I have spent my entire business career working with exceptional individuals who have felt compelled to establish themselves by wanting to create something different that, over a period of time, was greatly valued. In many instances these individuals, in my opinion, didn’t make life any easier on themselves by choosing to establish their new venture within already saturated and highly competitive business sectors or by attempting large scale programmes of change within Public bodies.
To this end I have had the good fortune to have been the Chairman of PA Management Consultants during some of its most formative years, chaired the Advisory Board of LEK, was in part responsible for creating and then acting as an Independent Director of a Private Equity Firm and have been Chairman of a significant NHS Health Authority. I’ve no doubt that in part what has compelled my colleagues along the way to even attempt what they have done, and in sectors in which there was an existence of dominant brands and a lack of opportunity to inject innovation, is their unwavering belief that they can demonstrably add value.
I was approached by Drax to consider accepting my current position with them after having experienced, first hand, the service they delivered in 2003. During the process in which I had been “head hunted” I was struck by the similarity of attitude and values to those shared by past colleagues. I suspect all of us have been headhunted on many separate occasions and have experienced wide degrees in service. This is certainly true for me and is a key reason for my interest. “How can a service that is delivered by individuals and is often bought on personalities develop a level of professional capability that is delivered consistently and shared by all of its consultants?”
As Senior Advisor of the Drax Advisory Board, and in conjunction with the other advisory board members, I endeavour ,through leveraging our own professional experience, to try and ensure the Drax offering is current in all that it does. Our role is to act as a sanity check that ensures the current focus and future investments are in the areas that both clients and candidates value the greatest.
On behalf of the Drax Advisory Board we look forward to the future and are excited to work with the Partners of Drax to help them establish their value. Headhunting is a fascinating part of the market with many providers and it is an industry that faces a number of challenges. The axis in which the success of an executive search firm is ultimately decided is the quality of the service they provide and the integrity in which they conduct themselves.
I would be delighted to receive your thoughts or answer any questions you might have.
pgl@draxexecutive.com
Peter Lawson
