Our Team
Our team of experts strive to be the best at what they do. Partnering with you as an inclusive and honest extension to your HR community to help achieve and exceed your business goals. We commit to excellence, continually adapt to your business demands and ultimately deliver on our promise.
Ben is a highly experienced executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of international leadership experience in talent management, executive search and HR consultancy. Having spent time living and working in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and the UK he brings a deep appreciation of the retail and consumer industry in some of the worlds most complex markets.
Ben Leary, Director and Founder
A message from our founder
Ben Leary
The most overlooked and undervalued lever of a successful company is found in the management, or in many cases, the mismanagement of the people element. In many ways, leaders are the culture of an organisation. What they do and how they act sends signals to everyone else. These actions are often more powerful than what is said. Companies must retain both formal and informal leaders to implement the changes required to achieve projected synergies and future strategic objectives.
It is sobering to note that the first quarter of 2023 marked a record-high in CEO turnover, a surge of almost 50% compared to the same period in the previous year, with over 1400 CEOs departing. This figure is even more sobering when remembering that business leaders view operational stability as key to success.
Most executives agree operational stability is the best place to start. One of the most important variables in a company’s operations, its talent, requires a firm standing to keep the business running smoothly.
This has become ever more paramount as global consumer brands continue to trade in a challenging and ever evolving economic and political landscape, making the scope of work for senior executives anything but business as usual.
Refinancing, debt restructuring, diversification, and profit warnings has become the day-to-day for many leaders as companies continue to pivot and transform current operating models. Large consumer and retail brands are consistently facing these challenges in both developed and emerging markets.
At Column Associates we want to help remove some of the risk and help you navigate the complexities of appointing and retaining great talent. We look forward to working with you and joining you on the path to success.
Consultants and Delivery Teams
Column Associates always assign a project team that remains a dedicated resource for the lifecycle of any given project. Our delivery teams blend industry and functional expertise with cultural and geographic knowledge, providing you with a dynamic selection of candidates to lead your business. Every project looks to identify a diverse portfolio of candidates against a predefined set of capabilities demands designed for and with you by the team at Column Associates.
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.