Head of consumer digital, travel and hospitality, Odgers Berndtson

“The best piece of advice in business I ever received was from someone who has now become a trusted mentor. She told me to be clear where I drew my energy from, to focus on that and become brilliant at it, instead of being distracted by too many other things. I realised that although I enjoy many aspects of my job, what really inspires me is working at a strategic level with CEOs, company founders and HR directors to build and develop their talent and leadership teams. I keep focused and always put it at the core of what I do.”

Group CEO & chairman, Antal International & Antal International Network

“ ‘Tony, people won’t necessarily see the opportunities (or the problems) as you see them.’ This was given to me by someone in the Sunday Times Rich List top 200 whom I had written to, seeking their advice. I interpreted this as both a blessing and a huge frustration: a blessing insofar as no one had yet seen the potential of Russia, China, India, CEE and Africa for recruitment services; and frustrating because I had to keep explaining, demonstrating, cajoling and educating people as to my vision. Vision is great; execution and implementation of that vision is a whole different ball game, which is why most businesses fail.”

MD, Autotech Recruit

“I met James Osborne, chairman of the Recruitment Network, in the mid 00s. At a time when recruitment companies were stretching themselves across every possible industry, boutique agencies – with an ‘inch-wide, mile-deep’ approach – were popping up. James’ message that it was important to ‘keep it simple, don’t digress from the sector you are working within, and penetrate it as hard as you can’, resonated with me. The idea of an agency dedicated to the automotive aftermarket, particularly centred around temporary vehicle technicians and MOT testers, was already an idea, but after founding Autotech Recruit in 2010, sticking to this philosophy helped us meet the demands of an industry with many recruitment challenges.”