Executive Search for Media

Introduction

A snapshot of our track record

Media has been in the DNA of Saxton Bampfylde since the firm was founded in 1986. Our experience ranges from placing Marjorie Scardino as the first female FTSE Chief Executive at Pearson, and David Currie as the first Chair of Ofcom, to our current work building the board of the new press regulator IPSO and helping to restructure Gannett in the United States.

We are proud to work across all functions with some of the most influential and interesting organisations in this space. From Creative Directors to Finance Directors, we combine breadth of vision with deep expertise in all the main verticals.

Over the course of 28 years we have worked at senior levels across the full range of the media sector. Much of this work has been global, delivered by us in the UK but supported and enriched through our hand-picked network of global partners.

Our difference We have a near perfect (98%) track record of helping our clients make successful appointments compared to a sector average of just 70%. We allocate a dedicated researcher to every job, where across the executive search sector researchers typically work on six to eight projects at once. Our researchers focus on just one assignment at a time, single-mindedly, until the job is done. This level of resource allows us to look at more people, in more areas than is possible for most firms and – importantly – to deliver a high quality, diverse list of candidates – never just the usual suspects. We are a flexible firm, perfectly placed to understand the ever-growing range of stakeholders and the external pressures on the fast-evolving technology-driven media sector. We are equally at home placing a senior creative in a digital context as we are in setting up the board of the new press regulator, IPSO.

Below are a few recent examples of our global clients. AdWeek Publications Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB)

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Kent Messenger Group

BSkyB

LexisNexis

Channel 4 Cheil Worldwide

Newbury Weekly News

CN Group

Nominet

Da Vinci Media Group

Ofcom

Economist Group

Random House

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Reed Elsevier

Euromoney Publications Fastwire.com

Pearson

Scottish Provincial Press Smithsonian

FutureLearn

Thomson Media Foundation

Gannett

Standard Publishing

Hachette Book Group

Time, Inc

HarperCollins

UK Interactive Entertainment

Hearst Magazine Company Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

UBM

Walt Disney Company Wolff Olins

Global Reach Global search capacity is of course a given for senior appointments in the twenty-first century – what is less obvious is how to make it a reality that will add genuine value to the process and to the range of candidates we eventually present to our clients. At Saxton Bampfylde, finding an effective way for an independent search firm to offer global expertise was one of our founding principles in 1986. Our solution was to identify likeminded firms in key markets around the world with whom we could share experience and access to local knowledge, giving our clients a guarantee of collaboration, not delegation, and international search tailored to fit the job in hand.

Our Global Partners

Through our Panorama partnership, we have a highly successful international search capacity that enables us to replicate Saxton Bampfylde’s unique research model around the world’s time zones and to seek out and engage pro-actively with leaders in relevant markets. Importantly, we combine our outstanding shared knowledge with a guarantee of collaboration. This means that the unique features of an organisation can be interpreted in a number of relevant international contexts, and markets approached accordingly – all within the single relationship with our consulting team.

Executive Assessment Saxton Bampfylde’s executive assessment team has an established track record of working with the leaders of complex, changing organisations.

Our team is independent from test publishers and has access to the full range of psychometric tests currently available – both personality assessments and ability measures.

In our experience, the more senior the position, the greater the risk attached to making the wrong appointment and the greater the benefit derived from taking the right decision.

We create a bespoke package for every client, testing the areas which are most important to them.

We find the people who will change the way we create, consume, learn and interact with each other.

A search individually tailored to you... Every piece of work we undertake reflects the client’s priorities, culture and needs. We place great emphasis on building a strong partnership with each client so that we can respond quickly to individual needs. For example, some clients want a broad, national or international search, others want a much more discreet, targeted approach. Either way, the bedrock of our success is our approach to research. Our commitment to world-class research is a founding tenet of our company, and ensures that each and every client has undivided attention and representation in the marketplace.

… and back-office support you can rely on No compromises here – we know that our clients appreciate the peace of mind that comes from the well-oiled engine of good administration. We have worked hard to ensure that our client communications, candidate care, paperwork and delivery on deadlines all match the high quality of our consulting and research expertise.

Our media team Stephen Bampfylde, Chair Stephen is co-founder and Chairman of Saxton Bampfylde. He began his career working for IBM and Whitehall, and for 32 years he has been involved in the recruitment of executives to senior positions across all sectors. Outside executive search, he has been involved with the advisory boards of the Business Schools at Cambridge and City Universities, is a Trustee of the Yvonne Arnaud theatre, and was Chairman of the Guildford Cathedral Council.

[email protected] Sunandan Bhanja Chaudhury, Consultant, India

Virginia Eastman, Head of Media Practice Virginia leads Saxton Bampfylde’s media, marketing and communications practice and has ten years’ experience in top-level search. She has a wealth of experience in the media industry including fifteen years at the BBC as a Business Correspondent and Presenter for both television and radio. Previously she held roles at Bain & Company for two years. Virginia holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Tasmania.

[email protected] Gareth Jones, Psychologist

Sunandan has over 20 years of leadership experience with multinational communication firms, including as President and Country Manager for Portland India and SVP in McCann Erickson. He works across brand and communication roles in media and a range of other sectors.

Gareth has worked as an occupational psychologist in the private sector and central government for over 20 years. He specialises in board level psychological profiling and assessment centres for senior management.

[email protected]

Imelda Napier, Consultant

Craig Buffkin, Head of Global Media Practice, USA Craig has completed search work at the board, executive and senior level both nationally and internationally for a wide range of private, public, venture-backed, and private equitybacked companies. Before entering the search profession, Craig spent over 3 years as a turnaround specialist and over 10 years in marketing services. Craig holds a BA and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[email protected]

[email protected] Imelda has worked at Saxton Bampfylde for over twelve years.  After initially working for Edelman, the global PR consultancy, she moved to Bird & Co, a boutique search firm, specialising in the media and communications sectors.  At Saxton Bampfylde she works across a wide range of areas including media and retail.  Imelda has an MA in Modern History from Edinburgh University and has completed a management programme at INSEAD.

[email protected]

Saxton Bampfylde 35 Old Queen Street London SW1H 9JA Tel: +44 (0)20 7227 0800 www.saxbam.com Partners in Panorama Search around the world www.panoramasearch.com