What happens when you design an executive search firm around purpose, not just process? Kate Grussing CBE, Founder and Managing Director of Sapphire Partners, shares how her team has been reshaping the industry since 2005.
Inspired by the question of what makes a high-performing team — and recognising gaps in a market that wasn’t serving either clients or candidates well — Kate built Sapphire to take a more creative, targeted approach to finding exceptional leaders. Rather than relying on the “usual candidates,” her firm broadened its strategy to identify hard-to-find individuals who could act as magnets for talent, role models, and long-term value creators.
In this episode, Kate discusses why focus matters in client work, the lessons from starting with flexible and project-based roles before broadening scope, and what it’s meant to be a front runner in the sector. She reflects on the lasting shifts COVID-19 brought to flexible working, how boards are becoming more intentional in recruiting necessary skills, and the importance of supporting leaders across their entire career journeys.
Kate Grussing