In May 2023 we moved Arguile Search into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) meaning our employees are the beneficiaries of the value we create. Why? So we are all aligned, the success of Arguile Search is paramount… And this is underpinned by the growth and development of the Complex Contracts discipline.

As part of the change our management team have stepped up and freed me from day-to-day management to focus on bigger levers for our clients, CC professionals, and the wider complex-contracts community—while the leadership team runs the business with pace and discipline. My role now sits somewhere between CEO and Chair: I lean in where I’m needed, and I spend more time building partnerships, opening doors, and shaping the ecosystem we all work in.

I’ve prioritised three strands that compound together:

Early-careers pipeline. Taking complex contracts into universities—law, business, and even humanities—so students hear real stories from practitioners and see a clear pathway into commercial, procurement, and supply-chain teams (not just generic grad schemes).
Helping SMEs work with government. Frameworks and routes to market can be bewildering the first time you face them. We’ve done the legwork so more high-calibre SMEs can bring their capability into defence, health, and local government—where it makes sense and delivers value for money.
Launching the Complex Contracts Hub. A free, open resource and community space: practical “Ask the Expert” conversations, mentoring from seasoned leaders, small roundtables on trending topics, networking events and training through partners where teams need structured upskilling. Less noise, more usefulness.

The practical bit matters. We’re brokering pathways for graduates to enter teams directly, where they can contribute, learn, and grow, rather than hoping a generic programme eventually rotates them into the right place. Clients have told us they spend energy “selling” the function to new hires after the fact. We can fix that at the source by finding people who choose this path on purpose.

We’re doing more with government, and I’ve put time into understanding the frameworks and engagement models—which, frankly, can feel bewildering the first time you face them. Alongside that, I’m working with senior people in government and SME leaders so capable small manufacturers and tech firms can engage; particularly in defence, and also in health and wider government. The goal is to help those innovative SMEs who have the niche skills but not the bandwidth to navigate the process.

We’ll run focused roundtables on trading with government—bringing together the civil-service experts tasked with SME access and a handful of SME MDs—to work through how to do this efficiently, make sure government gets value for money, and ensure it’s worth SMEs’ while.

The Hub is about sharing what works so the whole community lifts. It will remain free at the point of use. Expect:

• Straight-talk “Ask the Expert” videos that turn lived experience into usable guidance.
• Mentoring and coaching from senior practitioners willing to buddy up with early-career professionals.
• Focused roundtables (e.g., trading with government) that mix civil-service insight with SME realities — some run directly by Arguile, others under the CC Hub banner.
• Partnered training where teams need structure and repetition to build capability.

For clients:

• Faster access to scarce talent who already want to work in complex contracts
• Clearer routes into government work where your capability has genuine fit
• A partner who cares about the discipline and insists on commercial clarity, governance, and evidence

For professionals:

• Realistic previews of the work, not buzzwords
• Pathways into teams that will develop you properly
• Mentors who help you avoid common pitfalls and progress with confidence

For Arguile:

• Although we don’t recruit graduates, we benefit in the medium term when new entrants arrive with future-ready skills
• Raise our profile and be respected as the market leader in Complex Contracts

• When our clients do well, we do well

For the profession:

• Growing the talent pool
• Shared language, higher standards, and a stronger identity
• A community that rewards generosity and keeps improving outcomes

• Early careers: number of grads entering commercial/procurement teams and progressing at 6–12 months.
• Government work: SME engagements advanced through frameworks with clear value-for-money evidence.
• Hub impact: participation, mentor matches, and “was this useful on Monday?” feedback.
• Delivery: time-to-value, governance confidence, and repeat business from senior sponsors.

If you’re a student, come to a session and ask anything. If you lead a commercial or procurement team, join a roundtable or offer an hour a month to mentor. If you run an SME with genuine capability for government work, talk to us and we’ll be candid about fit and next steps.

I’m proud of where we’re headed as an employee-owned business and of the community around us. If you’d like to speak at a university, mentor, share a case, or join a roundtable, drop me a line. Let’s build the next chapter together.