K3 Capital Group names new Executive Chairman and CEO

Professional services firm, K3 Capital Group (“K3”), is pleased to announce that Chief Executive Officer, John Rigby, will become the Group’s new Executive Chairman, with Managing Director, Ian Symes, stepping into the vacated CEO role.

Following a strong conclusion to the Group’s 2023 results, which saw growth across all brands, and the recent £270m acquisition by Sun Capital Partners, the latest evolution in the Group’s leadership structure will provide greater focus in delivering investment in resource, capabilities, and talent.

John and Ian will continue to work closely alongside each other and the rest of the Board to help drive K3’s growth ambitions, whilst taking individual leads on certain facets of the Group’s core business functions.

Executive Vice Chairman Tony Ford, who has been instrumental in K3 Capital Group’s historic growth and recent diversification, will continue in a strategic leadership role, applying his extensive knowledge and experience as the Company continues on its growth journey.

“We have major plans for growth under the ownership of Sun Capital Partners, and our Directors and Senior Leadership Team are currently working on these plans as part of our shared vision initiative. This change in K3’s leadership structure is the next logical step for us to ensure that we are aligned as one large entity to deliver on these plans. We are all very excited for this next stage of our journey.”

John Rigby, Executive Chairman, K3 Capital Group

Rigby joined K3 in 2000, becoming Managing Director in 2010 and CEO following admittance to the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market in April 2017.

“Under the tenure of this Company’s Senior Management Team, we have diversified from a single business sales company based in the North West into a multi-disciplinary and multi-national B2B services group, which has now joined forces with one of the most renowned and respected partners in Sun Capital.

Ian was part of the team that led the transaction with Sun Capital and has directly supported many of our operating businesses and upscaled our HR and IT capabilities.”

John Rigby, Executive Chairman, K3 Capital Group

Formerly Executive Vice President at Manpowergroup, Ian Symes joined K3 in early 2022, with the primary role of supporting then CEO, John Rigby, in leading the operations of the Group’s portfolio, leaning on his many years of international experience of leading businesses across Europe and North America.

“Since joining the Sun Capital family, our growth plans are accelerating. We are already a hugely successful business and these changes to our leadership team will allow us to further focus, supporting our clients and teams across the group. I am really excited about our next chapter.”

Ian Symes, Managing Director, K3 Capital Group

In an internal memo to staff, John and Ian thanked K3 employees for their continued support on the Group’s growth journey, and their contributions to its success.

Both Rigby and Symes believe that the change in the K3’s leadership structure will strengthen the foundations of the business, allowing this growth to continue to accelerate into the future.