The region’s population is becoming more diverse – 1 in 5 in Newcastle come from an ethnically diverse background – but its business leadership lags behind.
Castle Peak is working with those blazing a trail on inclusion – including in the housing and charitable sectors – and there are lessons for other sectors to learn.
A new business is to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the North East’s executive search offer.
Castle Peak, founded by industry leader James Carss, is the only specialist executive search firm in the region, and has set out its stall with an offer driven by diversity.
Carss, most recently managing director of Newcastle-headquartered recruiter NRG, has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior recruiter, working in the UK, Asia and North America. James now brings home to the North East his experience working with global names including JP Morgan, HSBC and Standard Chartered.
James Carss, founder of Castle Peak, said:
“There’s nothing more important for effective boards than having a diverse range of voices. Living and working around the world, I’ve seen how different approaches can give different results, and how the very biggest businesses in the world embed diversity and inclusion into everything they do. Founding Castle Peak is about bringing all that perspective back to the North East.”
The North East remains one of the least ethnically diverse regions in the country, with a 93.0% white population. However, the situation is changing rapidly, with Newcastle’s ethnically diverse population now at 20%, up from 14.7% in 2011.
The North East lags behind on female business leaders with The Gender Index finding 15.6% of North East businesses were led by women in 2023, compared to 17.4% across England.
James Carss said:
“It’s really easy for businesses to let themselves off the hook by saying the North East isn’t a very diverse place, but that’s just not the case anymore. As the region becomes more diverse, businesses have a responsibility to make sure their leadership to reflect the communities they are working in. But, this isn’t an altruistic thing, more diverse boards and leadership teams make better decisions, and we know diverse organisations are more productive, more robust and, ultimately, make more money.”
Early Castle Peak clients include major North East housing associations Gentoo Group and Thirteen Group, and Carss points to the housing sector as one which is getting things right.
James Carss added:
“Housing associations are under huge pressure on issues ranging from the quality of homes, to net zero, to supporting their tenants with the cost of living crisis. They need the best people, the best ideas, and the most effective leadership in what is a really challenging environment. That means the housing sector takes diversity and inclusion seriously, especially at board level where they want to reflect the communities they serve. It’s a pleasure to be working with Gentoo and Thirteen to help them move towards that.”
