SI 100 Europe - 2022, British -

Former UK CEO Andrew Preston led GRI through a decade of intense growth, development and transformation, achieving record performance year over year while focusing on employee engagement. With 25-plus years’ staffing experience, Preston facilitated several successful M&A integrations — including the acquisition of GRI by Magnit (formerly Pro Unlimited) earlier this year — and consistently delivered double-digit earnings. With more than 120 clients, 3,750 agency partners and over £1 billion of annual recruitment spend in the UK, GRI remains focused on software and staffing solutions for its clients. Preston is an advisor in the human capital space and continues charity work for organisations that serve children and people with disabilities.

Staffing 100 Europe | 2022

SI 100 Europe - 2021, British -

Albert Ellis is CEO of Staffline, which supplies approximately 40,000 staff per day to around 450 client sites across industries such as agriculture, supermarkets, drinks, driving, food processing, logistics and manufacturing. With extensive experience in developing successful growth strategies, Ellis joined the group as the non-executive director and attained his current position in October 2020. He previously served as CEO of recruitment firm Harvey Nash Group before its sale in 2018 and has held senior finance roles at Hays plc. Ellis is a popular speaker at news programmes and is a trustee and advisor to Asia House.

Staffing 100 Europe | 2021

SI 100 Europe - 2015, British -

Brian Wilkinson is CEO of Matchtech Group Plc, having joined the company as executive chairman in December 2013. Wilkinson has worked in the recruitment industry for more than 30 years and has been an active proponent of raising standards over that time, serving terms as chairman of both FRES and the REC.

SI 100 Europe - 2017, British -

Simon Wassall has been with Harvey Nash for more than 20 years and joined the PLC board in 2005. As European managing director, he is responsible for the UK and European professional recruitment operations. Prior to joining Harvey Nash, Wassall opened several new operations for Austin Benn, which led to his board appointment to a newly acquired advertising and marketing company. Simon is actively involved in the community and participates in Byte Night: the IT industry’s annual sleep-out in support of Action for Children.

SI 100 Europe - 2021, British -

Alistair Cox has led Hays plc, the world’s sixth-largest staffing firm, as CEO since 2007. He is a chartered engineer with a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Salford. He also holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in California in the US. Cox began his career at British Aerospace and eventually moved into staffing, having been appointed chief executive at Xansa plc, the IT outsourcing organisation, before joining Hays. He has also served as a non-executive director at 3i plc and at Just Eat, and he is currently chairman of the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.

Staffing 100 Europe | 2021

SI 100 Europe - 2016, British -

Peter Searle has more than 28 years’ experience in recruitment having held managing director and chief executive positions with the Delphi Group, Ajilon and Adecco UK and Ireland. He is heavily involved in educational initiatives and was asked to appear on the UK government’s select committee for education in 2013. Searle has won multiple awards including a lifetime achievement award for his services to recruitment. In 2016, Searle became the CEO of the newly formed Airswift — following the merger of Air Energi and Swift Worldwide Resources — which specialises in global workforce solutions for the energy, process and infrastructure industries.

SI 100 Europe - 2016, British -

James Reed is chairman of the Reed Global group of companies, which was founded by Reed’s father, Sir Alec Reed, in 1960. The company has 2,931 permanent employees working across 456 business units in 134 locations worldwide. Reed is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and was formerly an associate of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit and a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research’s business-led taskforce on race equality and diversity in the private sector. Reed is coauthor of the award-winning and best-selling book Put Your Mindset to Work.

SI 100 Europe - 2018, British -

Simon Wassall has been with Harvey Nash for more than 20 years and joined the PLC board in 2005. As European managing director, he is responsible for the UK and European professional recruitment operations. Prior to joining Harvey Nash, Wassall opened several new operations for Austin Benn, which led to his board appointment to a newly acquired advertising and marketing company. Wassall is actively involved in the community and participates in Byte Night: the IT industry’s annual sleep-out in support of Action for Children. In 2017, Harvey Nash posted revenue of £889 million and acquired IT solutions recruitment firm Crimson Ltd. and Swedish HR consultancy PAT Management.

SI 100 Europe - 2017, British -

Kevin Green is CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the professional body for the UK’s £35.1 billion recruitment industry. Green joined the REC in 2008, having been HR director at Royal Mail Letters division, where he was responsible for all people-related issues for the business with its 165,000 employees. The REC is committed to raising recruitment standards and highlighting excellence throughout the industry. It has more than 3,350 corporate members and 9,600 individual members within the Institute of Recruitment Professionals, all of whom must abide by a code of professional practice.