Robert Kenward, the industry’s senior recruitment specialist, has joined forces with Disrupt Talent to launch Disrupt Search, a new joint venture that brings executive search into the company's specialist recruitment offering for the events industry.
As Managing Director of Disrupt Search, Robert will lead the new division, making his consultative approach to executive search available to more organisations while complementing Disrupt Talent's existing permanent recruitment and staffing services.
The joint venture gives event businesses access to a complete talent solution, spanning temporary event staffing, specialist permanent recruitment and executive search for senior leadership appointments.
With 25 years’ experience of working in events and recruitment, Robert has earned the reputation for taking a consultative approach to help organisations solve leadership challenges rather than simply fill vacancies. The partnership marks the next stage in that journey, combining Robert's expertise with Disrupt Talent's infrastructure, operational support and ambitious growth plans.
Robert Kenward, Managing Director of Disrupt Search, said: 'After ten years building my own business, I started asking myself what the next ten years should look like. I knew I wanted the next chapter to be about building something bigger, but I wanted to grow without compromising the consultative approach that's become synonymous with my business. I also knew I couldn't do it alone.
'I'd spoken to other businesses over the years, but none felt like the right fit. With Disrupt, our values aligned from day one. They weren't trying to change what I'd built – they wanted to help me scale it while protecting everything that makes it different. They genuinely care about the events industry, and for me that was far more important than simply finding a route to growth.
'For the industry, this creates another option. Leadership appointments shouldn't be treated like any other recruitment exercise because they shape the future of a business. Together, we can make specialist executive search available to many more organisations, helping businesses make better leadership decisions and ultimately building stronger organisations across the sector.'
Nicky Grogan, CEO of Disrupt Talent, said: 'We've built specialist expertise in permanent recruitment and staffing, but executive search is a completely different discipline. Rather than trying to recreate ten years of experience, we chose to partner with the person who has already established himself as one of the sector's leading executive search specialists.
'Robert's expertise, reputation and consultative approach perfectly complement what we've built at Disrupt. Together, we're creating a specialist recruitment group that can support clients at every level, from staffing event teams to appointing senior leaders.'
Jade Hollins, Managing Director of Disrupt Talent, added: 'Our ambition has always been to become the events industry's leading talent partner. Adding executive search completes our offering and means we can support clients throughout the entire talent lifecycle – from attracting people into the industry and placing permanent hires, through to helping businesses recruit the leaders who will shape their future.
'As we continue to grow across the UK and internationally, Disrupt Search strengthens our ability to solve the people challenges facing our industry while helping build stronger businesses, stronger leadership teams and a more sustainable talent pipeline for the future.'
Disrupt Talent has focused exclusively on the events and exhibitions sector since 2023, building specialist expertise across organisers, venues, agencies, contractors and suppliers. The launch of Disrupt Search completes the group's three specialist recruitment pillars – staffing, permanent recruitment and executive search – as the business continues its UK growth and prepares for international expansion into Europe, the Middle East and North America.