 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|||
 |
 |
| Leader of Vision & Values |
| Yes it's true, Claire holds an HGV licence and used to supplement her grant (yes they did exist once) by delivering loo rolls and frozen turkeys. She's been a nanny in San Fran, a waitress in Hanover Square and has worked on "Chat" magazine. These days she's happiest watching her son play footy, riding horses across the countryside with her daughter and, of course, running the best recruitment agency in the world! |
 |
 |
| Leader of Courtenay HR |
| Gareth's star sign is Gemini, the twins; and he freely admits that this explains his split-personality. On the one hand, he's this obsessive workout rebel who hates being told what to do. So he rushes to the gym whenever he can, iPod clamped to his head packed with almost every musical genre under the sun, all of which he loves. Yet he's also an inherently lazy (his words), devoted father whose children are the best thing that has ever happened to him. Gareth is also a cake making, chocolate lover who gets annoyed by a general lack of social responsibility in the world today. Like he said, it's a constant battle. |
 |
 |
| Business Head |
| Good for us that Jaqueline dropped her plans as an international banker. She makes and wears her own 'creations', and can either be found in cool jazz clubs swing dancing, exploring a reef in SCUBA gear or showing off her cats, Mabel and Winks. |
 |
 |
| Business Head |
| Despite being born with 'negative buoyancy', this has never stopped Melanie diving in at the deep end at everything! Which probably explains why she's been in the marketing business longer than most agencies - what Mel doesn't know about the industry, probably isn't worth knowing! Mel's real passion in life is food, having eaten her way around most of the top restaurants in the world - annoyingly she still can't top 10 stone (and is the envy of all the chocoholics at Stopgap). Maybe it was a result of her early days DJ'ing around London's hot night spots till the wee small hours while holding down her day job. |
 |
 |
| Associate Director |
| Susi joined the company in 1996 as the 7th employee. Previously, as a PR and Marketing Communications Specialist, she had reached her sell by date. Her friends encouraged her to take the role as recruitment consultant, suggesting she could then ask all the questions professionally she would like to ask people in real life! They also said that she would get the pick of the jobs when one came in. Well, that never happened because she’s still here, enjoying the ride. When she's not putting great senior interims into challenging roles, she's trying to improve her tennis, flitting down to her place in Portugal, cuddling her cats or entertaining friends at home. Since early in 2007 she has been on The Leadership Team and, with her superb candidate and client relationships, she was the natural choice to champion Best Practice within the Stopgap Group. |
 |
 |
| Head Receptionist |
| Ann joined the Stopgap Group back in 1995 and has proved her loyalty to the company by overcoming her terror of water when we made her canoe across Lake Windermere! We thought we might have pushed it a bit too far when we asked her to abseil down a 100ft rock face to overcome her fear of heights - but thank goodness we didn't! She is still here and reception simply couldn't run without her. |
 |
 |
| Receptionist |
| Hazel adores fine wine, but she can't abide whining - negativity and "can't do" are major no-noes in her life. So even though she can't really sing, that doesn't deter her belting it out. And while she loved her laid back life in the Hampshire countryside, she's upped sticks and is energetically mastering London life to be near her daughter. Well the capital's certainly the city for the "power walks" Hazel enjoys. And as for the theatre - seventh heaven. Though she did need her daughter's help in mastering the Tube system. Of course, this means Hazel's annual South of France pilgrimage with pals assumes even greater importance in washing away city life for a week. All washed down by lots of that fine wine en tap. |
 |
 |
| Receptionist |
| Sally's related to the late Beatrix Potter. So it's not surprising that loving the Lake District is in her genes. Sally also shares the famed 'Peter Rabbit' author's love of nature. She loves nothing better than donning her hiking boots for long country walks with Molly, her nutty Golden Retriever. Though it's doubtful Miss Potter also took her dog running around Richmond Park training to get ready to run a 10k race. That probably comes from her Norwegian dad, and the side of the family related to Roald Amundsen, who beat Captain Scott to the South Pole. And while the great Lake District has its pull, Sally's next big birthday treat is to hike along the Great Wall of China. Molly may have to miss that walk though. |
 |
 |
| Employee Relationship Advisor |
| As long as you’re not a duck or the number three, you’ll get on well with our Anna, who confesses to an unexplained disliking of both of the above! She does love books however and needs to have books lining every available room of her house – bad news if you’re her minimalist boyfriend! She loves Arsenal FC and claims that they play the most beautiful football in the Premiership, a view that is met with much derision in the office! Her other passions are history and food and she’s currently having a go at trying to write a book, although not about the history of food! |
 |
 |
| Employee Relationship Advisor |
| Self-confessed good-time girl, Ro enjoys sunshine, the beach, cooking eating and drinking generally, as our staff outings regularly attest to! Like Forrest Gump, she loves running and plans to tackle the London Marathon next year! No stranger to adventure, Ro’s been skydiving and bungee jumping and longs to do more! Whilst this would be enough for most people, Ro’s fearless, although she does hold a deep dislike of crocodiles and celery – let’s hope that there’s no salad-eating reptiles running the marathon with her! |
 |
 |
| Search & Information Manager |
| Otherwise known as 'CP’, Clare believes everything happens for a reason. Having travelled round the world (there are not many places she hasn't been to) and lived in France for a while, CP thought it was finally time to come home. With her two sons (all three of them are enviably bilingual) she moved back to London and now splits her time between her family and being the Stopgap Group’s researcher. |
 |
 |
| Business Intelligence Manager |
| Portuguese Paulo has taught salsa and trained with Swen Goran Eriksson's Benfica in the early 80's; but what is Benfica's loss is the Stopgap Group’s gain! Paulo also has the enviable reputation as being the only man ever to work for 'Hanro' - the Knightsbridge lingerie company. |
 |
 |
| Digital Marketing Executive |
| There’s not a lot that Callum hasn’t written about! He’s turned his hand to sports reporting, restaurant reviewing (a definite dream job!) and has even had poetry published. When not holding a pen or typing furiously, he enjoys reading old pulp fiction novels, Sherlock Holmes, anything James Bond-related, watching the Sopranos and hanging out in the pub with friends. As our resident Spurs fan, he’s a regular target for the Chelsea boys of the office, but is quick to point out that they were the only London club to win a trophy last season! |
 |
 |
| Credit Controller |
| Our resident rock star, Ian has been playing drums since he was 12, plays guitar and has just finished recording his new album. Ian’s creativity knows no limit, having also written three screenplays and co-directed ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in a Welsh wood! He’s worked in Luxembourg and Milan, clocking up over 180 flights in between starring in a Littlewood’s TV commercial as well as a Dave Stewart pop video! Despite all of these glamorous activities, Ian still finds time to relax and enjoys great films, good French red wine and a nice old cup of tea! |
 |
 |
| Credit Controller |
| Vroom-Vroom...don't get in Julia's way during the Formula One season. Having made it to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix: the home of high chic, big money and fast cars. (So what's the attraction?). When she's not dreaming of the chequered flag, Julia is a little more grounded looking after her beautiful cat William. But while William sleeps Julia's re-learning to roller skate, eating in great restaurants....and indulging her finely-honed shopaholic tendencies. After all, it's an immutable law that one can never have enough clothes, handbags and shoes! |
 |
 |
| Financial Manager |
| If you're trying to find Michelle outside the Stopgap Group, stop off at the gym. She's passionate about working out and keeping super-fit. Just what you need if you also love team sports and dancing! And although Michelle claims to have two left feet for the Salsa, her heart is in the right place. One of her major commitments is to her local Leukaemia Fund Raising Committee, organising events for this great cause. But Michelle isn't only a people person, having worked on a farm in Trinidad Tobago, as well as a Veterinary Nurse for ten years. Once you've handled a recalcitrant goat, people are easy! |
 |
 |
| Credit Controller |
| Kenyan-born Sonia is a real girlie girl and is the first to admit it. If it sparkles or glitters, she's there! She also loves buying jewellery, shoes, handbags and make-up at any opportunity and is the proud owner of a dressing table that looks like a make up counter. "Not that I need any make up of course...ha ha!" she says. If you don't bump into Sonia in your local shop, you might see her in some exotic, warm location instead. So far she's been to Bali, Singapore, Thailand, Mauritius, Goa and Dubai "to feed the shopping addiction" to name a few! But it's not all the glamorous life, Sonia claims she's a tidy-freak at home who loves making cakes, adores being around children and is actually big kid herself. |
 |
 |
| Candidate Support Team Leader |
| When you love hot languid beach holidays like Sue, it helps if you can swim. So finally, after already snorkelling in the warm waters off Mexico (go figure), Sue has taken the plunge and is teaching herself at the local pool. She's also started Yoga (not self-taught!) so it looks like she's going to end up as the Stopgap Group's most flexible member of staff. This should be a big help in keeping the peace at home where Sue shares a house with her sister. Like most siblings they do tend to "disagree" like cats and dogs. And talking cats, there's a hairy new man in Sue's life & an adorable kitten named Meeko. |
 |
 |
| IT Manager |
| Thrown into the Stopgap Group ring, John has come out fighting like a champion as our IT Manager. Still, it’s not surprising really, since he has met Muhammad Ali, who must have given him some inspiration! Apart from being brilliant at anything technological, he’s also been a licensed pilot since the tender age of 17. Flying about the globe must appeal, as he was born in South Africa, grew up in Saudi Arabia, went to Uni in the USA and has finally ended up in glamorous Surrey! When he’s not off on walks, cooking yummy dishes or enjoying Formula 1, you can find him chilling out at home, with his girlfriend and their pets - 2 cats, a fish and a snake. A curious combination, but apparently they all get on just fine, with one cat even climbing in the tank and patting the (rather bemused) snake on the head. Wouldn't you love to have seen that?! |
|
 |
| IT Assistant |
| Instantly recognisable around the office by his well-groomed moustache, James has a sausage dog called Rusty, cruises around Surrey on his black and chrome motorcycle, drives a horse and carriage around Hampton Court at weekends and even went to the same school as Victoria Beckham. He’s heavily into weight training (pun intended) and regularly eats vast quantities of sticky buns, protein shakes, waffles and other such delights throughout the day – making him the envy of the office with his calorific consuming abilities! James also loves Latin and Ballroom dancing, can perform the entire rap from Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ and owns every single Kylie CD and single, including foreign imports! |
 |
 |
| Junior Coordinator and Payroll Assistant |
| Thank you for the music, said Abba, and Amanda definitely agrees! It’s not unusual to see her attached to an iPod as she works away at her computer. And when you ask what’s she been up to, there’s usually a music festival, gig or a West End musical involved! Amanda moved from Cape Town two years ago and has been enjoying visiting countries on this side of the globe ever since, with Scotland, Paris and Tenerife being highlights so far. She also loves the great outdoors, especially if there’s a cold mountain, as she’s addicted to snowboarding - with her headphones on, of course! |
 |
 |
| Office Manager |
| Apparently the following is all true. Stephen designed the original artwork for the SIMON memory game (anyone under 30 - ask your parents); he used to be Nick Heywood's boss and helped him choose the name 'Haircut 100' (again - ask your parents); and was interviewed by the 'Muppets' when going for a job on the show. |
 |
 |
| PA to Claire Owen |
| Quite the action girl, our Lynsey loves trying new sports. So far she’s done a skydive, gone paragliding, tried surfing, sailing and gliding! She also has exquisite taste in cars, stating that TVR’s are the coolest cars on the face of the planet and has recently started getting into motorbikes (but only as a pillion)! Lynsey likes to unwind with cooking roasts and eating olives and hot chocolate fudge cake with ice cream – though not at the same time! She enjoys swimming and cycling and a nice G&T if she’s feeling sophisticated! |
