About Us

Founded in 1999, Carbon is a specialist executive search firm focused on hiring senior leaders for blue-chip financial services organisations.  Operating from our London head office, we recruit Board Directors, CEOs and their direct reports, including business and functional heads, for roles in retail, corporate, and investment banking, as well as insurance and asset management.

Carbon puts clients first, judging success by the longevity and effectiveness of each placement.  Compact in size and serving only a select number of organisations, we build strong and enduring partnerships, which enable us to deliver a high quality executive search experience.  Humility, intelligence and ambition are the hallmark characteristics of a team whose backgrounds comprise a variety of professional and international experience.

Rigorous process

Carbon applies a rigorous and robust search process. This involves both Carbon and our client investing significant time at the outset of every assignment to ensure that the role, reporting lines and the cultural aspects of the firm are fully understood by both parties such that these can be clearly communicated to potential candidates.

The benefit of this analysis, combined with extensive market referencing of each candidate, is that our clients need only meet those three or four candidates who have the skills and aptitude required for the role and the interest in pursuing it. This will allow our client to focus on the key aspect of "fit" and shorten their involvement in the process to the effective minimum. Additionally, Carbon undertakes comprehensive referencing to understand strengths, weaknesses and motivations, thus ensuring there is a better chance that the successful candidate will both remain and prosper with the firm to the benefit of the overall client organisation.

At the conclusion of each assignment, Carbon conducts a quality assessment with both the client and the successful candidate to ensure that the rigour required has been applied and to assess their individual experience of the search assignment.

Post appointment, both client and the newly appointed candidate benefit from the continuing involvement of Carbon in the relationship between them. In this period, when the new appointee is becoming embedded in the organisation, Carbon will provide objective advice and counsel to each, which will speed the transition to the benefit of all.