“Job prospects looking rosier for senior finance candidates…………..”

Never has spring been so keenly anticipated at Maven Partners as this year. Not only are we looking forward to a general thawing-out to allow us all to return to our normal life activities (let’s face it the novelty of snow & ice soon wore off) but there is also a mounting level of evidence that the economy may be starting to bear more fruit. The recent Deloitte CFO survey (2009: Q4 results) indicated a 2-year high in confidence amongst Senior Finance staff – with many planning to deploy a series of strategies designed to expand market share and increase revenues in 2010. Introducing new products and services was cited among their top three priorities by 46% of respondents. Expanding into new markets and expanding by acquisitions were also widely recorded.

In the meantime a new survey from McKinney Rogers, the leading global business performance consultancy, has highlighted a significant change in the emphasis that Boardrooms are now placing on hiring senior talent – with the cold calculus of financial restructuring and cost management skills falling behind innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership for the year ahead.

Here at Maven Partners we can support these findings with discernible evidence that our clients are once again talking about new ventures, new geographies, taking increased market share; and having the talent in place in order to take advantage of these opportunities. With respect to Senior Finance recruitment - conversations, briefings and written specifications are focusing on bolder and more creative qualities: supporting commercial activities in business development, providing the financial rule over potential corporate transactions and leading and developing finance teams.

Provided that the elephant in the room, namely, the impending election (and let’s hope it comes sooner rather than later) does not trample all over the daffodils, then we are anticipating a much rosier picture this spring than we have seen for the past two years.

Matthew Leedham is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners and has over 20 years experience in recruiting senior finance professionals at the Board level. He can be contacted at matthewleedham@mavenapartners.co.uk or by telephone on 07787-574-244

A Positive Outlook for Private Equity Finance Directors…?

London, 8th February 2010

Last week was a positive week all round in business terms. Not only did we come out of recession, albeit by 0.1%, we also saw some major movement in the Private Equity space; all very encouraging.

The big news in the retail world was of course the sale of Pets At Home to KKR for £955m. With three other notable deals totaling over £900m, it seems that things are really starting to shift. If you listen to the experts then this is only the start, and whether it is because funds are running to the end of their investment periods or due to more stability in the credit market, this can only be positive for those Finance Directors and CFOs looking to take up roles in Private Equity-backed businesses.

For the past 18 months in recruitment terms this market has been fairly stagnant, even for those with proven ability in other similar environments, and practically impossible to break into for those wanting to secure their first move into a portfolio business.

This dynamic should start to change as more deals complete and more Finance Directors get changed or professional interim managers are drafted in to manage change or assess a situation. Competition for these roles will remain incredibly high and relevant industry exposure and specific experience in similar situations will be essential to most firms looking to take on such people.

Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners and a specialist in the recruitment of experienced Interim Managers and permanent employees into senior Finance positions often into Private Equity or Retail and Consumer businesses. For a confidential conversation please contact Mary on 020 7061 6489 or email marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk