Career Search Start Up Sources Non-Traditional Talent For The Integrated Age
Emily Buckland, previously Director & Head of Brand at Porter Novelli London, opens the doors of SESAME alongside a team of three ex-colleagues whose experience spans Omnicom, WPP, and IPG.
Sourcing people who can take on non-linear and diverse roles within the evolving communications landscape is a need which SESAME founder Emily Buckland identified wasn’t being met by PR head-hunters. Attracting and retaining talent now ranks as the foremost concern across the entire C-Suite, according to results from a survey of over 1,000 business leaders [1]. And after 18 years at the business end of agency life, Buckland has seized the opportunity to use her PR network in a different way, channelling it into talent sourcing and supporting business growth with a variety of cultural consultancy offerings. The new offer will retain a handful of clients for PR consulting.
Team SESAME, with Sesame
She has brought together a team of three seasoned PR experts to support her in this new venture. Marigold Dixon and Liz Littlechild will take positions as Partner, while Rosie Freeland comes in as Head of Communications.
Emily says “The traditional PR head-hunting space is crowded, and standard recruitment isn’t delivering. With true integration standing for the new normal, a different breed of talent is needed to understand and deliver against what that means. Whilst our industry has some well documented challenges to overcome, we believe it goes further than this. To drive innovation, you need all sorts of talent, whether that be from a parallel marketing discipline, those from a completely unrelated sector, you see the magic in the work when you bring eclectic experience together. Finding these brilliant people is what we are great at and what we revel in.”
Buckland goes on to add: “I’m proud of our brand purpose, to represent diverse and interesting talent who might need the help of our connections to open doors, and to me, that is something that runs so much deeper than the transactional way most talent acquisition seems to be done. Whilst what we offer isn’t for everyone - there are clients that we have politely moved away from, it has struck a chord with those looking to future-proof their businesses as comms continues to reinvent itself. We are thankful for the support of our founding clients and the fabulous talent wanting to work with us differently.”
SESAME will specialise in permanent and long-term fixed contracts across client teams in the Brand, Corporate, Technology and Healthcare space, as well as content, planning and creative roles in the UK, EMEA and North America.
Notes to editors:
Consultancy services include:
Employer brand development, B2B PR support/profiling, new business brokering, acquisitions and talent management support.
Profiles:
Emily founded SESAME after 18 years at the business end of agency life, most recently as Head of Brand at Porter Novelli. This new venture means that she can use her PR network in a different way, marrying up brilliant, non-traditional people with equally brilliant companies, in addition to consulting on culture where she’s needed. Emily still consults in PR for a hand-picked selection of innovative companies close to her heart.
Marigold, Partner, specialises in brand marketing, having held senior roles at Freuds and Golin. She is a passionate advocate of flexible working and, as a mum, enjoys helping parents find roles that allow them to balance a rewarding career and home life within our progressive client base.
Liz, Partner, comes from a consumer and healthcare PR background. She most recently worked at Porter Novelli, via Weber Shandwick, Ogilvy and Ketchum. Liz’s passion for people means she has an unerring eye for emerging talent and understands the importance of a rich workforce made up of people with diverse backgrounds and mindsets.
Rosie, Head of Communications, not only helps keep the SESAME show on the road, but oversees marketing. She also loves putting to good use her six years’ experience leading teams at agencies such as Ketchum, Kindred and Porter Novelli by supporting our mid-level talent with confidence coaching and interview prep.
LinkedIn
Instagram
Media enquiries: rosie@hellosesame.co.uk / +44 7803 041 007
[1] C-Suite Challenge™ 2018: Reinventing the Organization for the Digital Age