AN award-winning recruitment consultancy which has branches in Andover and Basingstoke has appointed a new managing director.

Gi Group, which is one of the UK’s leading HR solutions companies, has announced the appointment of Pete Taylor.

Following the acquisition of Encore Personnel, a Midlands and North recruitment agency established in 2002, of which Pete was managing director, Gi Group has now successfully completed the merger of the two businesses.

Pete will now step into the role, succeeding Paul Smith who dedicated almost two decades of his career to growing and cementing Gi Group’s presence across the country. Like Paul, Pete is an industry veteran who has spent 26 years working in the recruitment sector —the last 17 of which involved building Encore into the dynamic company that Gi acquired at the end of 2022. 

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Pete said: “I’m honoured to be taking the baton, as it were, from Paul who has demonstrated in the short time we have worked together how investment in and dedication to the people of Gi Group is the key to success in this very important role.

“Having steered the Encore ship through some of the choppiest waters in our history, during the pandemic and its aftermath, I feel prepared for, whilst also incredibly humbled, to be taking on the responsibility of the position of MD for our now much larger, united business, which has the combined potential to change thousands of lives for the better.

“Gi Group is one of the most respected and forward-thinking HR and recruitment businesses in the world and I know that with the added talent, passion, diverse skill sets and experience of Encore’s consultants, we are now truly a force to be reckoned with. Our mission is simple: to help candidates find fulfilling and rewarding work while supporting our customers to grow their businesses through, always evolving industry-leading recruitment and HR strategies and practices.

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“The future is bright for Gi Group and I’m delighted to be playing a key role in mapping out the next chapter for an ambitious, bold and pioneering business with much potential to drive impactful change and innovation in the labour market.”