Vogue: And how does it work in practice?
We get a small investment, of course, but more importantly, we are now, in essence, a preferred talent supplier for the group. And we also get support with production, creative content communications, that kind of thing. It’s really exciting.
Vogue: The opportunities to amplify your message regarding diverse hiring seem limitless now.
Yes. I don’t think there’s a talent partner in the industry that does what we do. You know, headhunters are traditionally on the periphery. It’s not often that you get a former chief exec, who’s in the industry, who understands the real reality of scaling creativity to headhunt for you.
Vogue: Is The Outsiders Perspective a headhunting company?
In my head, I call us a talent partner. We launched with our Accelerator Programme, which is about transitioning diverse professionals from alternate industries into luxury sector-agnostic roles. And now we are about to launch Executive Search, which is another way to deliver the mission.
We want to be known to be also delivering on executive search. And we also want to be working stronger with our existing and new partners, who want to make a difference and understand the industry’s challenges right now, and that skilled, diverse talent in operational roles could really benefit it commercially. How can we double down on that whilst increasing representation? We’ve got a great accelerator programme, but my ambition is to do more bespoke talent programmes of that nature.
Vogue: Where do you see The Outsiders Perspective in five years?
I’m in Dubai right now, and there is a massive appetite for what we’re doing. I am having conversations about India and the Middle East and how these are markets where things are happening and where you can find the next generation of talent. We’ve got Paris, we’ve got New York, London and Milan, but I think if we can be known as that partner who’s giving you the best talent for and from all those emerging markets… that’s the dream.
Vogue: DEI has, in recent years, become polemic. How do we move forward?
I think the messaging around DEI initiatives post the Black Lives Matter 2020 movement has created a false perception that people are being given leading roles just because they are underrepresented. This is not true. A business should be looking at the best talent the market has to offer, and that means looking wider than “conventional” talent pools. There is vast talent to be found in the global market. An increase in skilled representation can drive growth for all.
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