Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette

In 1981, Mark Surrette thought he’d work a year or two at a personnel recruitment firm and "then get a cool job", he recalls. "Twenty-nine years later, and I’m still looking for it," jokes the President of Knightsbridge Robertson Surette, formerly called Roberston Surette, one of the largest executive recruiting firms in the country.

Last year, Robertson Surrette combined forces with Knightsbridge to provide better service to its clients with a more integrated approach and innovative solutions to complex human capital challenges.

The company now boasts over 40 professionals in offices across the region.  

The goal of Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette is to enhance the talent pool in Atlantic Canada and to bring people to the region that will ensure that regional businesses continue to grow and prosper. Mark and his staff recruit men and women to the region with passion and honesty.

"My home is Halifax," says Surette. "I’ve lived away, but I remain here now because this is where I want to raise my family and engage in a lifestyle that makes us happy."

One of the key attractors to Atlantic Canada that the company stresses is the quality of life the region can offer. The professional staff at Knightsbridge Robertson Surette are specialist with well honed recruiting skills. They specialise in placing people in four main industry sectors, - sales, marketing or information technology, operations and engineering, finance and accounting, or the public sector.

In most instances, recruitment firms represent organizations in a candidate search. They offer the skill set necessary to assist companies in their ongoing struggle to find qualified people to slot into niche positions.

"Companies recognize that the talent pool can be small and know they have to be careful with their human resources capabilities," says Surette. "We’re there to help them with their employment branding."

One area Knightsbridge Robertson Surette emphasizes is the family aspect. They help with spousal relocation and often assist in finding the best opportunities for kids including figuring out school districts and appropriate neighbourhoods."

Surette cites the case of a man being recruited from Western Canada for a sales managerial position who, on the surface, appeared to have no ties to the region,. Then they found out his wife was a Nova Scotian. Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette worked with both to successfully relocate the family to the region.

Derek Estabrook, born and raised in Dartmouth, had been working for a national soft-drink firm in Toronto. "After I earned my MBA at Dalhousie University, that’s where the job was that I wanted, in consumer goods package marketing. I wasn’t thinking long-term but I ended up there for 15 years."

His family was content. His children thought Toronto was a great place to live. His wife, a medical researcher, had a fine career there. But Derek knew his next move, as he grew with the firm, would be to the United States.

"We decided that the right opportunity could bring us back home," Derek recalls. "My wife realized she could find a research position at Dalhousie University. I wasn’t so about the marketplace for me."

In stepped Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette who knew of a company looking for someone like Derek, with food and beverage marketing experience.

"It became a win-win experience for both of us," Derek explains. "The company here got my experience and I came back home to do a job similar to what I had been doing. I found a position where I can be challenged for a long time. It was right for me."

He says Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette was critically important. "Their people were frank and honest about the marketplace, gave me options, and, because they were so well connected in Halifax, were very helpful. The only area I didn’t need selling on was the Halifax lifestyle. I knew it and appreciated it."

Mark proudly says," Our company has been built with great people. Now we’re helping other companies build by finding great people for them. And, in so doing, we’re helping the economy of our region."

"Knightsbridge’s vision, passion, and commitment to client service closely matched our own," says Mark Surette, President of Knightsbridge Robertson Surette. "It was a great fit that we felt would benefit our current and future clients."

For 35 years, the company has been a trusted advisor to industry and government, helping them recruit top talent, manage the human impact of change, and develop leadership capacity in recruitment, career transition and human capital advisory services.