The Amsterdam office celebrates its first anniversary

As part of the first anniversary celebrations of Marks Sattin in the Netherlands, we sat down with Mark Korevaar, Associate Director of our Dutch office and Matt Nabil who leads our European technology operations to discuss what it was like launching Marks Sattin in Amsterdam, what it is like to work for us and what the future has in store! 

Firstly Mark, you were the first person in our Dutch operations, what inspired you take on the challenge of launching the Marks Sattin Brand in the Netherlands?  

I liked the idea of the huge challenge, which comes with building a business from scratch, and having the freedom to bring together the best people in the business to build it from the ground up. It genuinely felt like a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. 

But what finally won me over was the culture at Marks Sattin. I have never experienced a business like it. For example, during our interviews, I was flown to London to meet the leadership team, and we ended up in a pub talking hours and hours about much more than work. I was introduced to Becky Huges' and Rafi Davies' dogs. Matt Fitzpatrick told me all about Dublin he was a singer, and we discussed the latest developments in the Premier League. That day convinced me to join Marks Sattin. It gave me the feeling that I’m not only joining an ambitious, successful, and growing company, but that I'm joining a family. 

Matt and Mark, what is your stand-out achievement or best memory with Marks Sattin so far? 

Matt: I couldn’t have wished for a greater start than the one I have experienced at Marks Sattin. I was just a few weeks in, and we were able to land multiple retained assignments. As a team could work on and where we have delivered on. I must say that my best memory is the warm welcome from everyone in the organisation, no matter their position in the company. From the less experienced Associate Consultants to the other members of the senior leadership team. Everyone was so amazing! 

Mark: As any recruiter will tell you, your first placement is the one you will never forget. I was lucky that it happened in my first month, and it was rapidly followed by many more. Another milestone was the hiring of our first employee, Guido Buwalda, who turned out to be a great addition to our team. I am so proud of him, and he has achieved so much in such a short amount of time, even landing a place on the company trip to Ibiza.

Matt, as the leader of our Technology offering in Europe, bow would you describe Marks Sattin’s culture and why should people join our European operations?  

Marks Sattin feels like a group of friends who are very skilled in their trade. If I would describe Marks Sattin in five words, it would be:

Collaborative

The amount of collaboration across all disciplines, offices and countries is staggering. Colleagues work with you to develop and fit in as quickly as possible. Even with our new hires, my colleagues have reached out to me to see if they could support me with onboarding new hires and help develop them become recruiting superstars.

Professional

I have worked in several organisations in the past 20 years, but I must say that the exceptional level of professionalism surprised me. Everyone is on a quest to become a better version of themselves. As someone who holds structure and quality to the highest regard, I'm very pleased to see these qualities across the entire company.

Dedication    

One of the things I have noticed from the start is how everyone is so dedicated to the success of the company. Dedication comes in multiple forms. In my first 100 days, I've seen at least a dozen great client and candidate initiatives, which go above and beyond people's core responsibilities.         

From dancing events, golfing days, to executive roundtable discussions and podcast recordings with senior professionals, there is so much going on! It is such a delight to be surrounded by professionals who take ownership of their work and contribute to the positioning of Marks Sattin, not only as the partner of choice for recruitment challenges, but also as the thought leader in market intelligence, opening the discussion with topics that influence our clients’ hiring strategy.   

Another great example of the dedication is when we had our half year review in this amazing movie theatre in London on my fifth day of my first week. I am accustomed to seeing lots of people zoning out during multiple hours of presentations by the senior leaders. Bear in mind that this was one of the first all company meetings post COVID. Attention spans might have been a little shorter. As I was sitting at a spot with an overview over the entire audience, I watched my new colleagues, and I noticed that everyone was completely bought in. It was as if they have paid for a ticket to attend a Ted Talk show. Trust me, nothing felt more reassuring than seeing such a level of dedication from your new colleagues. It gave me the feeling that I made the right decision to join Marks Sattin. 

Authentic

Fun

Finally; fun. I love how we are all about joy. Joy in our work. Joy in company events, but also joy in your private life. In the first three months, I have had many unforgettable moments with my colleagues. I love how we reward our people by doing fun activities next to the compensation part of our rewarding. I have seen people from all over the company go to trips and cool events. 

And I myself have been selected for the Q3 directors cut to go cooking with other colleagues who have contributed significantly to the results in the third quarter. But I'm confident that the best is yet to come, and I truly look forward to it!  

What advice would you give to recruitment consultants who are considering joining Marks Sattin in Amsterdam? 

Mark: There are two main reasons to join us. The first one is that we have a great work/life balance, and you will be joining a business with a great culture. The second reason is to boost your career. So, my advice would be to first write down what you really want and where you want to be in three years. Ask yourself the question, what is important to me?  

We are an organisation that can meet almost all needs, if it fits within our culture. For example, is flexible working important to you? We work very flexibly at Marks Sattin and have a comprehensive flexible working policy which has something for everyone.  

Is your personal development and career the reason for the switch? We are new, so there is a lot to do and opportunity to grow. Sometimes we'll fall, but we'll get up faster. You get freedom and responsibility to set up something yourself. 

Ultimately, we are part of a company that has existed for over 30 years. We have a parent company, one of the largest privately held recruitment businesses in the world. In 2021, Marks Sattin was the most profitable and fast-growing part of the Gi Group Holdings. With this comes an enormous amount of opportunity in the next three years. 

Matt: I’m a visionary and I'm excited to be going on an adventure with like-minded people to build a company with multiple disciplines in the finance and tech space. This is an exciting time to join our European operations. Soon we will have our own local marketing team, and we will be moving to a bigger office with amazing facilities. And in 2023, we will be launching our Dutch website.  But the most important thing I would like to achieve is to work with inspiring people and work with them together to build something amazing. In my dreams, Marks Sattin is within the next five years an established name for finance and tech recruitment, and that we could fulfil all dreams of the people who joined us in these early stages. 

What do you bring to the table as a member of our leadership team? 

Mark: We have an amazing leadership team with people who have climbed the ranks and have been with the business for over 20 many years. As a relative newcomer, I believe I bring the energy and excitement of an adventure with me, and maybe some Dutch directness. I’m also very pragmatic in my approach.  I also contribute to the field of IT/Automation and hope to make an impact in making the organization future proof.

Matt:  Most of our current leadership team is made up of colleagues who have been with the company for over a decade. My fellow members have climbed the ranks to get there, and they have all grown organically into these roles, which is amazing. 

I feel that my extensive knowledge of the European Technology market and my great network will help Marks Sattin realise their European growth potential in that field. But to be completely frank, I believe that as a person and as a leader, I am mostly complementary to the existing leadership team. As I will help them grow and develop as an organisation with my nearly 20 years of experience, Marks Sattin's leadership team will satisfy my appetite for leadership development. A result of that will help the wider company, and especially the people within my office. As Michael Jordan once said; ‘talent wins games. But teamwork and intelligence wins championships.’ 

 If you enjoyed reading about our European growth plans and the Amsterdam office, check out our internal vacancies or get in touch for a confidential chat about your career options with Marks Sattin.