Thomas Davenport

I'm a partner and associate director specialising in recruiting finance and portfolio professionals from part-qualified to senior-level positions within the private equity and wider alternative investment industry across London.

My clients are predominantly small to medium-sized funds within private equity, venture capital, debt and infrastructure.

The main aspect of my role is supporting my clients by identifying and attracting top-tier professionals and advise on hiring processes and procedures. For my candidates, it's about providing them with opportunity and insight into taking the next step in their career and ensuring they are placed within the right company that’s aligned with their skill set and motivations.

I pride myself on delivering a high calibre of talent to my clients as well as providing efficiency, transparency and effective communication throughout the recruitment process.

Being an effective listener is key to providing a best-in-class service. This job is all about understanding what a client requires of you and making sure you can adapt and deliver to the specific brief given.

I love the fast-paced environment the recruitment industry brings, and I enjoy working with people who have an ingrained drive, are hard-working, have excellent attention to detail, are personable, and someone with a real interest in the market we recruit. The genuine hunger to want to be successful and ascend the career ladder is essential for recruitment.

What does being an opportunity maker mean to you? It’s being at the heart of making things happen, whether it’s helping a candidate secure a dream move through my network or supporting a client in finding the best possible option for a given mandate.

What Eames value resonates with you the most and why? Personal Accountability. Recruitment is a job where it’s easy to make excuses for things not going your way, as there are undoubtedly periods of bad luck. To be successful, you must recognise the difference between periods of bad luck and times when you didn’t do what was required of you.