UK Boutique Consulting: Succession Planning and Leadership team hire

 

River was mandated by the Chair of a leading UK Infrastructure consulting and advisory boutique to help plan for the succession to the founders. This included a competency review and assessment of the entire top team.

This in turn led to searches for an external UK Managing Director and two new practice areas., alongside a detailed live salary and role benchmarking exercise.

Outcome:

UK MD hires and two practice directors covering new high-growth teams facing off to UK and Global Infrastructure sectors.

River designed the brief, conducted market mapping, detailed analysis and extensive interviewing before presenting three shortlists to complete three hires, two of whom are diverse, an original aim.

Leadership Team build – Wealth Asset Management

 

A Leading Digital Transformation Consulting Firm needed to create a next tier of leadership for a growing Wealth and Asset Management practice. The Practice was bottom-heavy with many Consultants to Senior Managers. The client wished to address the leverage ratio and hire three Partners or Directors to help them grow out the team, which River completed.

Actions: 

River longlisted circa 200 profiles and engaged with 70. Through detailed interviews, assessments and reference taking, we presented a carefully curated 10-candidate shortlist. We ran a comprehensive interview process with the client who hired and subsequently successfully integrated three new Leaders.

Outcome:

One new Partner hire and two Director hires.

Written by:

Jamie Stokes

Partner, Global Client Development

Jamie is a founding partner of River Partnership and takes a hands-on role in the continued growth of the operation his vision helped create. His 18-years’ executive search experience – winning and working mandates across Europe for leading financial services institutions, corporates and management consulting firms – has been recognised with several external awards.

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M&A Consulting Partner Hire

 

Dealing with the Head of Integration and Separation for a major M&A consulting team. Who engaged River Partnership to introduce Partners with a specialisation in technology M&A consulting. The Individual had to bring a network or relationships. Proven track record of development and thought leadership of tech M&A topics.

Actions: 

River longlisted 120 profiles, engaged with 50 and presented 20

Outcome:

After a detailed technical interview process, River Placed the successful candidate with the client and they came from a Competitor.

Hiring Two Managing Directors to Transform a PE-Backed Beauty Business

 

Challenge
A Private Equity–backed beauty group needed to appoint two Managing Directors to take full P&L and leadership responsibility for two critical European markets: France and Spain.

Each Managing Director required deep local consumer market knowledge, proven leadership and change-management capability, and hands-on experience within the beauty or luxury sector. The group’s headquarters were not located in capital cities and required weekly multi-day on-site presence, significantly narrowing the viable talent pool.

These hires were central to value creation. The mandate was to transform regional performance and accelerate growth. The client could not afford a “good enough” appointment or a prolonged ramp-up period.

Attracting senior beauty leaders outside Paris or Madrid had already proven difficult. Discretion was essential.

 

Why River
The client engaged River to run a highly confidential, insight-led search capable of reaching senior leaders who would typically rule out relocation. River’s ability to conduct granular market mapping, protect confidentiality, and engage commercially proven operators in competitive consumer markets was critical.

 

Approach

  • Ran two parallel, market-specific searches across France and Spain
  • Mapped senior leadership talent across the Beauty and Luxury ecosystem in both markets
  • Identified brands and maisons aligned in scale, positioning, and operational complexity
  • Benchmarked leaders with experience in premium positioning, digital distribution, and performance transformation
  • Operated under strict NDAs to protect confidentiality
  • Acted as advisor and filter, stress-testing motivation, relocation appetite, leadership style, and cultural alignment

 

Outcome & Impact

  • Identified 126 senior beauty leaders across France and Spain
  • Built a 67% female candidate pool
  • Delivered candidates drawn from top premium and luxury brands with strong digital expertise
  • Successfully appointed two Managing Directors — both female — in France and Spain

These appointments strengthened regional leadership, accelerated performance transformation, and directly supported the group’s value creation strategy.

Launching an Energy Practice from Zero in France & Benelux

 

Challenge
A global digital transformation consultancy sought to enter the Energy market in France and Benelux with no existing sector footprint. The ambition was to build a new Energy offering from scratch, led by a Partner capable of shaping strategy, winning clients, and scaling a cross-border practice.

This was a critical strategic hire. Success depended on finding a leader entrepreneurial enough to build a business, credible enough to open doors in a conservative market, and senior enough to operate as a true Partner from day one.

 

Why River
The client engaged River for granular market intelligence across the French Energy ecosystem and access to senior leaders beyond its existing network. Traditional search routes were surfacing predictable profiles. River was selected for its ability to combine data-led market mapping with senior-level engagement of passive, commercially proven Energy leaders.

 

Approach

  • Conducted a data-led market mapping across the French Energy ecosystem
  • Benchmarked leadership talent across 32 relevant firms
  • Assessed candidates on entrepreneurial mindset, practice-building experience, and ability to launch a proposition within an unfamiliar brand
  • Acted as advisor and advocate — educating candidates on the opportunity while helping the client continuously refine the brief

 

Outcome & Impact

  • Mapped 32 Energy-relevant firms
  • Identified and benchmarked 126 senior leadership profiles
  • Secured 1 Partner hire to launch and lead the Energy practice across France & Benelux

Building an Insurance Practice from the Ground Up in France & Benelux

 

Challenge
A global consulting firm with a strong Banking presence sought to expand into the Insurance sector in France and Benelux. While well established in Financial Services, the firm had no dedicated Insurance capability in the region.

The mandate was to appoint a Partner who could define market potential, shape business strategy, and build a new practice from the ground up.


Why River
The client chose River for deep insight into the French Insurance leadership market and access to a highly relationship-driven, largely passive Partner talent pool. River’s ability to benchmark senior Insurance leaders credibly — and position a new practice build within a broader Financial Services platform — was critical.


Approach

  • Mapped the French Insurance consulting landscape end-to-end, covering international consultancies, specialist boutiques, and in-house advisory teams
  • Identified 56 relevant consulting and Insurance organisations
  • Mapped and benchmarked 271 senior Insurance leaders
  • Assessed candidates on entrepreneurial mindset, industry credibility, client relationships, and experience building new practices within larger organisations
  • Acted as strategic advisor, refining the target profile and strengthening market positioning


Outcome & Impact

  • Secured 1 Partner hire to launch and lead the Insurance practice
  • Established a credible Insurance capability within an existing Financial Services platform
  • Positioned the firm for cross-sector growth across France & Benelux

AI Partner for a Digital transformation firm

 

A Leading Digital transformation firm had ongoing projects touching on AI topics, identified a gap in their offering and were keen to hire a AI focused Partner to develop and strengthen their offerings, sizing the rise in demand

Actions:

Introduced a Leader in the AI space, developing Ai/GenAi offerings at a top tier firm. He was not looking, we got him curious, helped position the Client and their value proposition, encouraged and facilitated soft introductions with the Client which then turned into interviews and a solid business proposition

Outcome:

Hires a new European AI Partner