For a decade, Phipps Cameron has operated in its niche:  The brainchild of founders, Giles Cameron and Charles Phipps, the business has changed the landscape of in-house transformational corporate finance.

Breaking the Mould in Strategy and M&A

The Phipps Cameron journey began with large, international businesses.  Giles and Charles identified an opportunity within these for far more specialised corporate finance functions than were commonplace at the time.

Strategy, M&A and growth operations all stood to benefit from injections of a different type of talent; the plan was to identify the top commercial minds providing advisory support to leading businesses and move them in-house.

The concept was well-received by corporate C-suites and, because of their specialist global candidate network, the Phipps Cameron team were able to build high-performing in-house divisions at pace.  A USP which remains to this day.

These in-house Strategy and M&A teams really were the first of their kind – and the speedy and innovative manner in which they were built has characterised the Phipps Cameron offering from day 1.  It set the firm apart from competitors, and continues to do so.

Finance By Request

 The CFO and Finance Leadership division was set up a short time later, by request of C-suite leaders looking to furnish their businesses with Finance talent to match that which had been placed in Strategy and M&A.

A Global Lens

Even in those early days, mandates were global; because of their absolute specialism, market understanding and attention to detail, Phipps Cameron have always been asked to partner clients wherever the hiring need may be, which led to UK, European and US searches, and a few in Asia – an exciting story right from the start.

Private Equity PortCos

Their performance in the corporate space attracted attention for Phipps Cameron from the Private Equity market, to fulfil the same specialist mandate.

Their expertise in placing the best in-house M&A, Strategy and Finance teams became popular with fund leaders and portfolio C-suites alike.  PortCo instructions came to make up 70%+ of searches.

Phipps Cameron partners with private equity clients at every stage of the investment cycle, from pre-deal right through to exit or IPO, introducing bespoke, creative talent solutions all the time, through both retained searches and ‘watching briefs’.

The Business Today

Phipps Cameron’s M&A function continues to spearhead the firm, with hundreds of in-house roles placed during its ten-year history – more than any other search firm in Europe.

The Finance Leadership practice has flourished and is the trusted partner of Excos and funds who want to run searches which are as slick and organised as they are innovative.

The Strategy and Transformation team place the operational leadership backbone of countless ambitious organisations, with incredibly high standards and no time to waste.

All three practice areas are frequently credited with sharing candidates who are, quite simply, not accessible to other search firms – talent in the market, not on the market.

To the Future

With the expert help of a network of growth-minded advisors, Phipps Cameron is seriously scaling.

To ensure continued capacity to deliver outstanding talent solutions, the business will double headcount in the next 18 months.  Even in recent less buoyant markets, Phipps Cameron have had surplus business, requiring it to expand in this way.

With offices in London and Hamburg, New York in due course, Phipps Cameron has continued and expanded extensive coverage of UK, Europe, Nordics and US territories, and covers a select APAC client base, too.

Phipps Cameron’s remit has expanded in response to client demand – now placing into Exco, Finance Leadership, Transformation, Restructuring, Value Creation, Strategy, M&A and Integration for the most ambitious businesses in the world.

In Closing

Nurturing fund, business and candidate relationships has made Phipps Cameron the preferred, deeply trusted partner to leading businesses and top talent across sector verticals, and that is a privilege which the team work tirelessly to be worthy of.

Phipps Cameron celebrated its 10th birthday in March 2024.  And the fun is just beginning.