The private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has appointed Mark Redman as senior managing director for Europe.
Redman will be responsible for Omers Private Equity’s (OPE) direct investment strategy across Europe and will build the investment team in sourcing, executing, and post-acquisition management of direct private equity transactions.
Redman previously worked at FTSE-100 company 3i for 12 years in the London and Amsterdam offices, during which time he also occupied the role of buyout partner.
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CFOs not hiring for remainder of 2009
Most financial executives have no intention of hiring new accounting and finance professionals in the fourth quarter, according to the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index.
The survey shows that 84% of CFOs interviewed said they will not be hiring before the end of the year, while 6% of respondents expect to add full-time employees and 9% foresee cutbacks.
“Companies appear to be hesitant about adding full-time staff until there is more certainty about the economic recovery,” says Kathryn Bolt, president of Robert Half International’s Canadian operations. “Some employers challenged with rising workloads as the result of cuts in staffing levels are bringing in temporary professionals to help with critical projects and deadlines.”
Despite current unemployment levels, CFOs continue to report challenges in finding highly skilled professionals for certain functional areas. Accounting professionals was cited as one of the most difficult position to fill.
In terms of hiring by company size, a net 13% of businesses with 50-99 employees plan to add finance and accounting staff before the end of the year. This is sixteen points above the national average.
The Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index is based on telephone interviews with more than 270 CFOs across Canada.
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Hiring pace to accelerate
Employers are expected to pick up the pace of hiring in the fourth quarter, although at a modest pace, according to a survey by Manpower Canada.
“This quarter’s net employment outlook indicates that the sluggish hiring pace reported in the previous quarter is likely to improve in the fourth quarter of 2009, but it’s far off the pace we saw last year at this time,” says Byrne Luft, vice-president of marketing for the placement agency.
“Employers are telling us that they plan to hire, but in a very conservative manner.”
The survey shows that 15% of respondents plan to increase their payrolls during the fourth quarter, while 11% anticipate cutbacks and 73% expect to maintain current staffing levels.
Also, employers in construction, finance, insurance and real estate report the most favourable forecasts.
“Regionally, employers in Western and Atlantic Canada are anticipating the most encouraging hiring environment,” says Luft. “However, the raw survey data indicates that the outlook is weaker in three of the four Canadian regions surveyed compared to three months ago, and only employers in Western Canada are reporting stronger hiring intentions for the coming quarter.”
There were 1,900 employers interviewed for the survey.