In 2010, Barbara Kuil-Jipping and Sofie Man-de Vlam founded Blooming Hill with a clear conviction: executive search in finance could be more personal, more considered and more honest. Fifteen years on, we look back on a remarkable journey.
How it began
Both partners had built years of experience in the search world at larger firms. What drove them was the conviction that the best placements arise from personal knowledge — not from databases or clever algorithms. That conviction formed the foundation of Blooming Hill: a boutique firm that has deliberately stayed small in order to be exceptional in quality.
What we have learnt
Fifteen years in executive search teaches you a great deal about people, about organisations and about what makes a working relationship endure. The most important lesson: honesty always pays. Both with clients and with candidates. If we believe a match is not right, we say so — even when it is commercially inconvenient. In the long run, that is the only way to earn the trust that makes our network so valuable.
What we are celebrating
Hundreds of placements. Dozens of long-standing client relationships with organisations that come back time and again. Candidates who still call years later to say how things are going. And a network that has grown organically — not through marketing, but through word of mouth from people who are satisfied with what we deliver.
Looking ahead
The challenges in the finance labour market are becoming more complex. The profiles organisations are looking for are becoming broader. The pressure on CFOs is increasing. We are ready for it — with the same starting point as fifteen years ago: the right people in the right place, by truly knowing them.
Thank you to everyone who is part of our network. Here is to the next fifteen years.