Board & Leadership Advisory

I have no hesitation in recommending James Carss and Castle Peak Group to anyone seeking support in the recruitment of Senior and Executive Officers and non-Executive board Directors. James is fantastic to work with, he goes the extra mile to understand your business and its needs, his approach is exceptionally professional and responsive, and he has an enviable reputation and business network. All of this means James always presents exceptional candidates for consideration, as well as being a pleasure to work with!

I’ve known James for several years through various recruitment processes and I have always found him very easy to work with… whether looking to recruit or are a potential candidate, James is a good listener which always means he quickly grasps a situation and is good at working to find the right candidates with the required skills and talents to interview… all of this, while approaching recruitment processes in a highly professional manner. I’ve worked with James on both sides of the table and as a candidate I have discovered that he is good at identifying the best candidates and has an exceptional talent for putting people at their ease helping ensure they are fully prepared for any recruitment process.

Castle Peak is highly professional and experienced in its field, providing insightful briefings and succinct and timely communication. The whole candidate process is smooth and considered with real attention to detail while being very responsive and adept at giving beneficial feedback. In combination, this results in an excellent client service, setting a very high standard.

When I wanted to establish a business with a brand new team of Executive level founders, James Carss was the natural partner to help us identify and recruit the wide range of skill sets we needed to ensure our success. They took the time to understand our requirements, timing and budget considerations to make sure we brought the right people in board.

We engaged Castle Peak Group to help us find and appoint a new Non-Executive Director for Newcastle Building Society. James Carss was superb to work with: he was highly professional; demonstrated a real understanding of our business and our requirements; kept us informed and consulted throughout whilst being sensitive to our desired outcomes; he showed a strong sense of the important diversity, equality and inclusion aspects; and we successfully appointed a superb candidate. The whole process was easy and delivered exactly what we required.

I couldn’t have received better support from James as I went through the process to be appointed as a non- executive director of the Newcastle Building Society . He helped me understand the requirements of the Society in their search, and how my experiences might align with their needs for a new Board member. He was supportive and encouraging throughout, testing out in an appropriate way my strengths and weaknesses in the context of this role and areas of potential challenge I might face as my application proceeded through the various stages of application, sift, informal discussions and final interview. Communicating with me regularly, he was hugely supportive and highly professional. Thank you James.

Castle Peak's support in securing our new Head of Finance and Purchasing has been outstanding. James understood exactly what we needed in a hospice environment and delivered a candidate who brings both strong technical expertise and the right values. The process was efficient, well managed, and genuinely added value to our organisation.

Having used James to search for several NED roles and more recently, an Assistant Director of Housing and Neighbourhoods role, I always find him incredibly thorough in identifying candidates who are a strong cultural fit for Bernicia as well as meeting role expectations. James has an in-depth understanding of the sector and the region, meaning that he is well placed to identify the best talent. I have been impressed with the consistency in the quality of candidates identified by James and the attention to detail he brings to the process.

Here at Tyne Housing, we had a great experience of working with Castle Peak to fulfil a particular NED requirement which we had identified in our skills audit. James took time to listen carefully to our needs, and understand our culture. This ensured a top quality long-list, and we were very pleased with the final appointment. Great support throughout, and aftercare - highly recommended.

I am grateful to Castle Peak, and especially James Carss for identifying me as a good candidate for a NHS non-executive role. Because I am dyslexic I would not normally have looked for, or considered such a role. Not only did James identify that I am very well qualified for this role and have the necessary wide experience, he also helped me through the challenging parts of the application process. Were it not for his support I would not have proceeded. He demonstrates an appreciation of the enormous benefits that recruiting from a diverse pool of talent can being to an organisation. In my experience this is very unusual.

Working with Castle Peak was an outstanding experience from start to finish. James took the time to truly understand me, my organisation, and exactly what I was looking for (and a little of what I didn’t know I needed) from the role before undertaking a search on my behalf. The quality of candidates presented was exceptional, with a diverse range of highly talented individuals who all aligned closely with the brief but also brought a broad range of backgrounds. Throughout the entire process, James was supportive, insightful, responsive, and an absolute pleasure to work with. What impressed me most was his commitment to finding the right fit rather than simply filling a vacancy. Thanks to his expertise and dedication, we appointed an incredible candidate who has gone on to make a significant impact and is absolutely thriving within the organisation. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Castle Peak to anyone looking for a recruiter who genuinely invests in understanding their clients, delivers exceptional talent, and provides a first-class experience throughout the recruitment journey.

It was a pleasure to work with James and the Castle Peak Group team in the recent search for our new Chair of Trustees. Not only have we got an excellent appointment out of a genuinely impressive field, but the process was seamless from beginning to end. James quickly understood what we were looking for and outlined his thoughts on how the process could run, but left room for our input to make sure it really worked for us. I found the approach completely professional with a real personal touch, which I credit for ensuring that we were able to connect with such an outstanding group of candidates.

James made the recruitment process feel comfortable, personal and well supported. His belief in my suitability for the role, combined with his thoughtful guidance and check ins, made a real difference. I’m very grateful for his professionalism and his care.