Brand Architekts Group plc is an AIM-listed Beauty Brands business, specialising in the delivery of innovative and exciting new products to consumers and retailers. They are based in Teddington, West London.
Established in 1993, Brand Architekts was acquired in 2016 by Swallowfield plc and is now one of the top 25 largest beauty players in the UK, having developed a portfolio of brands, both organically and by acquisition, which spans Skincare, Haircare, Bodycare, Bathing, Men's, Gifting and Accessories. The acquisition of Brand Architekts in June 2016 significantly accelerated this strategy and brought both additional critical mass and superior financial returns.
Brand Architekts Group PLC was formally known as Swallowfield plc, and in September 2019, disposed of its manufacturing business for £35 million to KDC/One Inc as the company intended to refocus on growing and developing the higher margin owned brands business, hence the need for a new CEO.
A key focus going forward within Brand Architekts is on developing the brand portfolio by launching innovative new products to attract both retailers and consumers directly. The business makes use of consumer trends studies and competitor benchmarking to generate ideas for new products and each year brings a significant number to market.
The Challenge
This was a very broad UK and International search with a number of caveats. We were looking to source a candidate who could lead a listed business and although prior listed experience was not necessarily essential, it was important that the person understood the visibility and City facing element of this role. The ideal candidate would be joining from a mid-sized corporate, with a branded product background, such as beauty, personal care or cosmetics.
The ideal candidate would be joining from a mid-sized corporate, with a branded product background
The focus of the search was on candidates who could be London based and could represent the business in a global market.
Moon Executive Search has considerable experience of working on confidential national searches within the beauty, personal care and cosmetics sectors, as well as working with listed businesses (both main market and AiM), hence why we were instructed to conduct this search.
This role needed a pre-signed NDA and we were conscious of the need to be respectful of both the client and candidate sensitivities, agreeing what information could be released to candidates at each stage of the process and equally how we introduced candidate details to the client.
The focus of this search was all about sourcing a credible CEO with sector and listed experience and City credibility, who could help grow this business. Following meetings with the Executive Chair and Interim CEO (who we knew well, having previously placed him into the Swallowfield role), we put together a detailed briefing pack, established the search protocols, and set about our confidential search.
The Solution
Appointing a new CEO to a business is all about getting it right, and search campaigns take time. What makes us unique is our knowledge and approach to search. We have a well-developed search and selection process, which is backed up by analytics and great professional networks that we utilise appropriately when undertaking a campaign. This means we were ideally placed to make sound recommendations to Brand Architekts PLC.
We took time to assess the market and then gave a considered opinion about the feasibility of the search, candidate availability, role structure, salary and the right approach to market. We were delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Quentin Higham as incoming CEO, joining from Yardley of London Ltd.
Quentin joined as Chief Executive with effect from 4 May 2020. Quentin was previously Managing Director of Yardley of London Ltd. Previously, he has been Marketing Director at Coty, with responsibility for the Rimmel cosmetics brand and Head of UK Marketing at global cosmetics company, Revlon. In addition, he has first-hand knowledge of the Brand Architekts brands having been commercial director at KMI brands with responsibility for the Fish brand and King of Shaves.
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Brendan Hynes, Executive Chairman commented:
‘Moon Executive Search did a very extensive head hunt for us within the beauty and personal care industry sectors, looking at candidates from the UK and overseas. They presented us with a strong short list of potential CEO candidates and as a result I am delighted to welcome Quentin Higham to the Board as Chief Executive.’
Vanessa Moon Director of Moon Executive Search said:
‘We were pleased with the shortlist of candidates for the role that Moon Executive Search presented. Vanessa and Simon were incredibly thorough in their approach and presented an outstanding selection of candidates with national and international backgrounds.’
Nick Simmonds from Technology Venture Partner said:
‘This was a wonderful assignment, covering a wide range of industries from beauty to cosmetics and brands, bringing in an international element as well as listed context. I also love all the brands and am a keen consumer. I personally love the Dirty Works products, so this search was right up my street!’
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