People, planet and profit: Our impact over 25 years

Moon 25Moon News

16 Dec

Our purpose

Moon Executive Search believes that communities that are well-supported become better places to live, work and do business. In light of this, over the 25 years that we’ve been in business, we have striven not only to be led by the positive impact we can have on the economy, but also on the environment and communities around us.

Community leadership

Our leadership team has led by example, each with their own purposeful projects around causes they care about:

Sandy Hinks set up the Business Beats Cancer Bristol in 2018 and sits on the committee. The team at Moon have supported their annual fundraising dinner since 2018. In 2025 Business Beats Cancer Bristol raised £60,000.

Head of Moon’s Management, Engineering and Technical Practice, Gemma Wilks manages our tech memberships. This includes Tech4Good – a network committed to the power of digital innovation to bridge gaps and foster inclusion, ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities to connect, function and thrive in society. Gemma also leads our membership of Tech South West and the NatWest Accelerator Initiative.

Non-Executive Consultant, Peaches Golding OBE CStJ Lord Lieutenant, is Independent Chair of the Bristol Water Challenge Panel which represents the interests of water consumers. She is a trustee of the SS Great Britain and has held a range of non-executive roles in public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

She was a member of the Ethnic Minority Business Forum, the Home Office representative on the Independent Member Selection Board for Avon & Somerset Police Authority, a Governor of the University of the West of England and a Member of the General Chiropractic Council.

Since 1996, Peaches has worked with HRH The Prince of Wales to highlight the opportunities that greater access to employment, stronger communities, integrated supply chains and more visible leadership from black communities could bring to the country as a whole.

For more than ten years, Moon Executive Search has sponsored the MTM awards, as well as supporting Bristol Young Heroes Awards, Rise Awards, Grief Encounters, Crimestoppers South West, and St Pauls Carnival.

We also support The Lord Mayor of Bristol’s Children Appeal and have done so for more than ten years. We have also supported Frank Water, Children’s Hospice South West and Children’s Air Ambulance.

Environmental impact

Since 2022 we have supported Ecologi and make a monthly donation to support a range of carbon reduction projects that are certified at the very highest level by Gold Standard and equivalent. Our support has led to 1544 trees being planted and 146.3 tCOe being avoided. Explore projects we’ve supported.

Diversity & Inclusion

Equity and fairness are in our DNA. Our global network allows us to present a diverse talent pool to our clients, and we’ve strengthened this approach through a series of formalised commitments.

We are part of Opening Doors – Business in the Community and Age-Friendly Employer. We are also supporters of the Good Employment Charter and received a Diversity Champion Award in 2025. In 2020, we became one of the first 50 signatories of Change the Race Ratio, a campaign to increase racial and ethnic participation in British businesses. We’ve been members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) for over twenty years, which holds us to a rigorous code of conduct in honesty, respect, integrity, and social responsibility, ensuring our actions stand up to scrutiny.

We have been a long-term supporter of youth-empowering social enterprise Babbasa, and Simon Quinn was on their board from 2016-2024 and Chair from 2019 to 2024.

Our Founding Director, Vanessa Moon is the Joint Senior Guardian and former master of the Bristol Guild of Guardians –the charity established to enhance the good name of the City of Bristol, its traditions trade & commerce. She is a trustee of Lord Mayor’s Chapel, and was Chair of Insane Root Theatre CIO. Vanessa also sits on the HMS PRINCE OF WALES AFFILIATION BOARD who support the Ship’s company of the Royal Navy’s largest aircraft carrier – in 2023, she and her fellow board members helped secure their HMS Prince of Wales Freedom of the City Bristol Celebration. She also sits on the CBI South West Council.