Experienced finance sector recruiter launches his own consultancy

A financial recruiter has set up his own recruitment consultancy after working closely with SMEs and accountants in the region for the past 20 years.

Aiming to capitalise on a resurgent market, KUDU Search will be finding and attracting finance professionals for owner managed Businesses in Yorkshire. It will work with experienced finance directors and CFOs as well as aspiring financial directors of the future.

Founder director, Don Aitken, is already a familiar face in and around the Yorkshire advisory community.

He said: “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while and although the pandemic is not over, the time is right.

“The financial recruitment market bounced back in the second half of 2020 and has been gathering steam ever since.

“Many candidates and clients are planning for the future again rather than focusing on the shorter-term opportunities and challenges of Covid.”

Aitken added that although the national picture is one of candidate shortages and a general difficulty in finding and securing the best people, he sees this as the real opportunity for his venture because there is a “renewed hunger” for change on both sides of the employment equation.

He said: “If the opportunity is compelling and the recruitment process is run well, you can always find the best people even if they are not yet looking for the next challenge.

“In many places there is currently a mismatch of talent and opportunity. Positive and negative changes have left people in the wrong place.

“On the employer side, we have MDs who have been less than impressed with their current FD, banks that would like more insightful management information and owners who are now looking again at growth and investment, or exit.

“Conversely some businesses have plateaued or taken a step back and their ambitious FD needs to move on before his or her CV also plateaus.”