Providing a Personal Approach

Walter James are a global executive search firm and human capital advisory firm working across a wide variety of sectors and geographies. We caught up with the firm’s CEO, James Absalom who reveals more about how Walter James stays ahead of the game within such a dynamic industry.

With offices in London, Sydney, Singapore and Zurich, Walter James primarily works within the Life Sciences, Consumer & Retail and Chemicals industries. As well as executive search, the firm deals with interim management, market mapping & competitor analysis and project outsourcing, consistently delivering exceptional talent.

Walter James champion a proactive and strategic approach. For each project the firm undertakes, they deliver a bespoke service that is tailored to their client’s needs. As well as knowing their sphere of practice incredibly well, their micro-specialised team of ex-industry partners and associates strive to truly understand each client’s culture and make meaningful connections accordingly. Going into further detail about Walter James’ overall mission, James begins by going into detail about how the team ensures that their clients receive the best possible outcome.

“At Walter James, we strive to disrupt the traditionally reactive industry by establishing efficient, proactive processes. We also promote diversity – on average, 34% of the candidates we place are diverse, while over 60% of VP through to C-Suite placements last year were female.

“We challenge the status quo of what has previously been a reactive industry. In our search for exceptional, diverse talent, we tap into markets previously disregarded by the executive search industry. This has proven to be an invaluable asset in finding the best match for a client’s culture. We put identifying talent that perfectly matches the intricate cultural fit of a business as a top priority – at the executive level, this can be more important than the technical skillset required.”

A Walter James employee is passionate, knowledgeable and a trusted advisor in their specialist field. When discussing the internal culture at the firm, James highlights how each member of the team are well-equipped to provide the best possible service to their clients.

“We schedule weekly team meetings which allows us to update each other on all searches, raise any concerns and work collaboratively. They also highlight any possibilities for cross selling. In addition to this, we also do quarterly company training, recently introducing training in wider life skills such as negotiation, critical planning and crisis management.

“Our knowledge of the markets positions us as trusted advisors, which installs significant confidence in our ability to find the best talent. This also drives our business’ talent attraction. We are strategic business partners, not reactive, transactional operators, and no day is ever the same. Also, we make it clear that there is no limit to how far you can progress; we are a highly entrepreneurial company that listens to all ideas and suggestions.”

Looking ahead to what the future holds, James signs off by revealing the exciting plans which lie in the pipeline for Walter James following their recent success in Corporate Vision Magazine’s Recruitment Elite 2018.

“Moving forward, we are looking to open officers in Seattle. Currently, we are working on various projects out there and there’s great potential. We also have our sights set on New York City by combining with another company that we are looking to acquire and invest in. Finally, we plan to further expand Euromedica to strengthen our market share within the lucrative Life Sciences market and really reignite the Euromedica brand, which has a fantastic heritage in the market.”

In what is now becoming a very digitally focused industry, Walter James are continuously looking to adapt and identify new ways of working that allows them to embrace the change, but without losing the personal touch and relationship aspect of the job. The team will continue to promote taking calculated risks that allows them to stay ahead of their competition and to encourage all of their employees to truly think outside the box.

Contact Details 

Company: Walter James

Web Address: www.walter-james.com