Former ‘rogue trader’ Nick Leeson joined recruitment specialists Alexander Daniels to celebrate the opening of their new offices in Bristol.
The one time derivatives broker renowned for causing the collapse of the UK’s oldest investment bank – Barings – was guest speaker at a Champagne launch event at the city’s Brasserie Blanc where he entertained more than 100 guests with a frank and entertaining overview of his career.
They included young professionals and senior staff from leading national and local businesses including Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Friends Life, PWC, Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young.
Key to his address was the importance and growing demand for corporate governance in managing risk and compliance. This specialist sector is now a major focus for Alexander Daniels, complementing its skill in finance and accountancy recruitment.
Ian Mourbey, Corporate Governance director said: “We were delighted to invite Nick Leeson to open our new offices and give a first hand account of the consequences which led to Barings downfall and how it might have been avoided. It made it all the more clear why corporate governance is becoming so increasingly important.”
Alexander Daniels was established in Birmingham in 2010 by three of the industry’s most experienced recruitment specialists and launched by Lord Digby Jones who at the time was Minister of State for UK Trade and Investment and Director General of the CBI.
Nick Pearce, Accountancy & Finance Division director who leads the team at the new Bristol office said: “The decision to develop our business in the South West is an exciting step forward for the company.
“I am confident that our service quality and added value philosophy will enable us to succeed in a city with a very competitive professional services industry.”
The move is part of an ambitious expansion programme for the award winning team which in just two years has tripled in size and has a current staff of 19.
