Meet some talented people
James Callander, Managing Director, FreshMinds Talent
James was appointed Managing Director of FreshMinds Talent in 2008 after five years with the company. He has been responsible for launching and directing some of FreshMinds’ most successful business units, including the highly successful private equity team and Interim Talent brand. In his previous dual role as Deputy Managing Director and Head of Innovation, he worked with the group's founders to establish new business ventures. These included FreshNetworks, with James helping the innovative company to win up to £5million of investment through the 2008 Bank of Scotland Corporate Entrepreneur Challenge.
Prior to joining FreshMinds in 2003, James completed an internship at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. James holds a degree in Geography from Edinburgh University, and stood as the Conservative candidate in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Elections for Hamilton North and Bellshill near Glasgow. He is a qualified Cordon Bleu cook and completed the Stockholm Marathon two years ago.
Catriona Drysdale, Head of Interim, FreshMinds Talent
Catriona took over the Interim team in 2008 after four years of consistent success as an account manager for FreshMinds Talent and, previously, for sister company FreshMinds Research. Since 2006, she has been an integral part of the growth of our retail offering, bringing on board high-profile accounts including Cadbury, Moet Hennessy and Gü Puddings.
Before joining FreshMinds Catriona gained valuable sales experience working for Southwestern in California, where she was responsible for selling educational materials and received the accolade of ‘Top First Year dealer’. She holds a degree in Combined Arts in Politics, French, Spanish and Sociology from Durham University.
Soraya Janmohammed, Head of Graduate, FreshMinds Talent
Soraya is the Head of the Graduate team at FreshMinds Talent. As well as project managing and coordinating every aspect of the graduate recruitment cycle from concept design through to delivery, Soraya helps an increasing number of big-name clients devise ongoing strategies for recruiting and retaining high-calibre graduates, from oil and gas giants to some of the best-known brands in retail.
Prior to joining FreshMinds in 2005, Soraya used her legal training skills to help a leading recruitment firm set up a team placing lawyers in private practice. She has a degree in Economic and Social History from Edinburgh University and has represented Kenya at tennis and swimming.
Phillippa Dunlop, Senior Recruitment Consultant, FreshMinds Talent
Phillippa joined the recruitment team at FreshMinds in 2003 having spent four years at a niche recruitment firm within the management consultancy field. She currently oversees the FreshMinds Select team, specialising in working with strategic, operational and general managers in the public sector. Phillippa is particularly well known for her ability to help senior candidates who are looking to change direction within their careers. She has helped numerous executives negotiate a successful move from senior positions within consultancies into executive level positions within industry.
Phillippa holds a degree in Classics from Cambridge University. When she’s not working, Phillippa admits that football takes up a disproportionate amount of time although she still finds the energy to run 10km for charity on a regular basis.
Ben Collis, Head of People, FreshMinds Group
Ben oversees the human resources function across the entire FreshMinds Group. He has been responsible for over 120 new hires as well as helping FreshMinds to win “Best Agency to Work For” in the Research Excellence and Effectiveness Awards in 2006 and become Investors in People accredited.
He previously worked as a recruitment consultant for FreshMinds Talent and his qualifications include a BSc in Psychology, BPS levels A and P as well as being CIPD part-qualified. In his spare time Ben is also an accomplished sportsman, with a track record of success as a rugby player, marathon runner and triathlon competitor.