Paul Chapman, co-founder and managing director of post-trade recruitment solutions specialist HornbyChapman, speaks to AST about the company’s global expansion and future direction, along with the addition of its new APAC and MENA heads Andrew Allen and Nigel Brill
Could you share the journey that led to the formation of your company in 2006?
Paul Chapman: I had served for 18 years in senior roles in the securities services industry, latterly at Northern Trust where I worked closely with European head of recruitment Victoria Hornby. We recognised that there was a gap in the market for a firm that could offer insightful, professional recruitment services based on actual, business-side industry experience.
What inspired you to focus exclusively on post-trade securities services in the executive search industry?
Chapman: This is a dynamic and expanding sector and one that we know intimately. We are very aware that a firm’s success in the post-trade services area is heavily dependent on having top quality staff. Our industry network and experience are a perfect match to help businesses in this space with their talent acquisition requirements.
We have gone from sharing a desk in a small basement room under a pub in Middlesex Street to having offices and staff on the ground in Edinburgh, London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Perth WA, with joint ventures in the locally-hiring markets of New York, Toronto, Luxembourg, Mumbai and Johannesburg.
We have become successful by executing mandates efficiently and consistently, adding value at every stage of the recruitment process and — I accept this is something of a cliche, but it is actually true — partnering with clients and candidates to maximise their success and to help them achieve their potential.
What value does HornbyChapman bring to your clients above and beyond that of a traditional executive search firm?
Chapman: Our staff are a compelling mix of senior industry experts, up to global head level, coupled with extremely experienced career recruiters such as Lucy Cazenove. Between us, we have been employed in the vast majority of the roles that we work on and have unique insight into what it takes to perform and to hire into a given role. Our deep, global and specialised network enables us to execute mandates effectively and professionally with the best possible talent. Our in-depth industry knowledge also helps us to think laterally when sourcing the right candidates for the right roles.
In maintaining and extending this network, we make the effort to meet clients and candidates regularly, on a global basis, and ensure that all interaction is candid, professional, helpful and constructive. We have been consistent in our approach and aim to act as trusted industry advisor and expert to both the firm and the candidate. In doing so, we do not simply focus on the transaction, but on holistically adding to it for the benefit of both sides. With this, candidates often become clients — they know we do not ‘churn’, instead coveting longevity of tenure.
To provide an example, I was driving to a meeting a couple of years ago and I received a call from a senior candidate on the continent who I had worked closely with previously. She indicated, in confidence, that she was looking for a new position. Shortly afterwards, I received a call from a regional head of securities services, who had worked for me in the past, mentioning that she was looking for a deputy. I made the connection immediately and the candidate secured the role and remains working there to this day.
Specialisation and Industry Insight
What are the key challenges and opportunities that you see in post-trade securities services today?
Chapman: The expansion of technology, given its high pace of change and ever-broadening applicability, is a major element that will only become more relevant.
Rising costs and pressures on margins, pushed by public firms’ requirements to meet analysts’ expectations on a quarterly basis, mean that budgets are becoming ever more restricted — with the workforce bearing the brunt.
On the positive side, there remain huge opportunities for bright, globally-mobile employees to add value to their firms and to our industry. However, they will need to focus on being specialists in a given field — be that artificial intelligence (AI), wealth management, or other disciplines.
Expansion and New Markets
What motivated your decision to expand into the MENA and APAC regions?
Chapman: I have been working in these regions as a custodian banker since the early 1990s and from a recruitment perspective since the mid-2000s.
As the global securities services market has expanded into those regions, it makes sense to be physically located where our clients and candidates are located.
While this has required significant investment, it does mean that we are ‘plugged in’ to the post-trade community. This is reinforced by regular conference attendance, industry speaking and by my hosting of the Williams networking event, which this year will take place in New York, Toronto, London, Dublin, Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
To HornbyChapman’s new head of APAC, Andrew Allen, and MENA head, Nigel Brill: how do you plan to leverage your expertise to build the firm’s presence in these locations?
Andrew Allen: I have been in Asia and Australia for 30 years and it still remains a relationship-focused business.
Having spent so much time in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, I aim to leverage my existing network in conjunction with that of HornbyChapman and tailor solutions for our clients. We know the markets, we know the business and we know the candidates well.
Nigel Brill: I’ve lived and worked in this region for the past 14 years and, prior to that, I had been travelling regularly to the region from London for a similar period. It has become home to me and it has been a privilege to witness its extraordinary growth and transformation into a financial hub of substance and significance for the financial world.
Thanks to Paul’s hard work over the past 16 years, HornbyChapman is not a new name in the region; we already have a good network and lots of friends here.
My role is to build on these solid foundations, bring more consistency in terms of presence to existing clients while leveraging my network to develop new relationships that value our core competencies of expertise in post-trade and our partnership approach.
What are your immediate goals and long-term visions for the MENA and APAC offices?
Allen: We will continue to build out the brand and seek out new opportunities, thereby helping out new and existing clients of HornbyChapman. The focus is always to place a top-quality candidate into each role. I have been highly impressed with the quality of candidates that I have met so far.
People trust the HornbyChapman brand and appreciate that the recruiter thoroughly understands the business as well as our clients.
Brill: The objective is to match the entrepreneurial spirit and growth aspirations of our clients with high-quality candidates that will help to propel their businesses and make a positive contribution to the continued success of the region.
After long careers in post-trade, you have both recently moved into your new roles. What motivated you to switch over?
Allen: This offers a refreshing opportunity to work in a smaller organisation, enjoying the multi-tasking requirements without the corporate overhead structure. HornbyChapman is a lean and agile company, so we are able to make decisions quickly and implement them efficiently. Additionally, with the extensive industry experience within the firm, we can share ideas constructively and promptly. As a new member of the team, I have found this particularly useful.
Brill: It has been a refreshing and positive change that I am greatly enjoying so far. After more than 25 years in post-trade — mainly based in sales over the past 15 years — I was ready for a change and to try something different. So far, it has truly been re-energising. I am still involved in an industry that I enjoy, part of a great team and my days are purposeful, whether that is learning about our clients and helping with their plans or supporting candidates that are seeking to build a career in the region.
Industry Trends and Future Outlook
Which emerging trends will be most important in shaping the future of the post-trade securities services industry?
Chapman: Technology will be front and centre, touching every part of the post-trade sector from transfer agency, through compliance and governance, to applying AI to price illiquid securities for lending purposes. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives will also continue to open up opportunities for potentially excellent staff who have been overlooked historically.
Firms are also increasingly focusing on succession planning at all levels. For that reason Liz Harwood-Bridgen, formerly of Citi, Brown Brothers Harriman and BNY Mellon, has joined us to help build out our Next Gen offering.
The ongoing rise in technology will mean that the humans who will succeed in times ahead will need to be highly specialised, tech-savvy, lateral thinkers with strong commercial skills.
With this in mind, our size, reach and added-value approach, coupled with a high touch ethos, means we stay close to all relevant candidates and abreast of all relevant developments. We reinforce this by being physically situated in all major markets and through our membership of Women in Asset Servicing (WiAS.co.uk) and The Securities Services Advisory Group (TSSAG.info).
To extend the benefits that we offer as a company, we are expanding our coaching and mentoring services, engaging actively in assisting our clients with sourcing their ‘next gen’ candidates and acting as strategic advisors in terms of sharing industry insights with both corporate and individual participants.
Looking back at your journey, what are you most proud of in terms of your company’s achievements?
Chapman: I still take great personal delight in every placement that we make, as it has both assisted a candidate with their career journey and also helped a firm fulfil its talent acquisition requirements. This is central to why the firm has built the exceptional industry reputation that it has — and I believe that is my number one achievement.
For a bit of personal insight, what is one thing outside of work that you are passionate about?
Chapman: Over and above a number of sporting interests, when time allows, I am passionate about making sure that my three daughters grow up in a safe environment where they can achieve their potential. This is something that I strive for on a daily basis.
