Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Leadership is stronger when it reflects the world it serves

Inclusive search is the practice we were built around. We go beyond traditional networks to find exceptional leaders from underrepresented backgrounds, challenging briefs that inadvertently exclude and removing bias from each stage of the search process.

Our partnerships with diversity networks deepen that reach further still. But the commitment behind it begins closer to home, in how we hire, how we develop our people, and how we hold ourselves to the same standards we set for our clients.

Inclusive search, as standard.

Each researcher works on one search at a time, with complete focus. That gives them the freedom to go further, look wider and have the conversations that reveal who someone really is.

We build the search around finding the best person. We know where exceptional leaders from underrepresented backgrounds are developing, through our own networks and the routes that traditional search rarely reaches. We remove bias at every stage, from how we write a specification to how we present candidates and facilitate interviews.

For our clients, this means a shortlist that reflects the genuine breadth of talent available. Candidates who bring new perspectives and new ways of thinking. And outcomes that change what is possible for your organisation.

Commitment that goes beyond the search.

We run a programme of events and partnerships designed to widen access to leadership. These are just some of the partnerships we are proud of:

 

  • Our annual event celebrates the contribution of underrepresented trustees to the arts.
  • We co-founded REACH with the Cabinet Office, a diversity network and pipeline focused on disability.
  • We partner with OnBoard, a mentoring programme for talented individuals from non-traditional backgrounds, mentees have gone on to join the boards of organisations including Chatham House and The Sweaty Betty Foundation.
  • We work with EPOC, a network supporting mid-to-senior executives of colour in pursuing non-executive board roles across UK institutions.
  • We also support the RIDI awards, which celebrate disability-confident recruitment.

Our work in numbers

  1. 56% of our appointments in 2025 brought diversity across gender, ethnicity and disability
  2. 5+ diversity partnership programmes developing the next generation of board-ready leaders
  3. 14% of our firm are from underrepresented ethnic groups
  4. 78% of our firm are women
  5. 51% of our executive appointments since 2023 were women
"They genuinely understand the value that diversity brings to a board and are increasingly delivering on this. I know that they are constantly building out their networks, and this diversity they achieve in candidate lists is the result of that hard work on their part."UK Regulator Chair

Our partnerships and programmes

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