1st Executive

10/04/2026

Sometimes an fits so well, the assignment turns into something more. In this case, a short term CFO brief turned into a permanent role—proof that great leadership can change the plan for the better. Click the link to read more https://tinyurl.com/2s3wavsz.

08/04/2026

Download our latest infographic to stay informed on the state of the Australian workforce. In February 2026, the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%. Explore the key trends shaping the labour market today. https://tinyurl.com/2s4jkzb7

07/04/2026

Facing leadership gaps or operational challenges? Discover how our interim manager helped an international building products company restore performance and drive profitability. Explore more success stories on our website...https://tinyurl.com/36b9xf2h

02/04/2026

Sometimes the right does more than deliver results, they redefine what’s possible. A short term CFO assignment evolved into a permanent appointment, highlighting how impactful leadership can reshape long term strategy. Read more https://tinyurl.com/2s3wavsz

01/04/2026

Through our membership and shared ownership of NPAworldwide, we’re part of a genuinely global network of experienced executive search professionals. These are people who know their markets who understand how to identify, engage, and assess senior talent in their industries. It means we’re not limited by geography, we can access and secure the right leadership talent wherever it sits. https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0K5f70

Whether your hiring needs are across town or across the globe, NPAworldwide members have the right connections to solve your most critical hiring needs.

30/03/2026

Struggling with leadership gaps and operational issues? See how our interim manager drove profitability for an international building products company. Read more success stories on our website...https://tinyurl.com/36b9xf2h

24/03/2026

25 years in business is rarely achieved without strong partnering relationships. We have already mentioned our relationship with Mindshop in these posts. That relationship has not only been fruitful, but it has also clearly taught us what to look for in a partnership.

Almost 10 years ago, we found such a partner in the general recruitment space. NPAworldwide instantly gave us global coverage for our recruitment work.

It provided access to around 500 independent recruitment firms globally to work with as partners. This meant we could confidently take on recruitment assignments in most countries and across most business segments, knowing that we had specialist partners to support us where needed.

Operating as a member-owned cooperative, with strong governance and formalised split-fee rules, has enabled us to service blue-collar projects, highly technical assignments, and roles across Japan, China, the USA, and Europe—all with a single point of contact for our clients.

Just like Mindshop, what really makes this network a valuable partner is the friendship, trust, and support we experience and can extend to our clients. It’s a powerful network of people we treat as first-line customers, ensuring we reciprocate when delivering services to their clients.

20/03/2026

As I move on to another of our 25 posts for 25 years, it is worth commenting on our experience of what is arguably the biggest structural change in white-collar working arrangements in the last 100 years. It is no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic brought working from home to the forefront, while hybrid working appears to be here to stay.

There are lessons in this for candidates, clients, and executive search and recruitment consultants like ourselves. We benefit from being globally networked through NPAworldwide, SpenglerFox, and IXPA for interim management. These are all non-competing networks, giving us both reach and depth when it comes to finding candidates and servicing overseas-based clients.

The reason we have been able to make this work is that we have always had a “Work from Anywhere” philosophy. To a large extent, this was shaped by our family being spread across the world. One son stayed here; one married an American after a college basketball career; and the third—who has recently married an Australian—had an extensive college and professional basketball career that saw him play, study, and work around the world. If we wanted to see them, we had to take our work with us.

We have always had the advantage of being able to work while some of our clients are sleeping, allowing us to deliver timely results. This philosophy has also enabled us to seamlessly work with clients and candidates across Australia and New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Japan, the USA, and even Togo in West Africa. We hired our Digital Marketing Manager in Melbourne—he still works with us and now lives in Jakarta.

While we can find candidates and fill roles anywhere, the lesson for mid-market candidates—whose first question is often about hybrid work or working from home—is this: “If you truly believe your job can be done from home, it can be done from anywhere.”

Food for thought.

17/03/2026

Mindshop – Our 25 Year Advisory Partner

We owe a debt of gratitude to Mindshop. Our membership over the last 25 years has taught us the value of being in networks with like-minded people.

Mindshop has a unique capability to absorb best practice in management consulting and then distil it into accessible tools that we can use to facilitate the development of our clients. Our advisory work has taken us into many industries, which in turn has provided us with incredible insights in our executive search and recruitment work. As a consequence, we are consultants first in all that we do.

In addition to the powerful resources that Mindshop provides, the global network of consultants who share common values has been an invaluable resource over the years.

Advanced technology and now AI-based support on our advisory platform is also passed on to our clients. This allows us to deliver real-time, just-in-time, problem-solving driven advisory work that clients can implement in their business the same day.

Thank you, Mindshop.

13/03/2026

Hybrid work didn’t end after the pandemic, it evolved. The next phase isn’t just people working between home and office, but teams where humans and AI assistants sit directly in the flow of work.

The leadership question is changing: not simply how to manage hybrid teams, but how to lead systems where people and AI each contribute what they do best. Our latest article explores why this matters for leadership, productivity and executive talent. https://tinyurl.com/35breeyc

Hybrid work isn’t just home vs office anymore. AI agents now sit inside workflows. Here’s what leaders must redesign: work, governance, culture, and capability.