Executive Search + Coaching in Media and Entertainment
OUR PURPOSE
SEARCH + COACHING
Executive Search with pre + post placement coaching for the candidate & team at no additional cost.
Search is most successful when attention is paid to how the chemistry of the candidate and team really interact. If a candidate is onboarded in a way that encourages integration, the entire team thrives.
QuickSmith is uniquely placed to address these challenges through our use of pre + post search coaching to smooth complex transitions and achieve the best outcomes.
WHY QUICKSMITH IS DIFFERENT
Our aim is to add value to Search.
Coaching services, from fully-qualified and supervised practitioners, come at no additional cost. These services are optional but we believe they enable the best possible chances of success.
Our structure is intentionally free from shareholders & sizeable overheads so we can invest in the resources needed to deliver lasting change and sustainable value to our clients.
OUR APPROACH
CRAFT + CHEMISTRY
We prepare the soil, find the seed that can thrive there and nurture it until it flourishes.
We believe there are two key reasons a search exceeds expectations.
It's in the Craft: when the search fully uncovers and encompasses the skills, personal and professional, needed to activate growth for the individual, the team and the company.
It's in the Chemistry: when the individual is warmly received by a team who were consulted and contributed to the process and are then invested in the role. This is further strengthened by bespoke embedding to ensure interconnected ways of working.
OUR SERVICES
Our Focus
Media + Entertainment.
Anything to do with creating and monetising content worldwide.
Our Sectors
TV, Film, Audio, AR,VR, Advertising, Digital, Print & Publishing.
Our Functions
Board, C-suite, Commissioning, Production, Distribution, Acquisition, Commercial, Strategy, Planning, Partnerships, Finance, Legal and Business Affairs.
Bespoke tailoring
All our services are individually designed in conjunction with any, all (or no) existing HR functionality. Pre + Post services are optional but we would strongly advise their inclusion. We fundamentally believe, and have seen in practice, that they produce the best results for everyone involved.
Pre Search
We begin with a 360 degree interview process encompassing the peer group and team to include their insight, co-operation and buy in. We use this to fine-tune the job description and search.
Search
As cross sector experts, with a diverse advisory board drawn from multiple disciplines, no stone goes unturned when delivering a mix of experienced, surprising and diverse candidates.
Post Search
We follow up with a bespoke 3 month embedding process to support the candidate's integration within the team as quickly as possible. Put simply, we ensure the candidate gets off to the best possible start.
Additional Services
These can be delivered for individuals or groups, as workshops, ongoing programmes or away days.
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Market mapping
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Leadership training
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Team integration
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Personal development
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Change management
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Succession planning
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Psychometric profiling
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Strategy creation and tactical planning
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ABOUT US
QUICK + SMITH
Why we can do it
Over the past 25 years, Sally Quick and Dee Smith have held many of the positions we recruit into, in each of the sectors. More recently Sally has spent the past 5 years in Executive Search while Dee has developed her practice as a strategic advisor, mentor and coach.
Sally Quick
CO FOUNDER
Sally started her career at Granada TV (back when ITV had separate companies) working in audience research and moved over to C4 when they launched their own ad sales division.  Nine happy years later, realising she needed something more than numbers, she started a role at ITV Network Centre as Head of Commercial Strategy, helping the ad sales team understand the content and the scheduling and commissioning to behave in a commercially focussed way.  This then propelled her into the nascent world of AFP (Advertiser Funded Programming) as it was called then, running it at ITV and then from within the commissioning team at UKTV. She worked closely with producers, brands, agencies, commissioners and channel controllers to get the projects funded, made and delivered. Won some awards (including one with Dee!) After ten years at UKTV she was after a fresh challenge. Having always recommended people for roles, set up mentoring schemes and taken an interest in people’s career decisions, she decided to join media and entertainment headhunting firm Mission Bay as a Partner.  Five incredible years working as a headhunter over distribution, production, broadcasting and some advertising roles has fuelled her passion in getting this process to work well for all parties and making it far more than a transactional relationship between client and headhunter. It has directly led her to setting up QUICKSMITH, with her frequent collaborator and friend Dee.
Dee Smith
CO FOUNDER
Dee is Northern Irish and started off producing news before co-founding, building and selling Bullseye TV Production and Bullseye Distribution to Zodiak.  Retiring mid 30’s seemed a bit excessive/boring, so after an enjoyable stint as a commissioner at Discovery she returned to her entrepreneurial roots, this time in the digital field. As MD of Imama.tv, she built a revolutionary (at the time) SEO & socially optimised video channel with integrated v-commerce. It fuelled an interest in how publishing, brands and talent could fund content. As Director of Content at Factory Media she helped transition a print business to a digital brand with 24 properties. Growing audiences to 380 million globally and delivering a 240% increase in brand funded content. This included Factory’s first TV series (where she met Sally Q and won nice awards) Having held senior roles in development, production, distribution, commissioning, strategy and finance, in multiple sectors, in both commercial and creative fields, she now practises as an advisor, board member and coach. She works with broadcasters, streamers, brands, digital platforms, publishers and production houses with a growing interest in gaming and film. She is a fully accredited ICF, ACC coach.
CONTACT
If you would like more information get in touch.
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
Carl Jung