Our Team – Executive and C-Suite Recruitment Specialists

Exec Capital is a specialist executive search firm appointing CEOs, Managing Directors, CFOs, COOs, CTOs and other senior leaders, together with non-executive directors, chairs and Senior Manager Function holders in FCA-regulated firms. We work with founders, boards, shareholders and private equity investors across the UK, on a permanent, interim and fractional basis.

We are a small, senior team, and that is deliberate. Every search is run by our executive search team and overseen by founder Adrian Lawrence FCA, so the people who take your brief are the people who deliver it. Each of us has a clear role in the search, from the first conversation through to the candidate’s first day, and you will always know who to speak to.

Meet the Team

Adrian Lawrence FCA

Founder & Director

Adrian founded Exec Capital as part of FD Capital Group, which he has run since 2018. He is a Fellow of the ICAEW with a practising certificate, a former listed-company Finance Director and has more than 25 years’ experience operating at C-suite level. Adrian takes the first conversation with new clients, agrees the brief and the search strategy, and oversees every search the team runs. He also leads the firm’s work with FCA-regulated firms, drawing on his background in finance, governance and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.

LinkedIn  ·  Read Adrian’s full profile

Jodie Garrington

Joint Founder & Director

Jodie co-founded the business alongside Adrian and brings more than ten years of senior recruitment experience. She shapes how we assess executives and manage stakeholders on each search, looking closely at whether a candidate’s leadership style and vision fit the client’s culture as well as whether they have the technical expertise. Jodie is also a Partner at our sister firm NED Capital, where she leads board and non-executive appointments, and she has a strong network across tax and professional services.

LinkedIn

Sacha Tunks

Senior Recruiter

Sacha runs our searches day to day once the brief is agreed. She is the main point of contact for clients during a search, keeping them updated on progress and the market. Sacha sources and approaches candidates, holds the first detailed conversations with them, prepares shortlists and manages interviews, feedback and follow-up through to offer. Her focus is on keeping every search moving and making sure both client and candidates always know where things stand.

LinkedIn

Sarah Partridge

Candidate Resourcing Manager

Sarah leads candidate resourcing across our searches, working from the network of senior executives, interim and fractional leaders and non-executive directors that every search draws on. She builds the candidate pool for each new mandate, maps the market for the roles we are working on, keeps candidate records and availability up to date, and makes the first approach to many of the people we speak to. Sarah’s work means that when a new search starts, we already know many of the people worth calling.

LinkedIn

Jessica Lawrence

Junior Recruiter

Jessica supports the team across live searches. She helps with candidate research and outreach, arranges interviews, prepares briefing materials for candidates and clients, and handles day-to-day communication with candidates during a search. Jessica is often the person candidates speak to when they register with us or apply for one of our advertised roles.

LinkedIn

How We Work Together on a Search

A senior appointment is only as good as the process behind it, so we divide the work in the same way on every mandate. It keeps searches moving quickly and makes sure nothing falls between the gaps.

The brief

Adrian takes the first conversation with every new client. He wants to understand what the business needs the new leader to achieve, who they will report to, what the board or investors expect, and what has and has not worked before. From that he agrees a written brief, the candidate profile, the package range and a timetable with you. For board and non-executive appointments, Jodie joins the brief to shape the assessment approach and the board’s priorities.

Building the candidate pool

Sarah then builds the candidate pool. She maps the market for the role, identifies the businesses where suitable people are likely to sit, and draws on the shared network of senior leaders across FD Capital Group, many of whom also hold non-executive roles. Because she keeps our candidate records and availability up to date, we can usually start talking to relevant people within days of the brief.

Approach, assessment and shortlist

Sacha leads the search from there. She approaches candidates in confidence, explains the opportunity properly, and holds in-depth conversations with those who are interested to test what they have delivered and how they lead. She prepares the shortlist, setting out each candidate’s experience, achievements, motivation and package expectations, and keeps you updated on progress and on what the market is telling us. Jessica supports this stage with research, outreach, interview scheduling and candidate briefing packs.

Interviews, references and offer

Sacha manages interviews and feedback on both sides, and Adrian reviews the shortlist and the final candidates before any offer is made. We take detailed references, as set out in our reference checking guide, and help you build an offer the candidate will accept. For regulated roles, Adrian works with you on fitness and propriety and the approval the appointment will need.

After the appointment

Senior candidates often have long notice periods and may receive counter-offers, so we stay close to them through resignation and notice. We keep in touch with both client and candidate after the start date, and many of our clients come back to us for their next senior hire.

What Clients Can Expect

Clients choose us because we combine the judgement of an experienced finance and governance professional with a search team that is close to the market. In practice, that means:

• A named team on every search. You know from the start who is running your search and who to call.
• Regular, honest updates. We tell you what the market is saying about the role, the package and the timetable, including when something needs to change.
• Confidentiality. Many senior searches are confidential replacements or new roles that cannot yet be announced. We handle them discreetly, with clients and candidates.
• Flexibility on the engagement model. We will tell you honestly whether a interim, fractional or permanent appointment best fits your situation.
• Depth in regulated firms. We understand the approval process and personal accountability that come with Senior Manager Function roles under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. See our FCA-regulated firm recruitment page for more.

For Candidates

If you are a senior executive, interim leader, fractional executive or non-executive director, we would like to hear from you. Many of the roles we fill are never advertised, so the best way to hear about them is to register as a candidate. Sarah or Jessica will usually be your first point of contact, and Sacha will call you when a search fits your experience, location and expectations. We treat every conversation in confidence and will never send your CV to a client without your agreement. You can also browse our live executive jobs and our executive salary guide.

Part of FD Capital Group

Exec Capital is one of five specialist recruitment firms in FD Capital Group, with offices in London and the West Midlands. The firms share one network of senior leaders, so a search can draw on the right people whichever firm runs it. Our sister firms are FD Capital for fractional, interim and permanent CFOs and Finance Directors, NED Capital for non-executive directors and chairs, SMF Capital for Senior Manager Function and compliance appointments in FCA-regulated firms, and Accountancy Capital for qualified finance professionals below director level.