Specialist executive search and advisory firm Ampersand International Melbourne has announced the appointment of Nick Thomas as managing director.

Thomas brings with him more than 20 years’ experience leading teams across blue-chip brands in Australia and the UK.

Originally from the UK, Thomas forged an international reputation with the telco brand O2, where his roles included head of new customer marketing and head of digital.

Thomas relocated to Australia in April 2015 to join Telstra as its general manager of consumer business, with responsibility for all brand positioning activity and consumer advertising, before taking up the newly created CMO role with RACV in 2017.

During his tenure at RACV (which ended in August last year), Thomas led a restructure of the marketing function, building a new leadership team and appointing CHE Proximity as the company’s lead creative agency.

In his role as MD, Thomas will be working closely with Ampersand International founder and CEO Hayley James to usher in a new era of enhanced service delivery in the executive search industry, with a strong focus on innovation and disruption.

The pair have previously worked together – James placed Thomas in the RACV chief marketing role and then collaborated via Ampersand’s advisory arm to drive the growth of the RACV marketing function.

James said: “Nick arrives at our firm with a sharp mind for entrepreneurialism and an eagerness to lead Ampersand International’s next phase of evolution, as we address industry shifts and present new ways of talent engagement to our great clients and brands.

“We foresee an exciting new era for our business and the executive recruitment industry as a whole.

Commenting on his appointment, Thomas said: “I am delighted to be joining a true champion of client and candidate experience, working with Hayley James and the team she has built. Exec search and recruitment is an area ripe for change and some disruptive thinking.”