Quality not quantity

Alex Gordon Shute, Founder

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Search

Almost every company will tell you that talent is their most valuable asset. So it makes sense to put time and resources into finding the right Corporate Affairs leaders. But this is never a numbers game. There is simply no point in meeting lots of the wrong people. Ithaca is about finding the very best people.

Increasingly, Corporate Affairs is filled by intelligent, commercially savvy, empathetic, creative, resilient people who deal every day with the most contested dialogues their companies face.

Great Corporate Affairs Directors are experts in trust and step into this arena as ambassadors and catalysts for change. They are highly visible; they set the tone and shape the narrative for the whole organisation. We are lucky enough to count many of the most successful Corporate Affairs professionals among our friends.

We find and introduce the best Corporate Affairs people for major listed companies, public bodies, regulators, private companies, membership organisations and PE backed ventures – in sectors from energy to architecture, from finance to culture. We also help fill interim roles including for maternity cover and one-off transformation projects.

Together we help you define precisely what you need in the role… then we work to filter the market, so that you meet people where they’d be outstanding in the role – of course – but also where there’s vital chemistry and the right cultural fit. It’s a dance that depends as much on emotional intelligence as data.

Talent without borders

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Lucinda Armitage, Director of Research

It’s a long time since investing in the FTSE meant only investing in the UK. Like the Premier League, the FTSE is now a global game – so finding and supporting talent means having reach all over the world.

In September 2022, the first international partnership of Corporate Affairs executive search firms launched. The Corporate Affairs Search Alliance (CASA) brings together six market-leading boutique Corporate Affairs executive search firms to create the ‘Home of Corporate Affairs’. CASA offers organisations the opportunity to access the best Corporate Affairs leaders from around the world.

In the US Mike Patino leads Patino Associates and we work closely with Mike on shared projects while extending our reach into that huge and exciting marketplace.

In the Netherlands we partner with the redoubtable Herman Rutgers and in the DACH region we’re connected with the wonderful PRCC.

In France we speak to the brilliant Kim Johnson at Exeter Search, and in Ireland Susie Farrell is the inspiring leader of Addison.

We are continuing to broaden our international coverage all the time – because talent can come from anywhere.

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Search team

Alex Gordon Shute
Alex Gordon Shute

Founder

Alex founded Ithaca Partners in 2008 because she had lost faith in the search profession’s collective drive to excel, and felt that she needed to ‘put her money where her mouth was’ by starting her own firm to show how well search could deliver for clients and candidates. Her experience and skills in search span multiple sectors, but always in Corporate Affairs.

Before starting Ithaca Partners Alex worked for The Rose Partnership, Odgers Berndtson and Taylor Bennett.

Background
  • Prior to her career in search, she worked as the Communications Director for FTSE 250-listed insurer Hiscox, and she was a Fast Streamer in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Alex graduated from Durham University.
  • Alex is a Meyler Campbell qualified coach and she mentors two female CEOs of charities. She is also on the committees of the Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum and the Spitalfields Society.
  • Alex is a passionate and engaged Londoner… she’s the Ithaca Partners in-house guru on which London restaurants, East End markets and recent theatre productions are worth a visit.
Laura Williams
Laura Williams

Managing Director

Laura is Alex’s business partner at Ithaca Partners. She was one of the earliest to join Alex, coming on board soon after the company was founded. They first worked together many years before in government.

The steady hand behind the scenes, Laura ensures the firm not only delivers for its clients and candidates, but also thrives as a business and is a great working environment for Ithaca colleagues.

With more than 15 years’ experience working in Corporate Affairs executive search, Laura brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by leaders which means she can easily step into client-facing work, adding valuable capacity across search, coaching and facilitation – always with a focus on warmth, clarity, rigour and impact.

Background
  • Laura’s earlier experience was at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (where she met Alex), and at a children’s charity.
  • When she’s not metaphorically pounding the pavements for our clients, Laura is an active and enthusiastic member of her local running club.
  • She is particularly proud to have completed five marathons: London (twice, for Great Ormond Street and The Children’s Trust), Amsterdam, Berlin (in a personal best time), and Paris – which she has vowed will be her last!
Lucinda Armitage
Lucinda Armitage

Director of Research

Lucinda joined Ithaca Partners in 2017 as a Consultant. She works alongside Alex on the research and execution of all search assignments and interim appointments.

Lucinda is typically the first point of contact for candidates – having initial conversations with them and working closely to make sure we’re discussing roles which will suit and interest them.

Background
  • Having begun her career in publishing, Lucinda moved into executive search in 1997, initially working for Armstrong International, where she concentrated on corporate finance appointments.
  • Lucinda moved to Redwood Search in 2002, and later to Aretai Consulting, focussing on search and interim appointments for senior HR executives.
  • She has an English degree from Bristol University and an MA from QMW, London.
  • Outside work, Lucinda is an avid theatre goer and an enthusiastic cyclist and triathlete, competing in Olympic and half-Ironman distance races. She is also a qualified acupuncturist.
Seri Davies
Seri Davies

Head of Emerging Talent

Seri joined Ithaca Partners in 2020 as a Consultant where she led permanent and interim assignments. She now focuses on Ithaca’s EDI initiatives and on identifying emerging talent.

She heads up Ithaca’s EDI strategy in partnership with talented diverse candidates in Corporate Affairs and works closely with No Turning Back, the Black Comms Network, Asian Comms Network and other advocacy organisations.

Background
  • She has over 17 years’ experience working in Corporate Affairs executive search and recruitment, having worked for Taylor Bennett, Unicorn Jobs and Birchwood Knight.
  • Seri has a degree in History from Royal Holloway, University of London, and holds a CIPD award in Recruitment, Selection and Resourcing Talent.
Lucinda Jones
Lucinda Jones

Finance & Operations Manager

Lucinda joined Ithaca Partners in 2022 as Finance and Operations Manager. She ensures the smooth running of Ithaca’s finances, operations, contracts and facilities for the search business and the coaching and facilitation team.

Background
  • Lucinda’s earlier career experience was in PR working at Ketchum before joining McDonald’s as a freelancer on their corporate community involvement activity.
  • She also worked in an administrative role for a local secondary school.
  • Lucinda has a degree in Publishing from Oxford Brookes University.
  • Outside work, she enjoys life in rural Dorset. So does Mabel (the family dog) who keeps her company at Ithaca Dorset HQ.
Edwina Tite
Edwina Tite

Research Manager

Edwina joined Ithaca Partners in 2022 and works as a Research Manager. She leads on all aspects of candidate management, scheduling of initial candidate conversations with Ithaca and provides support with desk research for new search assignments.

In addition, she has responsibility for maintaining the integrity of Ithaca’s candidate database both in terms of effectiveness for Ithaca searches and with regards to compliance and best practice.

Background
  • Edwina has a wealth of PA experience across a range of industries, including executive search, financial services, and publishing.
  • She grew up in New Zealand and in her spare time enjoys spending time with her family, long dog walks, and supporting the All Blacks.
Lois Iles
Lois Iles

Executive Assistant

Lois joined Ithaca Partners permanently in January 2024 as an Executive Assistant, having done various projects for Alex over the years. She provides executive and administrative support to Alex and the wider search team and leads on all aspects of interview scheduling throughout the search process.

Background
  • Lois has many years’ experience in business support roles, including Editorial Secretary at The Daily Mail and Office Manager for Teneo’s Dubai office.
  • As a keen yogi, Lois has spent time in an ashram in India amongst many far-flung adventures. When not at work or on the mat, you can find her hiking on the South Downs, volunteering at animal rescue centres or planning her next trip to the theatre.
Anna Hartropp
Anna Hartropp

Investor Relations

Anna specialises in Investor Relations search. As a former in-house Investor Relations Officer, she understands the intricacies and challenges of investor relations roles and the industry’s issues.

Anna’s network, combined with her own in-house experience, has helped clients recruit the best talent in investor relations for both permanent and temporary contracts.

Background
  • Anna has worked on bespoke search projects across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, as well as recruiting new IR roles for small cap, AIM and newly listed companies.
  • In addition, she has worked with clients to fill ESG positions and IR & Communications/IR & Strategy roles, as well as to find talent for IR consultancies.