Peter Lever, Partner

“I was born in Zambia and went to school in South Africa where I graduated from the University of Stellenbosch, was awarded a scholarship to study PPE at Oxford and then completed an MBA at Cranfield. I joined JCA in May 2006 having previously been Managing Partner of the London office of Heidrick & Struggles for a number of years.

Earlier experience in executive search was at Spencer Stuart where I had responsibility for the European Industrial practice. Before that I was with Anglo American in both South Africa and Brazil.

At JCA we work in open-plan and in real-time. I believe this makes us sharper, quicker and better informed in terms of our assignments and candidate and client needs and we really do operate as a team.

A recent example was placing a Group Finance Director. It wasn’t a job the candidate initially thought would interest him but as we knew him and his experience in such detail, we realised that it was perfect for him and he’d be perfect for the client.

We worked with both the client and the candidate to bring them together and collectively, we managed a successful outcome. It’s a stimulating, refreshing – and ultimately rewarding way to work.”