SEQEL Partners marks 10 year anniversary with founders transition

Friday 23 November 2018

SEQEL Partners is celebrating our 10 year Anniversary this month and is marking this major milestone with some significant changes. Don Jaine, the industry figurehead who founded SEQEL Partners with Mark Ashcroft in 2008, is retiring as a practicing Partner this month to concentrate on his role as Board member of the company.

Don notes that since the establishment of the firm, we have grown in our capability, our international candidate reach, and our ability to attract top talent to NZ Inc. In the last few years we have successfully completed numerous significant CEO, executive and board appointments and achieved excellent outcomes. In recent years, one quarter of our placed executive candidates came from outside New Zealand, bringing different experience and broad capability to New Zealand. This unusually large proportion of ex-New Zealand candidates is a combination of talent returning to New Zealand and foreigners wanting to live and work in this market.

“With Don retiring as a Partner at the end of October, he leaves the day-to-day operations of a firm that has created a strong track record of results over the past 10 years and is known for its international candidate reach, its client advocacy, its long-term partnerships and its commitment to client success” notes SEQEL Partner Mark Ashcroft. “We have become a go-to firm for senior and difficult appointments, which is something of which we are very proud. Don’s contribution has been enormous and he will continue to lend his expertise as a director and advisor as the business evolves.”

The firm serves NZX-listed, privately owned, multinational, Australasian, and private equity-owned companies as well as co-operatives. SEQEL recently completed a major SOE appointment of the CEO of CityRail. Other significant appointments in the last year have included; Lyndal York as CFO of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Jo Avenell as CEO of Russell McVeagh, Rob Campbell as Chair of Sky City,, Jeanette Kehoe-Perkinson as Executive General Manager Human Resources at ASB, Rosanne Graham as CEO at Evolve Education, Elaine Campbell as Legal Counsel/Company Secretary at Chorus and Scott St John as Director at Mercury.