaining honest and transparent relationships with clients and candidates is key to providing solutions to issues facing the industry. “Businesses that trust their recruiters and remain open-minded to the advice we can give will find hiring talent in this market easier. “We know how other businesses are operating and can suggest alternative ways of structuring and hiring in the current climate,” she said. In April, Better Placed completed the move to employee ownership which she explained is “currently in an exciting stage and gives us a real forum for innovation and change, and a platform to build on for the future”. “It’s exciting seeing the ideas that we’ve got come to life,” she said. Looking towards the future, she explained the business will continue with its plans “to keep hiring talent, that’s what Better Placed does really well”.
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