For over 20 years, Claire has developed many long-term business relationships, based on trust and integrity. Here are some comments that business leaders and individual coaching clients have been kind enough to share:
“On leaving the Jamie Oliver group after seven years as CEO I asked Claire to help me construct a CV, a task I hadn’t undertaken in over 20 years. Our biweekly sessions were constructive, clear and concise with lots of info about how a CV should look and how it can and should be tailored to individual needs. An unexpected bonus of working with Claire was the coaching element she brought to each session.
We worked on the personal side of transitioning from a CEO role and how to assess what the next stage of my career should look like. Her vast experience and emotional intelligence were a real help and I really looked forward to our meetings.”
Paul Hunt
“Claire is somebody that I respected due to the support she had given me with recruitment and when I learnt she had coaching sessions available I was keen to join. We agreed my objectives for the coaching sessions at the start of the programme. The coaching allowed me to explore my strengths and important focus areas in life, both work and personal goals.
Claire asked challenging questions and encouraged me throughout the programme. Claire gave me several tips me to improve my networking skills and increase my involvement and participation in LinkedIn. I would highly recommend Claire to colleagues and friends especially if you want to brainstorm transferable skills and explore new career opportunities.”
Tim Heaney
“At a critical point in our development, Claire helped us frame complex strategic issues, guide constructive debate, and ensure every voice was heard. Her preparation and facilitation enabled us to achieve strategic clarity and a clear consensus on the steps needed to move forward.”
Ray Stafford, Executive Chair, Williams
“Whilst working through a crossroads in my career during Covid-19 Claire really helped me to understand what I had enjoyed and achieved in my career to date and helped me explore what I wanted to achieve going forward in the short, medium and long term both professionally and personally. Claire has a fantastic balance of both coaching and mentoring so that you get the most out of every session you have with her. She builds trust and rapport quickly and is really invested in making sure you get the most out of your time with her.
I have worked with Claire in the past when she placed me with some incredible companies, and I really trust her insight, experience and advice. I have come away from my sessions feeling more focused and confident, I also know that Claire is still there in the background, and she is someone I will call on for future sessions.”
Hilary Palmer
“Having participated in both “face to face” coaching and “walking” coaching, I can now honestly say I am a convert to the latter! With “walking” coaching you are on the move most of the time, which I found energises your thinking and most certainly improves your resourcefulness and imagination in breaking through any issues that are under discussion. I found it is a great way to challenge your thinking to new horizons and to stretch yourself mentally and physically – and it helps if you are walking in an amazing and inspiring landscape. I always leave these sessions with Claire far more inspired and motivated than participating in the more traditional methods of coaching.”
Helen Marshall
“Claire, you listened well and steered me expertly with your careful choice of questions. I also felt like this wasn’t just a job for you, that you really cared about helping me to make positive progress in my thinking and approach to job hunting.”
Ruth Jackson
“A positive experience overall, on a practical level the guidance given around my use of LinkedIn and on a personal level the ability to have open and honest discussions about where I go next with my career. Also being challenged on my thinking and decision making which will help me going forward.”
Ian Jones
“Learning to respond rather than react will be a recurring theme to help me evolve, thank you Claire.”
Charlotte Stephenson-Hart
“Claire’s experience and input was incredibly valuable to me as it highlighted areas that I needed to focus on and showed me areas that I already excelled at. I would recommend Claire to anyone thinking of going for an interview as an essential part of their preparation.”
Caroline Guy
“Claire made me think about things more ‘holistically’ as well as giving me a couple of practical tools I could use going forward.”
Antony Smith
“I found this valuable through transitions of roles and personal bumps in the road and it has greatly helped me take a step back out of a busy environment and appreciate what I have accomplished and view my capabilities in a new light.”
Stephanie Dixon
“I have really benefited from my time with Claire, her gentle and supportive style whilst asking questions that made me reflect and think differently have helped me tremendously. Looking back, I can see how much I have learnt/ grown. A really worthwhile experience, highly recommended”.
Vicki Hart-Mclaren
“I was introduced to Claire when looking to fill a senior position within our retail business. I was impressed from the start, from agreeing a brief to running the process, they hit every milestone. They are very well connected within retail and that was reflected in the quality of the shortlist. The communication and follow-up with both candidates and us were outstanding, it felt like a very personal service. We made a successful appointment and have used Court & Spark Consulting again. I would have no hesitation in recommending Claire to anyone who has a senior retail requirement.”
Neville Moore, Managing Director, Ulster Stores
“I have been working with Court & Spark on the recruitment of our new retail team since 2022, as a new start up it was important to work with an agency who understood us, The Royal Parks and what we were aiming to achieve… Claire simply got it from the outset which was refreshing and exciting to be working with them so closely.
The knowledge and support Court & Spark were able to give was key in the early stages of defining our retail strategy and as such allowed my team to be more flexible in our overall approach to the resource and timelines necessary to recruit and onboard the team. The end-to-end process they put into place was simply a dream, their oversight and understanding of the market meant no heavy lifting was required of me and my team, one of the main reasons we continue working with them… oh, and the standard of those being short listed was very high, it felt like Claire was really part of our internal team.
I have no doubt that I will continue working with Court & Spark as our retail channels grow and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone who is considering working with them in the future.”
Jo Fyfe, Deputy Commercial Director, The Royal Parks
“I worked with Claire during an important search for a key member of my leadership team. All the candidates that she presented were of the highest calibre, with a broad mix of relevant experiences, and the search concluded with an outstanding recruit. Claire was professional, flexible and proactive throughout, and I would not hesitate to recommend her.”
Tom Broughton, Founder, Cubitts
“Claire helped us recruit our Head of Retail and the experience for us (as well as the candidates) from start to finish was first class. More importantly the quality of pre-qualified and interested candidates was very high. I hope we don’t have a vacancy to fill anytime soon, but if we do Claire will be first to know.”
Matt Nilsson, Managing Director, Odin Retail
“Court & Spark never fails to impress me with their ability to grasp the company culture and our recruitment needs. The calibre of our recruits is testament to their excellent work.”
Head of HR, Health and Beauty International
“Court & Spark’s ability to deliver on highly confidential searches is second to none. They thoroughly understand how we work and were able to source high calibre people from the limited pool with the necessary luxury credentials. We appointed two outstanding candidates to important roles within our business and I was absolutely delighted with the outcome.”
Retail Director, Kurt Geiger
“I have worked with Claire both as a client and a candidate and have found that in both roles the quality of service I received was always of the highest standard. Her level of knowledge, experience and professionalism is exactly what you expect and require when you are making some of the most important decisions you can make in your business life.”
A S Watson, International Healthcare Director
“When the need arises to conduct a confidential search, my first port of call is always Court & Spark. With their extensive network they are always able to put together a high-quality shortlist – I will certainly be using them again.”
CEO, Health and Beauty, London
“Claire Beasley has restored my faith in agencies. From day one, I felt really valued and knew she had my best interests at heart. Claire was very thorough and got to know every inch of my career and experience, always keeping me up to date, well informed and totally supported. It has been a pleasure working with Claire in my hunt for the perfect job and I would 100% recommend Court & Spark to anyone.”
Amy Whittaker, Head of Retail
“My candidate experience with Claire was excellent – honest and open throughout. Communication was clear and timely, with frequent updates and I really appreciated the genuine approach in sharing where I got it right but also where improvements were needed. At offer stage Claire ensured all considerations were reviewed and met and on acceptance the kind touch of a congratulations card really did surprise and delight. Having the opportunity to be supported by Claire was a real privilege.”
Katie Dolby, Managing Director
“Court & Spark has done an amazing job for us on several occasions. They really understand our business needs, our culture and what we are looking for in a candidate.”
CEO, Furniture, London
