Irish Founder and CEO, Rosaleen Blair, sells talent acquisition company to OMERS Private Equity
Alexander Mann Solutions, a global talent acquisition and management services firm, has been acquired by OMERS Private Equity, the private equity investment arm of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada, in deal worth USD $1.1 billion (approx €921 million).
Changing talent acquisition worldwide
Alexander Mann Solutions, founded in 1996 by Rosaleen Blair, with its headquarters in London, has been leading outsourced global acquisition through a combination of outsourcing and consulting services. The company delivers services to clients in over 85 countries across seven industry sectors. Blair founded Alexander Mann Solutions to revolutionise the industry and change the way blue-chip clients attracted and retained talent. The company’s teams are often embedded within client organisations and has a 98% retention rate with its clients. This is the second time she has sold the company, having sold her firm to private equity firm New Mountain Capital for almost €315 million in 2013. At that time Blair stayed on as Chief Executive of the firm.
Looking forward for Alexander Mann Solutions
OMERS was founded in 1962 to invest and administer pensions for 482,000 members and has more than $95 billion in net assets as of 31 December 2017. OMERS Private Equity, the private equity investment arm of OMERS with a team of investment professionals in London, New York, Singapore and Toronto, uses its significant capital base to partner with management teams of industry leading businesses.
Martin le Huray, co‐head of OMERS Private Equity in Europe, said: “We are excited to work alongside Rosaleen and the entire Alexander Mann Solutions team to continue building on what is already an impressive culture, platform and strategy. Alexander Mann Solutions is a trusted partner to global, market-leading brands in the critical area of talent management. We look forward to supporting Rosaleen and the team in extending Alexander Mann Solutions’ capabilities in the future, both organically and through acquisition.”
Blair said:
With OMERS support we can strengthen our global total workforce proposition and critically, accelerate our digital transformation and investment in robotics and AI, creating an even more compelling proposition for our customers around the world.
How Blair rose through the ranks
Terry Clune (Taxback Group), Rosaleen Blair (Alexander Mann) and Sinead Fitzmaurice (Taxback Group)
Blair, was Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year 2007, E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2006, and one of Brummell’s Inspirational Women 2014. She was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2017. Blair started her career as a Montessori teacher in Dublin before running a fashion shop in Grafton Street. She then set up a nanny recruitment agency in Dublin before moving over to London and working for James Caan at his recruitment firm. In 1997 she set up her own division of his business, Alexander Mann Solutions, which she took over in a management buy out. She led Alexander Mann Solutions through huge geographic and revenue growth, a management buyout, three private equity relationships and a global economic crisis to deliver on her vision of helping the best people reach their full potential.
