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About Per Ardua Associates

Per Ardua is united around a common mission – to enable our clients to exceed their ambitions by identifying the best talent. We are an owner-managed business specialising in recruiting leaders in financial services. As a team, our focus on excellence and shared values drives us, but our passion is also underpinned by a recognition of our position of responsibility and our social impact. We strive to surpass the expectations of those we meet and care deeply about the legacy we leave behind.

Founded in 2008, we have developed a long track record of working closely with organisations across financial services, real assets and technology.  We exist to serve our clients and the candidates they seek, and from the very start recognised that collaboration and unselfish behaviour is critical to maintaining this absolute focus.  We have no silos: everyone at Per Ardua is incentivised to form the best team for a particular client requirement, no matter what.

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Who We Are

We are:

Inclusive: diversity, equality and inclusion are at the heart of our principles and are reflected in the choices we make, and the way we work.

Caring: we care deeply about our clients, candidates and colleagues. You will see this in the people we hire and the work we do.

Inquisitive: we are curious, always inquisitive, fascinated by people, and we never stand still.

Courageous: from courage comes progress. We challenge ourselves, our clients and candidates to question convention and change the conversation.

Collaborative: we share knowledge and best practice and we collaborate to achieve the best outcomes, for each project, and for each client.

Our Expertise

We specialise in identifying and recruiting leaders who will make a distinctive and positive impact for financial services organisations.

Collectively we have decades of experience of working in Insurance, Banking & Consumer Financial Services, Real Assets and Asset & Wealth Management at both Board and Leadership levels.

We support clients in a range of areas including search, talent mapping and succession planning, competitor analysis and market entry intelligence and DE&I talent acceleration programmes.

Global Reach

Financial Services is a global phenomenon. Our clients operate across national and regional boundaries, constantly evolving their model to stay ahead of the ever-changing forces of the markets. We recognise their need for leaders who understand this dynamic and have the experience and qualities to inspire success thorough change. In the search for this talent, we can identify the best people in financial centres across the world.

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The Experience

From day one, the firm was designed to operate as one unit with the aim of partnering the best possible team with each client. We do not operate as individual practices but rather as a group of experienced practitioners dedicated to the overall betterment of every one of our clients. Whether a requirement is entirely within one market segment or requires a cross-practice approach, our inclusive culture means that we field the best team every time. Regardless of the situation, each mandate is led by a practice leader.

We are an international firm with seven core areas of expertise.

Asset & Wealth Management
Banking & Consumer Financial Services
BOARD
Corporate Functions
Human Resources
Insurance
Real Assets
Our Teams

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and that commitment influences every area of our work. We know that gender and ethnic representation in organisations, especially at senior levels, doesn’t yet reflect broader society, and we’re working to change this. We don’t have all the answers, but we ask the right questions.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee regularly sets and reviews parameters by which we hold ourselves to account. Within our teams we train, teach and learn, constantly developing our awareness of diversity in all its forms.

We participate in initiatives and champion diversity:

  • We are supporters the 10,000 Black Interns programme
  • Mentoring is part of our culture and practice
  • We’re a Partner to the Brokerage’s 25 Young Leaders Programme
  • We support ‘Moving Ahead’ events
  • We conduct and provide Conscious Inclusion training
  • We’re proud and active supporters of MIND and GAIN
  • We partner with networks including the 30% Club, City Women’s Network, and Real Estate Balance

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion embodies and drives Per Ardua’s hiring culture, purpose, collaborative approach and professional relationships.  We believe passionately that D,E&I forms the basis of a positive working environment and we recognise that gender and ethnic representation in organisations, especially at senior levels does not yet reflect broader society.  A truly diverse workforce is better able to achieve success through a wide-ranging understanding of society, culture, opportunities and solutions.  It fosters better decision-making, customer understanding and offers a competitive advantage.

 

We have been particularly active in advising clients on the full spectrum of diversity to create more effective leadership but there is more that needs to be done.

 

Our Commitment to Diversity

We recognise affirmative actions are necessary to build longer term diverse talent at both the future leader, executive and NED levels.  Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee have set out a number of parameters with which we continually hold ourselves to account. We actively track our own performance of diverse placements against a range of criteria and have seen a positive trend in the last three years. Internally we have been focusing on our own development through discussion and training groups so that we are best prepared to assist clients.  Our Real Assets practice has an excellent track record in hiring diverse candidates, with over 64% of our hires in the last 18 months being diverse.

 

We are committing to you that we will put diversity at the forefront of the process in everything we do so that we maximise the opportunity to make a diverse appointment.  As such we will:

 

  • Use our internal diverse talent tracking methodology to surface candidates already known to us.
  •  Use our networks proactively to source additional diverse talent in this space, particularly targeting those senior diverse leaders whom we know for advice, which often provides access to differing networks.
  • Tailor our candidate approach so as to adapt to individual motivations and drivers, using inclusive language so as to increase the chances of engaging those who are not actively looking.
  • Work with you in partnership, and provide challenge where required, in order to provide a diverse shortlist.

Our World

Per Ardua was born and grew up in London. Whilst this gives us very significant expertise in and understanding of the people and dynamics of the highly complex UK market, we are also extremely active elsewhere internationally. Our understanding of a broad range of financial and real assets markets and cultures means that we are well positioned to conduct search and advisory work in numerous locations as our recent track record demonstrates. We are regularly active in most European countries including Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain; further afield we have also conducted work in North America; Bermuda; The United Arab Emirates; Singapore and Australia. Please contact the relevant practice area for more specific information.

Per Ardua Associates Ltd
Level 14, Tower 42
25 Old Broad Street
London
EC2N 1HQ

Paris

Frankfurt

Zurich

Amsterdam

New York

Bermuda

Per Ardua Associates Ltd
Level 14, Tower 42
25 Old Broad Street
London
EC2N 1HQ

Stockholm

Edinburg

Munich

Abu Dhabi

Cologne

Luxembourg

Miami

Belfast

Dublin

Sydney

Singapore