Introducing Richard Gray-Smith

Richard Gray-Smith has over 10 years’ experience in sales, marketing and category recruitment, specifically within the FMCG and consumer industries. He has joined Consult to lead our Sales & Marketing and Business Support Teams, and we are super excited to have him, and his expertise, within the Consult family!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER TO DATE?

I started in export marketing, because I wanted to work with Japan, as I did a BCom in Marketing and a BA in Japanese. But I got side tracked by the recruitment process of the recruitment company that got me the job. Believe it or not, I enjoyed it and wanted to do what they did. However, no one would hire me because I didn’t have any sales experience. Eventually I ended up working for an industrial recruitment company on the North Shore, before getting into retail recruitment and progressing into management.

WHY RECRUITMENT?

I like the variety of working with different companies every day. Also, being told that I couldn’t do it, meant I wanted to do it, and do it well. The more I did recruitment, the more I liked it.

I like recruitment because I like interacting with people. I like thinking about how people tick. I also like learning about what makes businesses tick too, particularly consumer business, the products they sell and new product innovations around that. Working in the sales and marketing space gives me access to all of that.

WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS AT CONSULT?

I am the Division Manager – Sales, Marketing and Business Support. Two very different beasts, but I want to extend the same high level of customer service and recruitment excellence that Consult is synonymous for, into these areas. Partnering with businesses that Consult already works with, making us a one stop shop for top talent.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT CONSULT?

I am super pumped to be at Consult. I like the vibe of the big office, I like that the people have great reputations in their markets and I am proud to be part of the team. Angela as a leader and the way she has approached creating and growing Consult as a people focused business is a massive drawcard. 

I like how they do things and their cheeky approach, which is similar to mine.

WHICH ONE OF CONSULT’S CORE VALUES IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY?

Try, Fail, Learn, Succeed. Because I think that is how you become good at anything, and Consult provides an environment where it’s OK to give it a go. If you make a mistake, you learn from it, and it’s the learning piece that creates success, which I really like. 

In recruitment there is always going to be different situations and circumstances where if you don’t try something new you won’t get results.

WHAT IS YOUR WORK ETHOS?

For me it comes down to keeping it simple and making sure that trust is at the foundation of everything I do. My clients trust me to deliver them great candidates, and my candidates trust me to place them in a great company that will continue to grow and develop them. Essentially working with like-minded individuals in partnership.

DO YOU THINK THE RECRUITMENT LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING?

Absolutely. Technology is disrupting it, we’re seeing emerging companies that are not only doing recruitment, but also providing business advice, other facets of the HR spectrum, and also smaller boutique service offerings. Technology is a massive disruptor in every industry, we’re constantly looking at ways where we can continue to utilise technology to help improve what we already do, but fundamentally our business is about people and working with people. At the same time we want to continue to engender trust and confidence in everything that we talk about as a trusted advisor to our clients’ businesses.   

WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE OF WORK?

Like the rest of the world right now, I watch a lot of Netflix. Outside in the real world, I like playing and watching tennis. My goal is to attend all four of the grand slams, I have been to two so far, the Australian and US Opens.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

I ran a marathon… once upon a time

IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT SURPRISES PEOPLE?

I speak fluent Japanese… after a few beers.