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Denise Pike

@denisepike

Vice President at Cobalt Search delivering retained executive searches across North America.

At Cobalt Search, I lead retained executive search delivery across the US market. I manage searches from briefing through placement and recruit senior leaders, including COO, CFO and CTO appointments.

At Allium Talent, I led business operations and a team of ten. I designed and implemented a recruitment operating model for an international hiring programme and recruited 60+ Procurement Managers and Directors for the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia.

At DMP Recruitment Ltd, I founded and led a recruitment consultancy and career advisory service. I delivered executive recruitment and transformation projects, and designed a national competency-based interview framework.

Earlier, at Newton Europe, I led a nationwide graduate recruitment programme and increased direct sourcing from 27% to 71%. Across my career, I’ve delivered retained and executive searches in the US, UK, Europe and Middle East.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Vice President

Current

Cobalt Search

Oct 2023 - Present (3 years)

Lead the delivery function for a specialist retained executive search firm focused on leadership hiring across the US market. Partner with founders, private equity backed businesses and global organisations to appoint senior executives while leading the firm's delivery capability.

Executive Search Retained Search Leadership Hiring Team Leadership Client Advisory Talent Mapping Business Development RecruiterFlow LinkedIn Recruiter

Managing Director

Allium Talent

Sep 2021 - Oct 2023 (2 years 1 month)

Promoted from Account Director to lead the operational, commercial and people performance of a specialist executive search business. Led business operations and a team of ten, and designed and implemented the complete recruitment operating model for a flagship international hiring programme.

Executive Search Retained Search Team Leadership Recruitment Operations KPI Frameworks RecruiterFlow Business Operations

Director

DMP Recruitment Ltd

Jul 2019 - Sep 2021 (2 years 2 months)

Founded and led a recruitment consultancy and career advisory service. Delivered executive recruitment and recruitment transformation projects including Operations Director, Chief Data Officer and Head of Finance for Guide Dogs.

Executive Search Recruitment Transformation Competency Based Interviewing Preferred Supplier Network

Talent Acquisition Manager

Avis Budget Group

Apr 2018 - Jun 2019 (1 year 2 months)

Led direct recruitment across the UK and Europe for Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operational functions. Achieved 100% direct hiring, significantly reducing agency spend.

Talent Acquisition Direct Sourcing Recruitment Stakeholder Management

Student Recruitment Officer

PwC

Oct 2017 - Apr 2018 (6 months)

Managed graduate recruitment and school leaver recruitment across the South East. Delivered assessment centres and competency based interviews.

Graduate Recruitment Assessment Centres Competency Based Interviews

Resourcing Officer

Grant Thornton

Aug 2016 - Jan 2017 (5 months)

Supported experienced hire and graduate recruitment across multiple business areas.

Recruitment Experienced Hire Graduate Recruitment

Talent Acquisition Specialist

Newton Europe

Dec 2012 - Jun 2016 (3 years 6 months)

Successfully led a nationwide graduate recruitment programme and managed specialist recruitment across consulting and engineering. Increased direct sourcing from 27% to 71% and reduced time-to-hire from 68 to 35 days.

Talent Acquisition Graduate Recruitment Direct Sourcing Time To Hire Reduction