Our approach
To date we have worked with over 100 companies, ranging from scale-ups to FTSE 350 and global private equity-backed brands.
Our client base is diverse in size and sector reach. They are ambitious, innovative and growing at a pace.
We recruit interim and permanent senior leaders for marketing, digital and technology roles in B2C and B2B FTSE 350 and private equity-backed companies.
Suzie Walker Executive Search is a firm of specialist headhunters with an expert team recruiting interim and permanent senior leaders for B2C and B2B marketing, digital and technology roles in FTSE 350 and private equity-backed companies.
We are experts in building high-performing senior leadership teams. We recruit roles for Senior Manager, Head of and Director to C-suite levels. Our consultants have a deep level of expertise in both the skill areas and sectors we recruit for.
We cover functional Senior Manager, Head of and Director to C-suite levels on both a permanent and interim basis. Salaries range from £80,000-£500,000 base (plus attractive executive benefits packages) or day rate equivalent (typically between £500-£2000 per day). Interim contracts vary in length, from 3-12 months+.
We are enablers of growth through the recruitment of high-performing senior leadership teams
Suzie Walker Executive Search is consistently successful in delivering high-performing senior leadership teams. We have a gift for getting the right personality, team and culture ‘fit’ between clients and candidates.
A trusted executive search firm, we are experts in advising on team dynamic and balance to maximise value and output, thus accelerating change.
We are passionate about what we do and confident in our abilities to deliver. Our approach is flexible, thorough, honest and transparent and we will always provide regular updates and feedback to clients and candidates throughout the process. Our agile and creative approach ensures we unearth inspirational and innovative leaders from around the world. We work at pace and each assignment is tailored to our clients’ specific needs.
We are also happy to provide advice as to what level an organisation should recruit at and which sectors should be represented on the target list and can often conduct bench-marking exercises to help with this process.
Whether you are a client looking to hire new talent into your organisation or a professional searching for your next challenge, it is our job to work with you as a business partner to achieve a successful outcome.
We invest time at the beginning of a search to really understand what a client needs in terms of candidate profile and to learn about the culture of the organisation. This enables us to both represent the client effectively in the external market and assess cultural fit issues when discussing the role with potential candidates. It is our belief that a strong shortlist will be comprised of candidates who are both a strong technical fit for the role and a strong cultural fit for the organisation.
While we are thorough and structured, we are also agile and collaborative; we recommend meeting benchmark candidates as early indicators.
We are a driven, hard-working team.
Expertise
We grow by building long-term relationships through openness, honesty and integrity. We seek to give every client the benefit of our expertise. In turn, we aim to treat every candidate professionally, with care and respect.
With exceptional research expertise, in depth sector and functional knowledge and enthusiasm for what we do, we have developed an extensive market network and database along with the reputation as a highly regarded specialist executive search firm. Our search methodology is rigorous and candidates go through several stages of screening interviews, culminating in a face-to-face competency-based assessment.
Our team is driven and comprises senior search practitioners, with specialist headhunter marketing and digital expertise; known for their extensive networks and industry insight. We are creative and bring fresh perspectives, we love feedback and we use the insights gained to broaden our knowledge base and challenge our thinking.
Flexibility
Our relationships make us who we are. Our success is grounded in meaningful, deep-seated and long-standing relationships.
We recognise that changes to the role specification can arise during an assignment and one advantage of being an agile business is that we are able to adapt easily and promptly without compromising on timelines. We are a fast growing business and are recognised as one of the Top 10 Executive Search Firms for senior marketing and digital roles, in the UK.
Our clients vary in size from scale-ups to FTSE 350 corporates and private equity-backed businesses.
Our success rate speaks for itself and we are proud to be one of the fastest growing executive search firms in the marketing and digital space.
Over 90% of our work comes from ongoing clients or referrals because we invest fully in understanding our clients and their businesses, taking pride in our role as their executive search partner. We take the time to invest in our candidates, to understand what really motivates them.
It is all about ‘fit’. We have clients who we have worked with for years, who have moved companies and taken us with them, they trust us, they know we ‘get’ them – their expectations, working methods, which personalities will fit the best. It is like putting together a high-performing sports team, it is challenging, exciting and oh so rewarding, as it comes together.
The adage that ‘you are only as good as your last placement’ rings true, we want to get it right – our reputation, repeat business and positive word of mouth depends on it.
How can we help you? (we are, after all, a service company).
Shouldn’t the term headhunting imply that we would scour the globe for the perfect head?
At Suzie Walker Executive Search, our consultants would rather think outside of the box for different solutions. Are there other sectors, geographical markets, skill mixes or personality types that would result in a more high-performing team?
What is our ‘wild card’ candidate? We like to push the boundaries - seeing the opportunity, being bold and brave, whilst making decisions based on deep knowledge and expertise.
The wild card candidate, thrills, delights and excites.
Our Ethos
Honest
– in our feedback - be that in client structures and plans or to candidates, we ‘treat people as you would wish to be treated.’
Commercial
– we have a business background, we understand shareholder value and the key deliverables.
Professional
– we are a professional services firm, the recruitment equivalent of a McKinsey, OC&C etc.
Driven
– and we are on track to becoming the ‘go to’ headhunter for senior marketing, data, digital and tech roles.
FAQs
What does Suzie Walker Executive Search stand for and what is your mission?
We are driven, passionate and motivated to help support both our candidates in achieving their career aspirations and to enable our clients' businesses to grow through the recruitment of high performing senior leadership teams.
Do you work across all skill areas?
We recruit senior leadership roles from functional Senior Manager and 'Head of' to Director and C-suite level, across marketing, digital and technology.
Do you work across all sectors?
Yes, we work with scale-ups and corporate across the B2C and B2B sectors. We work across a diverse range of sectors from consumer and financial services to retail, healthtech and public sector; with a heavy emphasis on tech.
What makes you different from other headhunters?
- We are skill area specific and are experts in our field.
- We have the visibility within these skill areas across a wide range of clients, giving us deep insight.
- We have created a powerful global community of talent across the areas we specialise in – that is of huge benefit to our clients and in turn to our candidates.
- We are not afraid to challenge.
Do client’s always take the advice?
About 80% of the time – 20% hire a more traditional firm - maybe the role, skill mix, salary was unrealistic but that knowledge had not been passed to the client. They have often parted with huge amounts of money, ostensibly wasted and they have lost time too. If we lose a pitch because someone has convinced them that is the right route or possible, they come back to us in 12 months’ time – those roles are hard but the most rewarding to fix.
What does success look like for you?
Happy clients and candidates. At the end of the day, we are a service business and fundamentally we need to deliver – at its basic level, that is placing the right candidate for the role. For us it is about what the candidate can deliver – if you get the right fit, the commercial output is exponential.
What exciting things does Suzie Walker Executive Search have to offer its customers this year?
We're predicting that 2024 will be a busy year for senior marketing, digital and technology moves.
We will also be helping candidates to develop their leadership credentials and to move upwards in their careers. Learning and networking at our events will be a particular area of focus.
A letter from our MD & Founder, Suzie Walker
Welcome. I founded Suzie Walker Executive Search in 2009 because I passionately believe in supporting talented people to reach their full potential and to shape the future of business.
Deep-rooted values underpin everything we do here: our expertise, our success in commercial delivery and our social purpose.
Our belief in limitless possibility ensures that senior leadership roles are filled to deliver growth and to achieve positive change.
And, the world is changing. As an executive search firm, we have become ever more conscious of our environmental, social and governance (ESG) proposition, which underpins our activities, and our plans for the future. More than ever, our team, clients and candidates are pursuing purpose to ensure a better world for all.
Our belief in limitless possibility means that we are always ready and willing to change. Ambitious targets provide a clear vision for our future: achieving a net-zero climate impact, building inclusive executive boards and senior leadership teams, and ensuring high standards of accountability as a business.
As a certified Women Owned business, we are particularly passionate about the impact we can have on helping women and women of colour achieve senior leadership roles.
We look forward to working with you, helping and supporting you to achieve your goals.
