In December 2020, it was announced that headhunting firm the Up Group was to be acquired by Alexander Mann Solutions, providing another step along the remarkable journey that the firm has had over the last fifteen years.
Before founding the Up Group in 2007, Clare Johnson was a General Manager for Bright Young Things, who specialized in graduate recruitment. Johnston had already progressed very rapidly in her career, and at the age of 26 – very young in the context of executive search – she founded the Up Group.
As Johnson notes, “I joke that at the age of 26, I had my ‘Jerry Maguire’ moment: I wanted to build a challenger brand in a traditional industry, executive search, an industry that badly needed to change, and I wanted to play in the most disruptive part of the market, in tech/digital. I believed passionately that different kinds of talent as well as a different kind of approach was needed to help these exciting new tech start-ups to succeed. I wanted to inspire people to step off the corporate ladder and pursue a more entrepreneurial path; I wanted to find a way of building non-transactional relationships and of truly adding value (contrary to the view held by many in executive search at the time); and I wanted to find a way of convening a fascinating group of individuals in an engaging format that was truly additive.“
Indeed the Up Group would prove to be extremely disruptive to the established order of technology industry search firms in Europe. Part of the disruption was brand and image related; at the time headhunting firms were often “stuffy” – full of middle-aged, grey men, with dark blue websites and full of stock images of people in suits shaking hands in business meetings. The Shrek firms, often dry and serious, would typically write tedious and barely-read white papers in an attempt to portray themselves as McKinsey. Although they did lots of good work, the Shrek firms often felt culturally like big accounting firms – bland, conservative, and somewhat at odds with the dynamism of the digital sector.
By contrast, the Up Group was anything but bland. Johnston is a smart, engaging and vibrant leader, and the branding of the firm reflected this. The grey, middle aged men of their rivals found a new, difficult competitor, with a team of young and talented (and often female) consultants eager to gain market share.
Building a new headhunting firm in the face of established competition is no easy task, and Johnston’s background in graduate recruitment likely helped her substantially. Johnston made it her business to get to know the key investors, CEOs and executives in the internet and technology sector, and started off winning relatively more junior roles that a typical search firm might not take. Johnston knew that if they could do a good job on the more junior roles, then the more senior roles would follow, and this proved to be an astute prediction.
One of the key successes of the firm has been to retain key staff over the years. Directors of the firm such as Pete Alexander have stayed with the firm for years, retaining their knowledge, and growing with the firm. Many boutique headhunting firms struggle to retain staff in the long-term but the Up Group built an internal culture that made it able to keep key staff in a way that other firms have struggled to emulate. Much of that is due to Clare’s vision and evident success with the firm. That’s not to say that working within the firm isn’t challenging – far from it – employees talk about a fast-paced and demanding culture where expectations are high, but also where rewards are substantial.
Another key facet of the firm’s success has been their innovative approach to marketing. Part of this is branding – the green colour scheme and dynamic stylings of the firm are an effective differentiator – but their innovative approach to marketing has extended far beyond mere look and feel. The Up Group has become known for its roundtables, breakfasts and events, regularly hosting meetings featuring key industry personnel. Perhaps most notably, the creation of the Digital Masters Awards was a masterstroke. By creating its own awards ceremony, the Up Group gave itself the perfect opportunity to network with potential clients and candidates. Other search firms in Europe looked on enviously as the firm further built its brand. The Up Group no longer had to take more junior roles; it was operating on the top table, competing with the Shrek firms and winning work with both PE-backed firms and corporates.
Although a relatively young, and (at the time) unproven entrepreneur, Johnston has shown considerable skill in challenging a lot of the norms of executive search, and building a truly differentiated firm and steadily gaining market share in an extremely competitive sector. This has not been a flash in the pan, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the Up Group develops through its new phase of ownership.