​RBW Consulting– a purpose driven recruitment and search consultancy specialising in the life science sector – today announces the appointment of James Wakefield as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as the company sets its sights on further growth. Wakefield brings with him a wealth of senior management experience in the recruitment industry, ranging from small-midsized companies to large corporates; he is currently the UK Chair and a member of the global representative committee for The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

Throughout his career, he has successfully grown teams and businesses, both in the UK and overseas. He joined Cobalt Recruitment in 2007, leading their international expansion drive and playing a key role in increasing their headcount from 60 to over 200, during a period in which the business more than doubled both top and bottom-line earnings, James then became the company’s first CEO, leading it for over 4 years. Most recently, Wakefield spent 18 months at Kernel Global, where he was tasked with the growth of the international operations for two of their leading businesses, with particular focus on the US, German and French markets.

“I feel hugely privileged to have been trusted with the task of becoming RBW Consulting’s CEO”, said Wakefield. “RBW is an excellent business with a great culture a thriving sector. Since the company’s inception in 2007, they have stayed true to their founding mission – helping life science businesses change the world – while also achieving impressive growth. I am committed to continuing this ethos as we look to the future, and will do everything to ensure that we can all be proud of what we achieve together.”

Wakefield’s entrance to the company signals an evolution of the leadership team at RBW Consulting. Emma Thorp, previously Chief Growth Officer, has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for EU and North America, whilst Co-founders Richard Warren and Nick Rapley are to take a step back from their current CEO and President roles to focus more on their Board responsibilities. Chairman Tim Perman continues in his role.

About the new board structure, Richard Warren said: “As founders of the business, Nick and I are extremely pleased to welcome James in the role of CEO, to spearhead the evolution of the company.”

He continued: “The importance of bringing in the right experience, energy and expertise for every milestone that the business reaches cannot be underestimated. For us it always starts with culture fit, and with James we have found someone whose motivations are perfectly aligned with ours and those of everyone in the business. He brings fantastic experience and new, complementary skills to our company. Together, we represent a strong, experienced leadership team that has a unified vision of success – that’s an incredibly powerful combination and we couldn’t be more excited about the new chapter James will lead RBW Consulting into”

The board re-structure follows a period of significant growth for RBW. Alongside stellar commercial performance, driven by continued geographic expansion across the US and UK and maximising the synergies between the company’s multiple specialisms across the life science industry, the company’s focus on using business to do good has also been a key feature. In June this year, it was announced a winner of the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category at the Best Business Awards, in recognition of its RBW Impact programme – an initiative which sees the company directly funding initiatives that support better health and wellbeing. In October, it became the first life science recruitment business worldwide to be awarded B Corporation certification. The company has also established an Employee Benefit Trust – meaning that the whole team shares in the growing value of the company.

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This article first appeared on the BIA Website.