Simon is a thoroughbred salesman. In his very first job he was selling mortgage services to financial advisers. Although the business was going well Simon realized quickly that he had to choose a different industry.

“My salary back then was completely commission based without a base salary whatsoever. I felt I needed something more stable. But, since I was working for one of the industry leaders I knew that changing to a competitor wouldn’t improve the situation. I had to look for something outside the industry.”

That’s where Simon discovered consulting – or rather, fell into it.

“By accident, I stumbled over a small boutique firm specialized in recruiting for pharmaceutical companies. I liked the people, so I joined without knowing much about the industry itself. Looking back, it was the right decision. I learned to manage the complete hiring consulting process. It was a great environment to grow in.”

Shortly after Simon had joined, the small boutique firm got acquired by one of the big global agencies – a development that led to Simon receiving a life-changing offer 4 years later.

“I was given the chance to transfer to one of their overseas entities. I applied for Singapore and Japan but eventually I decided for Japan. The country itself seemed like a fun place to go to but it was more the mission my company tasked me with that excited me. They said that I would be able to develop senior level clients which I thought would be a great opportunity to further my career as a Consultant.”

But, Simon’s Japan adventure started off rockier than expected.

“Just 2 weeks before I had scheduled my flight, the Tohoku Earthquake happened. My family was shocked and told me to stay because they felt it was too dangerous. To be honest, I wasn’t concerned at all. I was prepared and determined to go.”

In March 2011 – against his family’s advice – Simon left England to start a new life in Tokyo. Although it was fortunately much easier to settle in post-earthquake Japan than he had initially thought, his job turned out to be rather different from what he had been promised.

“The mission to connect with senior level executives disappeared quickly after I had joined the Japanese entity. I was pulled into the day-to-day chaos of a quantity-driven contingency agency – which wasn’t for me. I always wanted to focus on high quality exclusive executive search as I had experienced it in the boutique firm I had started my consulting career in.”

Simon tried his best to succeed in the new environment but after several months he had reached his limit.

“I never thought of going back to Europe. I really liked living in Japan and I felt that I had to proof to myself that I could make it here. But I also knew that I had to leave my current company.“

Simon started to look for a company similar to the boutique firm he had joined several years ago.

“I didn’t know Boyd & Moore Executive Search (BMES) back then. I just did some research on LinkedIn and stumbled over Tony’s and Jon’s (BMES General Managers & Co-Founders) profiles. I had a look at their career website and saw that they had already established a small Medical & Healthcare division, the field I was specialized in.

The interview process was long. It was a great opportunity for me to ask the same questions to many different people. Although there was a variety of personalities and styles everyone gave similar answers. Most of them positive but grounded.

In addition, the Management was very clear about the goals and expectations they had for the role I was applying for. That made me feel comfortable. All in all, I had a very good feeling about BMES.”

At the beginning of 2012 Simon joined the BMES Medical & Healthcare division.

“My team was very small back then. Actually, it was just one person with only 8 months of consulting experience.

To be honest, the first year was quite tough. The two of us spend a lot of time on cleaning up the database, reconnecting with candidates and developing new business. We also worked with our Intelligence Center (BMIC) in Pune, India, to improve the process and the collaboration between both offices.

Results weren’t visible immediately which was frustrating, but I knew that we had to be patient and keep pushing.

In my second year, I was able to invest more time in selling retainers, growing our client base and making placements. It was certainly not an easy process but finally my work started to pay off: In the past 5 years, I was able to score the biggest placement of the year and that not only 1 but 3 times!

Additionally, the team kept expanding and I started to mentor the new comers while building my own business.

After a while I felt that I would like to take on even further responsibilities and asked Jon and Tony if I could become the first team leader of the Medical & Healthcare unit. Both approved my request immediately.

Now, I am very proud to lead a fantastic team of engaged and successful Consultants. We’ve struggled at the beginning but now, we’re all on the same page and seeing the results of our hard work and dedication. We’re a happy family (laughs).”

Of course, a great team and business success are no reason for Simon to put his feet up.

“The most rewarding part for my work is to see people grow. Not only junior consultants but also people with industry experience. They come in, work on their first retainers and immediately their perception of the whole industry changes. They see what recruiting can actually look like and what kind of value we’re able to provide to our clients. It’s very exciting.“

Simon and all the other team leaders at BMES are always looking for entrepreneurs and team players who are excited about connecting innovative companies with exceptional talent. If that sounds like you, check out our open positions!