Member Meeting Manchester: The opportunity and pitfalls of international expansion

Mark Brown

Co-Founder, Worldwide Recruitments Solutions

Mark Brown is the co-founder of Worldwide Recruitments Solutions (WRS) and has 20 years’ experience as a recruitment business owner and CEO. Involved in the startup of two recruitment brands - KCMB (2001-08) & WRS (2008 to date).

WRS is a global recruitment consultancy and workforce solutions company serving the Renewables, Oil and Gas and Offshore Marine industries. In 2022, WRS achieved revenue of £68M. The brand has a global presence with offices in Europe, Africa, Middle East, APAC and North America. They currently have a headcount of 76.

WRS was recently named by Recruiter Magazine as the 3rd fastest growing recruitment company in the UK. Mark and his team have a long list of awards that includes the Sunday Times Best Small Company to Work for, Virgin Fast Track, HSBC International Track and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and International Trade.

Mark brings expertise in international trade and global expansion and is an advocate of technology innovation and digitisation to improve business process and efficiency.  Married for 20 years, he has twin daughters (aged 22). A keen supporter of football (30 years a season ticket holder at Man United) and a passionate supporter of National Hunt horse racing.      

Stephen Rookes

Business Advisor , SRC Consultancy

Stephen has an outstanding reputation as a leader in promoting best practice in Risk & Compliance for the professional recruitment sector, both in the UK and internationally. For over 16 years, he was the Group Commercial & Legal Director of US$2bn global recruiter NES Fircroft. During his long association with APSCo, Stephen has served for a total of 8 years on the UK Representative Committee and twice as the Chair in 2011-2012 and 2020-2022, during which he was also an active member of the APSCo Global Representative Committee.

Stephen’s passion for managing risk and extensive experience enables him to help businesses in the professional recruitment sector to mitigate their risks and achieve compliance so they can enhance shareholder value through the adoption of best practice. His areas of specialisms include: M&A Transaction & Integration; Contractual Risk & Insurance; Compliant Contractor Engagement; and Management of Litigation & Mediation.

In January 2023, Stephen became a freelance consultant and established his own consultancy business - Strategic Risk & Compliance Consultancy Limited (trading as SRC). As a professional business advisor, he will be using his wisdom, experience and wealth of expertise through AdvisorLink to champion best practice in Risk & Compliance for the professional recruitment sector.

Ann Swain

CEO, APSCo

Ann is founder and Global CEO of APSCo, an international trade body representing the professional recruitment sector with operations in the UK, Germany, Australia and across South East Asia.
 
She has over thirty years’ recruitment experience including time as UK Sales Director of multinational staffing firms and Managing Director of recruitment training company Learning Curve before establishing APSCo in 1999.

In 2009, she was honoured to receive a fellowship from the NSPCC and in 2018, received the prestigious Leadership Award from the Trade Association Forum. Ann currently features in the SIA ‘Global Power 50’ list of the most influential women in international recruitment. She is also one of the select recruitment sector leaders to have made the Staffing Industry Analysts Hall of Fame, which celebrates individuals in the recruitment field whose accomplishments, dedication and drive are making a difference to work today, and to what work will look like in the future.

Ann is an acknowledged thought leader and her articles feature regularly in the national and recruitment media. An award-winning business leader and inspirational keynote speaker, she is also the co-author of the best-selling ‘Professional Recruiter’s Handbook’.