Wheale hunting in capital city

Feb 27 2008 by Aled Blake, Western Mail

A FIRM of headhunters is opening an office in Cardiff after a string of successes with blue-chip organisations in Wales.

Wheale Thomas Hodgins, a leading executive recruitment and search consultancy, says the buoyancy of the South Wales economy has prompted it to open a central office in Cardiff.

It will add to its network of offices in London, Bristol and Leeds.

The Dumfries Place office will be headed by co-founder and managing director Adrian Wheale, co-founder Tom O’Neill and Sue Turner, who was formerly the South-West regional director of the Confederation of British Industry.

Wheale Thomas Hodgins (WTH) already works closely with major clients in South Wales including Principality Building Society, the society’s secured loans subsidiary Nemo, growing specialist construction and property business Castleoak, specialist care provider Pathway and internet comparison specialist Confused.com.

Other historic clients include Redrow and Williams Medical.

Mr Wheale said, “If there ever was a right time to open in Cardiff, it is now.

“The South Wales market is extremely buoyant, which places ever more demands on the scarce pool of local executive and management talent, with Cardiff enjoying particularly strong demand.”

The firm was established in 1990 with start-up funding from venture capitalist 3i. Now financially independent, WTH enjoys strong relationships throughout the corporate finance and private equity communities, placing key executives in their investments.

Wheale Thomas Hodgins officially launched its office at a reception for clients and guests at The Kooywood Gallery, Museum Place, Cardiff, last night.

Mr Wheale said, “We have worked with Welsh businesses, at a senior level, since we set up in 1990. But our involvement has grown substantially in the last year or so, reflecting the region’s success, which means the time is right for us to open a Wheale Thomas Hodgins office in central Cardiff.

“We source talented people for both large corporate and mid-cap Listed companies and, perhaps most importantly for many Welsh businesses, we are the UK market leader for growing small to medium sized businesses in all sectors.

“We probably understand the owner/proprietor field better than anyone. We provide the human element to fuel business growth, understanding the owners’ needs and the candidates’ ambitions”.

WTH is active in all of the major disciplines of finance, sales, marketing, production, operations, purchasing, IT and HR (together with general management and board positions such as chairman, CEO and FD). WTH also works across a wide range of sectors – financial services, technology, media, business services, manufacturing and utilities and they are the UK leaders in the specialist care field.

WTH’s decision to open a Cardiff office was welcomed by David Rosser, Wales director of the CBI.

“The executive recruitment and search sector is a vital component of any regional economy,” he said. “WTH’s arrival sends out a clear message that Wales offers many challenging and rewarding opportunities at managerial, director and board level among a variety of quality organisations.”