The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), the global association representing the $20+ billion executive search and leadership consulting industry, with member firms spanning 1,200+ offices in 70+ countries, is pleased to welcome Narratology as a new member. The firm’s acceptance follows a rigorous vetting process to ensure quality standards. Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Narratology is an executive search firm working with organisations in the private, public and not for profit sectors to appoint their most senior positions on the Island of Ireland and beyond. Focusing specifically on C-level, Director and Senior Management mandates, Narratology has significant expertise in working across industry sectors in organisations from large privately owned companies and scaling entrepreneurs to global PLCs and FDI market entrants. Narratology also assists clients with Board appointments, Interim Management, and Market Mapping assignments. Narratology Managing Director Ruth McDonald commented: “We at Narratology are thrilled and honoured to achieve AESC membership. This seal of approval recognises our commitment to executive search at the highest standards of delivery, integrity and accountability in appointing exceptional leadership talent. As part of this prestigious community of executive search firms, we look forward to new insights, perspectives and innovation that will ultimately bring further value [...]

Today marks the launch of a new recruitment toolkit to advance socio-economic diversity across the UK’s financial services workforce, designed by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), in partnership with Progress Together. The toolkit has been crafted for Boards, C-suite executives, HR and talent acquisition teams, equipping them with evidence-based strategies and actionable steps to drive real change. The structured framework contains key questions for hiring managers to ask their executive search partners and includes topics such as: Sourcing and attracting candidates from underrepresented backgrounds Effective use of socio-economic data to support fair hiring Composition of search terms and minimising bias throughout the process Fair and inclusive assessment and onboarding practices This is designed to spark accountability, meaningful dialogue and drive measurable, transparent progress towards a more inclusive leadership pipeline. Anne Barnett, Chief People Officer, Paragon said, “It's fantastic to see Progress Together and The Association of Executive Search Consultants empower organisations with a practical toolkit to champion socio-economic diversity, enabling HR and talent acquisition teams to unlock broader talent and transform leadership and the highest levels.” Senior roles are largely dominated by those from higher socio-economic backgrounds with recent studies revealing only 28% of senior leaders in UK financial services [...]