A new business that aims to help organisations in Wales recruit, retain and maximise the potential of top executive talent has been launched. Goodson Thomas Executive Search and Corporate Insight, headed by Sian Goodson, will provide executive search and talent development services to organisations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Mrs Goodson, a former principal consultant with global headhunting firm Odgers Berndtson, will spearhead the business, supported by non-executive directors Professor Laura McAllister and Chris Brindley, managing director of Metro Bank.
The firm, based in Cardiff and London, will target organisations across the UK, offering a bespoke range of talent-related services to help clients maximise their competitive advantage.
With a wide range of experience in executive search, leadership development, change management and strategic communications, Mrs Goodson has delivered multiple award-winning campaigns for a variety of organisations spanning the sport, professional services, arts, heritage and education sectors.
Before joining Odgers Berndtson, where she appointed chairs, non-executive directors, CEOs, and several other top-level executive and senior management roles across a range of industries, she spent four years as a corporate director at Sport Wales.
She has also undertaken senior communication and policy roles with National Museum Wales, Colegau Cymru and the Federation of Small Businesses.
Mrs Goodson said: “More and more organisations are waking up to the fact that securing the right talent and boosting the potential of their people is the key to success and sustainable growth. It is an area I am passionate about, and it inspired me to launch Goodson Thomas with the aim of helping organisations across Wales and beyond improve the way they source and manage talent.
“Through my experience delivering executive search assignments for an international blue-chip organisation, I am aware of the growing demand for a results-oriented, strategic and flexible service that can help organisations bridge the gap between talent sourcing and talent maximisation."
She added: “It has always been my dream to work for myself, and I am extremely pleased to be working with Laura McAllister and Chris Brindley, whose experience and ideas have been invaluable in turning my vision into reality.”
Laura McAllister is Professor of Governance at the University of Liverpool’s School of Management as well as being chair of Sport Wales, a UK Sport board member, a trustee of the Institute of Welsh Affairs and a member of the National Assembly for Wales Remuneration Board.
She said: “I sit on a number of boards and I understand the realities and challenges faced by leaders, including the growing pains of change, turnaround, growth and the significance of cultures and values.
“I’m excited about being involved with a business that will help organisations challenged by all of those issues to achieve their full potential.”
Prof McAllister is joined on the board by Chris Brindley, who has since 2011 been managing director of Metro Bank, the first high street bank to open in the UK for more than 170 years. During his tenure he has grown the business to 36 branches, £4bn of deposits and £2.5bn of lending.
Mr Brindley has worked extensively with academics from leading business schools as well as executives, managers and team leaders within global plcs. Also the chair of GreaterSport, he partly attributes his success in business to his experience working with Olympic athletes, and is passionate about using sport as an inspirational learning model.
Mr Brindley said: “As a board we have extensive experience of working in senior positions as well as undertaking complex and challenging assignments on behalf of clients. This equips us with a deep appreciation of our clients’ needs and what it takes to achieve success through strong senior talent.”
A version of this article was originally published in Wales Online
In a new series, we share inspiring career stories from candidates and clients we have been lucky enough to work with. First up is Alison Copus, an...
We present our guide to everything you need to consider when it comes to future-proofing your organisation.
...New Chair will lead the national airport for Wales in the next phase of its exciting journey
...Founder Sian Goodson shares her strategies to help SME owners ensure they have a more diverse workforce and senior team.
...The human resources industry is ever-changing and adapting to the new technologies, a new workforce generation and the exit of another workforce ge...
The millennial workforce is definitely not an easy one to please. With employee retention rate lower than ever before, and the modern worker being ...
“We don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are,” Anaïs Nin once wrote. One place where it is especially apparent that people hold dif...
Social Care Wales has a responsibility to protect, promote and maintain the safety and well-being of the public in Wales. An integral part of the W...
For all the power CEOs wield, they can't add hours on the clock or days to the calendar.
Yet everyone wants a piece of them: Leadership team...
Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. It regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the air...
The UK’s gender pay gap has fallen to 8.6% for full-time employees – its lowest level yet, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS...
People costs often represent at least half of total operating costs – particularly in service organisations, where staff play a key role in deliv...
Leadership from a distance requires a careful study of human nature, says L&D specialist Sudhakar Sampath.
...According to research by The Open University Business, th...
Transport for Wales (TfW) is a not for profit company, wholly-owned by the Welsh Government and established in 2015. Set-up initially as an expert ...
The global financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent period of recession had a variety of effects on Welsh businesses and organisations. At Goodson ...
For business owners with kids, days often involve a careful juggling act of work and childcare. Business calls and emails are regularly intersperse...
In today's uncertain economic environment, safeguarding business continuity is a key priority for organisations the world over. Succession planning...
UP CLOSE - How Siân Goodson left a leading recruitment firm to set up her own executive search business with a difference
...What are the risks of returning to a business or organisation for which you once worked? Recruitment expert Siân Goodson sets out what you should ...
Having the right mix of skills and experience in a team is essential for success, but equally as important is having a team with a good blend of pe...
Siân Goodson is the managing director of Goodson Thomas, an executive search and corporate insight business based in Cardiff and London.
...Cardiff-based TrakCel engaged Goodson Thomas to find a new Chief Operating Officer to direct its future growth.The pioneering company develops soft...
Established in May 2000 as one of 3 millennium projects in Wales supported by the Millennium Commission, the National Botanic Garden of Wales (the ...
Goodson Thomas has started 2016 by taking on three new associates to improve our offer and meet the demands of our growing client base.
...So, your chief executive is leaving and you need to find a replacement. Where do you start? Do you try to have a clean break with the past and brin...
Goodson Thomas has been appointed to lead the search for a new Group Ch...
Goodson Thomas has been appointed by Care Council for Wales to conduct ...
In just a few short years social recruiting - i.e. recruiting through s...
Women managers in Wales are effectively working for free nearly an hour...
A new Cardiff and London based recruitment business has been launched b...
A new business that aims to help organisations in Wales recruit, retain...
Morganstown,
Cardiff,
CF15 8LW
Chester Business Park,
Chester,
CH4 9QR
Paddington,
London,
W2 6LG