CHASING TOP TALENT
Firm finds tech, energy execs
As a young man, Graeme Edge was a near-scratch golfer and competitive tennis player, but when his dreams of becoming a Wimbledon champion went unrealized, the native of Aberdeen, Scotland, decided he’d better pursue a different career.
Following boarding school at Glenalmond College in Perth, Scotland, he studied geography and history at King’s College London, and after returning to Aberdeen started his career in recruitment with Hays, one of Europe’s largest recruitment firms.
He was quickly promoted, responsible for launching the firm’s oil and gas division in Aberdeen. Things changed following a round of golf with Les Park, a founder of Park Brown International.
Park invited Edge to join his company, and for the next 18 months he sat across from the man who became his mentor in the profession.
When Edge’s in-laws were transferred to Calgary, Park agreed his protege should also make the move.
He was introduced nine years ago to Brian Foster, now executive director of Operation Eyesight, who was then manager of the Calgary office of Maxwell Drummond and Edge joined the firm.
Six years ago, at the age of 28, he became managing partner. Maxwell Drummond was owned by a British company and had cause to pull the plug on its Canadian offices last March.
Edge, who had been the company’s leading biller globally for seven years, made an offer for the company’s database.
He then had to decide on a name for the new venture.
It was over a pub drink that he settled on McLaren Chase.
Chase seemed to have lots of energy and they all shared a common interest in fast cars, so why not McLaren Chase? It was as simple as that.
Now he and one of his founding partners, Rachel Maxwell, are well on their way to building a top executive search firm focused on serving the energy and technology industries.
Edge recently travelled to London to attend a conference of 600 business leaders, including Richard Branson who discussed the need for executives to disrupt their companies.
Maxwell began her career as a receptionist with a search firm and within 10 short years, after joining Maxwell Drummond, worked her way up to a partner position leading assignment strategy and execution while also mentoring and training researchers.
The team’s efforts resulted in 257 senior searches over the past five years of which 248 were successfully completed.
Edge says the energy industry is unrecognizable from only a few years ago.
“With a large percentage of the workforce entering retirement and the ever-increasing sensitivity around environmental performance, demand for cost savings and operational efficiencies, the need to identify and secure highcalibre leaders has never been more critical,” he said.
“We have first-hand experience of the many cycles the industry has experienced (and) we have the intimate knowledge of the complexities and immense challenges impacting the entire oil, gas and petrochemical chain.”
The only gem-quality ammonite in the world is found in southern Alberta and the Korite mine is the only operating source of legally mined ammonite. Its annual production of six million carats is expected to increase by another two million next year with the announcement that Korite is expanding its operations by opening an additional eight acres of land. The expansion brings new job opportunities for employees and contractors during Alberta’s difficult job market.