Barbara Kuil-Jipping is co-founder of Blooming Hill and has spent more than twenty years building a unique network in the world of finance executives. We spoke to her about what drives her, how the profession has changed and why personal contact remains the cornerstone of good executive search.
Why executive search in finance?
"I have always been drawn to the combination of people and organisations. Finance as a field appeals to me because it plays such a central role in every business — the CFO sits at the table for all major decisions. That makes the people we look for genuinely interesting: they need to be technically strong, but also strategic, communicative and culturally sensitive."
How has the profession changed?
"The profile of the ideal CFO has become more complex. Twenty years ago you were primarily looking for someone with a strong accountancy background and broad financial knowledge. Now that person also needs to be able to steer on ESG, understand what AI is doing to finance processes and bring a supervisory board along in an M&A narrative. The bar is higher — and at the same time, the truly good candidates are scarcer."
What makes Blooming Hill different?
"We have deliberately stayed small. Every assignment is personally managed by Sofie and me — from the first conversation to the final placement. We do not use account managers or juniors to take over the execution. That may sound logistically limiting, but it delivers a quality you simply cannot match with a large organisation. Our clients know they are always speaking with us — not with someone who read the file the evening before."
What is your most memorable placement?
"I do not have favourites — every placement where a candidate and client truly fit together is rewarding. But what moves me most are the stories afterwards: candidates who call two years later to say it was the best career move they ever made. That is why we do this."