Agora Talent

Our team hosted a great breakfast event for our CFO and COO CPG network in conjunction with the Value Creation team at Deloitte yesterday. If you'd like to be involved in future events - drop our team a note ⬇️

June was all about Retail for the Agora Finance team. Congratulations to the following who started the next chapter in their careers… → Sam Hopkinson ACA joins Jessica McCormack from PwC as Finance Manager → Laura Gavin, ACA joins URBN (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie Group, Free People & Nuuly) from Merlin Entertainments Entertainment, as EU Financial Accountant  → James Palakkattu joins Moonpig as a Finance Manager from Commonwealth Games England → Kyrsten Lawrence joins ME+EM Ltd as Finance Assistant from the Royal Botanical Gardens Congratulations to Joe Dyer for successfully managing three of these processes to such a high standard. 👏 “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩—𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰!”

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱... However - I thought I would highlight a shift I've seen in recent weeks as major retailers dial back flexible working policies:  • Ocado Retail - 1 day to 3 days in office  • Morrisons - ditching the 4.5 day week and returning to 5 days  • John Lewis & Partners - 3 days minimum for some teams As someone working with finance professionals, I can see some real challenges for employers:  • 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 - many candidates discount roles with 4+ office days.  • 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 - candidates demand premiums to offset commuting costs.  • 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - talent restricted to commutable distances.  • 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 - high performers exploring more flexible opportunities.  • 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 - working parents and caregivers are often most affected. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆? Some retailers cite gaining competitive advantage through increased collaboration and creativity - definitely valid reasons. And ultimately, many are still offering some flexibility (reduced working from home ≠ fully in office). 𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺? No. Most of our retail/consumer clients still operate successful hybrid models - it's a small minority forcing full office returns. These flexible companies are becoming magnets for top talent, and top-tier candidates still aren't compromising on flexibility, even in an employer-favourable market. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁? In my opinion - meaningful collaboration (e.g. strategic planning sessions, cross functional projects, effective L&D for more junior team members) without sacrificing the flexibility that attracts quality finance professionals.

Congratulations to Alexander Campbell on his appointment to Pepco Group as Head of Financial Planning & Analysis. Alex joins Pepco Group during an incredibly interesting period of transformation. He brings a wealth of FP&A and leadership experience from brands such as Chanel, Ted Baker, and Northgate PLC. Pepco Group have partnered with Agora since we founded the business in 2017; Alex joins a high-calibre, dedicated team and we look forward to seeing the impact Alex will have on the business. Search led by Chris Hall, Interim Lead. “The quality of candidates presented was high and closely aligned with the brief. Communication throughout the process was clear, timely, and proactive — ensuring there were no surprises when it came to finalising the offer. A truly professional and well-managed experience from start to finish.”

🚀 Interim Commercial Finance Opportunities – 3 New Roles Available! 🚀 I'm working with a PE backed Consumer business who are looking to bring in three exceptional Interim Commercial Finance Business Partners to support key areas of the business: 🔹 Operations 🔹 Digital Marketing 🔹 Technology On an initial 6 month basis, each role requires a highly credible and commercially astute finance partner who thrives in a fast-paced environment. You will have... ✅ Strong data, analytics & insight skills ✅ The ability to influence senior business leaders ✅ Experience in PE-backed, blue-chip, or FTSE environments ✅ Demonstrable experience partnership extensively with the above departments If you're available immediately or on short notice and think the above would be a good fit then please reach out to me on here or at chris@agora-talent.com ASAP.

🚀 Big news from the team at enki We’re thrilled to invite you to the enki launch event on 13 February 2025!

Thanks Mark Shepherd - delighted to be a part of the GathrtoFind community