Industries

Consumer/ Retail

The retail/consumer market is truly global and one of the largest of all commercial sectors. Many consumer focused organisations are focused on growth in emerging markets which continue to expand, fuelling other sectors such as manufacturing, distribution and advertising. Fiercely competitive, the fight for the share of the customers' wallet continues to be closely contested with cost management, to ensure profitability and shareholder return. As new geographies become active and new channels for distribution, such as e-commerce, gain traction, the need for new skills and diverse talent is heightened. People remain companies’ biggest asset and differentiating factor.

Augmentum works for a range of market leading retailers and consumer goods firms including consumer electronics companies, brewers and food/non-food and luxury retailers to name a few sector-specific examples. Common to these companies are requirements to hire at speed and source talent from a globally mobile and diverse pool. We have hired across a variety of board, commercial, operational and leadership functions.

Media

Today the internet and digital platforms along with diversifying consumer demands is forcing constant change in all areas of media. With that opportunity media owners are working hard to find new models for revenue generation and to hire leading-edge thinkers to drive the business into new areas. In today’s media industry, leaders need to understand the constantly shifting technological and consumer contexts in order to overcome the challenges whilst taking advantage of the opportunities.

In recent years, Augmentum has extended its reach into the media industry to include engagements in the broadcasting, traditional publishing, online and advertising spaces across a variety of geographies. We work for some of the world’s most recognisable brands, securing placements of current and soon-to-be main board leadership executives. Augmentum regards the media industry as one of its core areas of executive search activity.

Telecommunications

Since deregulation in the 1980s and the emergence of the commercial internet in the 1990s, the telecommunications industry has faced a rolling set of disruptions. The stock markets, whilst rewarding businesses in competition with telcos, have punished most large carriers. In the U.S. alone, the industry has lost no fewer than 100,000 jobs in the past five years. Game-changing forces such as cloud computing and “voice for free” services are warping the industry norms; cost cutting alone will not be sufficient for mature carriers to compete with the “new kids on the block”. Whilst internet protocol technology allows telecom companies to offer broader entertainment services, it also permits new entrants to attack the established players’ fixed-voice profit pool. One question should be: “what role should telcos play in the media amalgam?”

Telecommunications has been a core area of Augmentum’s executive search capability since the company’s genesis. The majority of our work has been in placing strategy and transformation, technology, product and sales leadership, as well as in-country, regional and group board executives. Augmentum’s telco sector experts have broad expertise including: consumer insight, predictive analytics, customer segmentations strategy, networks and IT, transformation & organisation.

Financial Services

Our dedicated financial services practice encompasses Retail Banking, Insurance and Investment Management:

Retail Banking: The UK banking sector has recently posted a strong set of results and volumes are beginning to return to pre ‘crisis’ levels, although activity is still subdued. That said, there is encouraging evidence that the banks have become much more realistic about future performance and more aware of the challenges ahead - particularly in terms of demand and regulatory pressure. The potential number of ‘new entrants’ to the UK market in the coming months will also make for interesting viewing. Building societies appear to be adjusting their expectations downwards. This is because they are set to come under pressure from intense competition in the UK mortgage and savings markets. Furthermore, margins are likely to be weakened by growing costs and deterioration in non-performing loans.

Insurance: Regulatory spend is increasing as insurers gear up for Solvency II and, whilst headcount is generally on the up, insurers are struggling to recruit the skilled leaders that their businesses crave. The intense competition in the UK market is also forcing insurers to explore new growth avenues and new, international, business. General insurers reported moderate growth in business volumes, but this was spread across all four customer categories. All of the major players face an uphill challenge to improve their customer service and respective digital offerings, and most are now investing again in Marketing and IT. In the Life sector, the picture is brighter still and volumes are continuing to rise. Values of new business and premium income advanced also, and this combination of factors has lifted profits further. The Brokers have also enjoyed better performance of late and will also need to invest in IT systems and Marketing, to ensure that they are able to increase efficiency and reach new customers and provide new services.

Investment Banking: This sector has continued to thrive in recent years and, whilst total costs have advanced, growth in both volumes of business and the value of incomes has boosted profitability even further. This looks set to continue and the sector appears very confident about its future. However, investment managers should be wary of the threat of increasing regulation which could limit growth.

Within these areas Augmentum represents a number of different organisations including some of the world's leading institutions and advisory firms such as: Aviva, HSBC, Prudential, Bank of New York Mellon, BCG, and the financial services consulting business of IBM. We help our clients, through effective talent acquisition, to transform their business operations, successfully integrate acquisitions, implement new technology and provide enhanced customer services and improved online channels to market.

Technology

Technology is transforming every aspect of our lives. Companies both large and small must maintain pace with perpetual change technological development brings, forging opportunity out of the inevitable disruption this brings. The sector is the vanguard of societal innovation, change and progress; company leaders thus occupy a truly visionary and progressive remit.

Some of our largest clients comprise of the world’s most renowned technology corporates. Since our formulation, we have continued to work as preferred supplier to these industry leaders - our networks within this sphere are second to none. In the corporate sphere, clients span areas such as information technology (software, hardware and services), telecoms, mobile, digital media, medical devices and clean technology to name a few. However we are also partner to a number of global and niche technology services companies spread across the globe. Our established team includes senior individuals with over 100 years combined experience who work within technology industry and across technology functions.

Industrial / Energy

‘Industrial’ and energy is a broad definition encompassing mining, manufacturing, construction, engineering, industrial design, transportation, energy and utilities. Although the industrial sectors are being transformed by the ongoing development of the BRIC nations, the globalisation of businesses and the increasing interdependence of nations ensure a truly interconnected supply chain and workforce, extending across borders and organisational boundaries. In an era of challenges and change, such as globalization, consolidation, restructuring and technological advancement, the industrial sector must prioritize the attraction, retention and development of its talent.

The industrial and engineering sector is a key growth area for Augmentum. We have worked for the world’s largest energy providers, both in oil and gas and renewables, as well as a selection of leading engineering-led companies which vary from premier automotive brands to clean technology providers. Roles into which we have placed executives include corporate leadership as well as industrial, energy and utilities country leads, practice heads and direct entry partners in the consulting and outsourcing worlds.

Professional Services

The Professional Services landscape is in flux. Associates are harder to recruit and keep and the competitive landscape is reorganising, as specialist players raise their game whilst the larger firms continue to drive consolidation. Clients are expecting more tangible evidence of external partners adding value, and management time is focused on short-term issues rather than long-term strategy. Questions have therefore emerged about whether traditional rules of engagement still apply to contemporary professional service firms. Current leaders must struggle to reconcile tensions within their partnerships and to persuade their multiple stakeholders to accept the need for change. Young professionals challenge the traditional apprenticeship model and no longer aspire to the lifestyles of their senior colleagues. Senior professionals fight to maintain their personal autonomy from encroaching management systems and "creeping corporatism". New models are emerging but are still relatively unformed. As Harvard Business School professor Thomas J. DeLong puts it, "In the past, the work of PSFs was a gentleman's game—and now it's blood sport."

Augmentum has been and still is a market leader in identifying professional services top talent. We have placed scores of country heads and practice leaders as well as direct entry partners and their direct reports for the leading professional services firms. We have forged long term partnerships with the world’s premier consulting and outsourcing firms (spanning BPO, ITO and SO), accruing a wealth of internal expertise comprising of over 100 years of combined experience. We understand how to navigate complex organisational structures across geographies, a key success factor in working in or for these firms, and have an unrivalled network accordingly. Our sector experts have broad expertise of working across every industry vertical and every practice area.

Sport

For the last ten years, Augmentum has been placing leaders into a range of global organisations and market leading brands. In 2011, it became apparent that the time was right to introduce this capability into the world of sport and leisure; to offer access to the most talented individuals, both within and outside the sector.

It is our view that the industries of sport and leisure now recognise the value of sourcing forward-thinking, fresh talent from a broader range of business backgrounds. The commercial, and increasing regulatory, pressure that these organisations now face ensures that they must recruit the best in class, in General Management, Sales, Marketing, Finance & Operations, to compete effectively. Augmentum is uniquely placed to identify the brightest and the best; individuals who can drive businesses forward in a dynamic and innovative way.

We already have relationships with a wide range of sports clubs, governing bodies, government agencies, service providers, sponsors, rights holders, and broadcasters. Having allied this network to the track record and experience that Augmentum has built, over ten years, within a range of FTSE100 and Fortune 500 organisations, it is a potent proposition.