The Brits are back

Odgers Ray and Berndtson has topped the recruitment industryís league of the best performing companies by revenue. In a market that in recent years has been dominated by USA-controlled practices, the latest independent figures show that the British firm grew its share of the market between March 2005 and March 2006, to become the UKís number one executive recruiter.

Richard Boggis-Rolfe, Chief Executive of Odgers, said: ìGetting to the top has been a marathon ñ not a sprint. Over ten years, we have worked our way from well down the top 20 to number one in a market that, globally, is used to seeing US names in the top slots. Our success depends on the strong values which keep our extraordinarily talented and diverse team working together to a common purpose. Our insight into the UK executive scene is enhanced by having local leadership and ownership. We have wonderful people at Odgers, and I am very grateful to them and very proud of what they have achieved.î

Odgers has handled some of the most important senior appointments over the last year, including Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Richard Lambert the new Director General of the CBI, and highly regarded appointments to the chairmanship and boards of FTSE 100 companies.

The diversity of the company is reflected in Odgersí performance in individual business sectors. The firm has cemented its position as the number one headhunter for both the industrial and not-for-profit sectors. It has grown strongly in other areas including financial services, consumer, retail, technology, media and telecoms. Board recruitment under the leadership of Virginia Bottomley has made a major contribution to Odgersí growth and the firm is now ranked second for top paying positions.

ìWe will only stay at the top if we deserve to,î added Boggis-Rolfe, ìand we will only deserve to if we keep delivering exceptional results for all the people with whom we work. That means our clients, and our candidates, and our own team. We are far from complacent, and we know that we will have to do even better to stay at number one.î

The recruitment league tables are published annually by Executive Grapevine, the directory of executive recruitment, and are based on market share of net fee income.