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| Senior Consultant |
| Having snapped his cruciate ligament in 2002, Andy finally accepted he'd never play alongside Becks for England. Well, that's his story. But Sven's loss is the Stopgap Group's gain; and it does leave him time to indulge the finer things in life, like working his way through the UK Good Pub Guide. Or adding more exotic stamps to his passport, alongside those of faraway Peru and Vietnam. But however far he travels, his heart will always be at home with his partner and the huge love of their lives, their little girls Elsie and Mabel...Ahhhhhh. |
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| Consultant |
| Caroline is very well known in Richmond - or at least by all the retailers. By her own admission she is a shop-acoholic. However, when her purse is empty she can be found rowing at Twickenham and is a regular attendee at Henley. Word of warning - if you ever dine with Caroline never mention fish - as far as she is concerned it is the devil's food. |
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| Consultant |
| Claudine wasn't sure whether to mention that she'd done a bit of "pole dancing," while teaching English in Bangkok. So of course, we did. Hey... she's a sensible Yorkshire lass and it was totally for the exercise! These days she's to be found partaking in slightly less exotic pastimes such as running, swimming, swing dancing , and horse-riding. Mind you, if you ask her nicely she'll show you her other party trick: raising her eyebrows independently of each other. Already tri-lingual in English, French and Italian she is working on Spanish. Now if only she could sing in tune in just one language, any language, she would make her Stopgap Group colleagues ever so happy. |
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| Senior Consultant |
| Ahoy mateys! Freya is a serious yacht racer whose normal position in a race is 'pit boss.' She's raced in Antigua, Kings Cup/Thailand, Australia and home waters including the Fastnet. Freya's huge ambition is to take part in a gruelling Atlantic race. But there's a little problem to be overcome, she gets seasick. A minor inconvenience for an able gal who overcame her fear of heights by joining a tall ship with a disabled crew; followed by abseiling in Australia's Blue Mountain range. Not that landlubber activities aren't also on the horizon. Freya is looking to visit South Africa for a combined wine tasting and safari. And you thought drinking and driving was dangerous? |
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| Consultant |
| Jacquie has joined us from sunny Brisbane and, like many Aussies, loves an adventure! So far she's been bungee-jumping in Cairns, hang-gliding in Rio, and has trekked the Inca Trail. All sounds pretty impressive.... now prepare for the cheesy bit... she also loves a spot of karaoke and her favourite tune to belt out is Sweet Child O Mine by Guns and Roses. (Office opinion is divided on that one!) And while she's singing along, she likes nothing better than a cold beer, but says she is "mortified to see just how many people actually drink Fosters over here". Beer is to Australia what wine is to France, clearly. |
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| Consultant |
| As a former flower child (ex- florist), Jo's a bit of a star-gazer, would love to see the Aurora Borealis and fancies herself as a bit of a Mystic Meg. Back down to earth Jo loves to travel though she hates flying. So she grits her teeth to get to exotic places where she can spend an earthquake in a swimming pool with a dozen floating chickens, or get chased by a snake in a Columbian rain forrest! Naturally, she knew it was going to happen, but went anyway dressed to kill in her trademark 'bling'. |
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| Senior Consultant |
| Naomi likes nothing better than getting on her bike and peddling across the land of her Scottish ancestors. Though that's possibly pretty tame compared to the extreme sports she also dabbles in: mountain biking, fast skiing, bungee jumping 300 feet across the Thames, and horse riding. She also used to ride an extremely uncomfortable camel to work in Israel but that's another story - and it doesn't involve a zoo. Fortunately, all this 'healthy' activity means Naomi can indulge in other passions, like 'extreme' chocolate eating in bed. |
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| Associate Director |
| Susi joined the company in 1996 as the 7th employee. Previously, as a PR and Marketing Communications Specialist, she had reached her sell by date. Her friends encouraged her to take the role as recruitment consultant, suggesting she could then ask all the questions professionally she would like to ask people in real life! They also said that she would get the pick of the jobs when one came in. Well, that never happened because she’s still here, enjoying the ride. When she's not putting great senior interims into challenging roles, she's trying to improve her tennis, flitting down to her place in Portugal, cuddling her cats or entertaining friends at home. Since early in 2007 she has been on The Leadership Team and, with her superb candidate and client relationships, she was the natural choice to champion Best Practice within the Stopgap Group. |
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| Consultant |
| Thanks to her role as a child actress in 1983’s Tightrope to Terror, Eloise is now ranked 1,016,027 on the International Movie Data Base’s Star Meter! Luckily it hasn’t gone to this Oxford grad’s head (French & Spanish), as she has to stay grounded to care for Oliver and Joshua, her lively sons! And despite the lure of the sound stage, Eloise majored in more rewarding activities; such as, teaching English to French teenagers, followed by twelve years in Agency Account management. (Her most interesting client being a Russian bank which enabled her to rediscover her roots in mother Russia.) Eloise hasn’t completely given up the “biz” though, as she does accompany Joshua in his “toddler” singing classes! |
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| Consultant |
| Hannah is definitely a classomaniac. She's simply addicted to taking evening classes, having already mastered floristry, soft-furnishing and tap-dancing. Though her real addiction these days is to her adorable young children, Georgia and Jacob. Of course, now she's a mother herself Hannah may not wish her kids to know that mum has a "past." Like dancing on Top of the Pops, aged fifteen in a revealing leopard skin dress. Competing in the annual Sydney City to Surf race dressed as Marilyn Monroe. Skydiving for charity dressed as a Beefeater. Unfortunately for her, being fanatical about photography since she was a teenager, the proof is all there in pictures. All the boy bands -- and ballet dancers? Whatever! And you just know Georgia and Jacob are going to use it to escape ever being grounded. |
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| Consultant |
| You won't find someone much fitter than Jane at the Stopgap Group; She LOVES the big outdoors and every spare minute is spent running (and preferably chatting at the same time), cycling, dog-walking, playing golf and skiing. All of this takes second place though to enjoying the challenge of "plumbing new depths of my powers of negotiation and patience" with her teenage son. And when Jane's not doing all of this? She likes to have her nose in a good book, something Spanish at the moment as she's trying to learn the language, and with a bag of aniseed balls nearby for sustenance! |
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| Senior Consultant |
| Even though the loves of her life are two gorgeous children, Emma reckons she's still a "party girl". With a real zest for the good things in life, entertaining and cooking for friends is always high on her to-do lists.That means there's always a do to be planned. Emma's big claim to fame is being kissed by George Michael in a nightclub. Oddly enough, George was impervious to her many charms - and she still can't think why. In her spare time (children allowing!) Emma paints and has even sold the odd canvas! |
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| Senior Consultant |
| Go for it, that's Jane's motto. Ditch your well paid job and work on a beach in Corsica for 6 months, teach in a school 11,000ft up in the Himalayas, start an all girls Rugby team. Jane took the same approach here at the Stopgap Group, building up the Research team single-handed - she now works part-time as part of a team of 6! |
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| Consultant |
| Maryline is French, although you had probably guessed that. She loves skiing, European cinema, food and throwing well made plans firmly out of the window. She only came to England to improve her English and that was fifteen years ago. |
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| Consultant |
| If you want something tasty cooked up, Vics is your woman! She loves cooking and also considers herself a wine buff, which several work functions will testify to! She’s travelled loads and even lived in Geneva for a while, although living in Windsor means she’s now a lot closer to work. Vics aspires to live in France one day and is a dedicated Francophile – just as well considering she sits next to the office’s French resident Maryline! She dreams of becoming a backing singer for Paul Weller, despite her singing voice, but would quite happily settle for marrying Brian Ferry… |
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| Coordinator |
| Tara’s all about fun, fun and more fun! The Research team’s bubbly coordinator loves flying and enjoys plane food, harbours secret plans to be a race car driver and is also a qualified scuba diver! Tara has played lacrosse for Wales, worked on a film called ‘A.R.T in Las Vegas’ (her name’s on the credits) and thinks she’d make a brilliant high school cheerleader! Her other passions include anything to do with the ‘80’s, going to the zoo and penguins, although keep her away from eggs and feet – she hates them! |
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| Consultant |
| We don’t know many people who can say they learnt to ski in their parents’ garden, but Bavarian-born Sibylle is one of them! You would think, with such a start in life, that she’d now be a championship skier, but she’s actually much happier sitting on a beach staring at the sea for hours, or collecting old relics, or enjoying snuggling down in a cosy country inn. Life hasn’t been too sedate though – when Sibylle came to the UK for the launch of the new MINI, she managed put the car on the stage of a production of 'Hamlet'. And, if that’s not enough, she built a football pitch on the Seine for Playstation for the UEFA Champions League Final 2006. This is one lady who knows about PR! |
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| Coordinator |
| Jo is a lass of many passions, most notably reading. She admits to reading anything and everything – books first and foremost, followed by labels, posters, leaflets instructions – anything with the printed word! She’s been dying her hair red for six years, loves frogs, is obsessed with shoes and adores cooking. Jo and her friend won a choreography competition dressed as vampires to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and even reached the qualifying rounds of the All England Dance competition! Don’t mention mushrooms though – Jo can’t stand them! |
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| Consultant |
| Don't judge a book by its cover, not only does our quietly spoken Catherine speak French faultlessly, but has been a holiday rep for Club Med and has played a lead in a cabaret show. |
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| Business Head |
| Good for us that Jaqueline dropped her plans as an international banker. She makes and wears her own 'creations', and can either be found in cool jazz clubs swing dancing, exploring a reef in SCUBA gear or showing off her cats, Mabel and Winks. |
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| Consultant |
| Kate's defining characteristic? Now let's see, her love of cooking, photography or gardening - no that's not it; happy home making with hubby, stepdaughter and tabby cat - no, not that either. Oh yes, Kate's always, always got that next holiday booked. |
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| Coordinator |
| Instantly recognisable around the office by his well-groomed moustache, James has a sausage dog called Rusty, cruises around Surrey on his black and chrome motorcycle, drives a horse and carriage around Hampton Court at weekends and even went to the same school as Victoria Beckham. He’s heavily into weight training (pun intended) and regularly eats vast quantities of sticky buns, protein shakes, waffles and other such delights throughout the day – making him the envy of the office with his calorific consuming abilities! James also loves Latin and Ballroom dancing, can perform the entire rap from Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ and owns every single Kylie CD and single, including foreign imports! |
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| Flying Squad Consultant |
| Kristin has always imagined she'd make a terrific 'Changing Rooms' presenter. Away from work (where she's helping others change careers) she loves thinking about interior design, so wherever she lives is always a shifting visual environment. And that would now be the countryside as Kristin has just moved to a house with a garden that she can't wait to get dug into. That's one half the lifestyle attained. The other will be when she can spend 6 months in the UK and 6 months in Australia to see the other half of the family! Such is the lifestyle of a lottery winner.......maybe one day! |
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| Associate Director |
| How many sane people jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane at 14,000 ft with only a bundle of nylon sheeting for company? And when she's safely on the ground it's either the great outdoors, a long run (she completed the London marathon on her 30 birthday) or a pulsating dancefloor for Natasha. Oh, and if that's not enough, she's also a yoga bunny and a CTI qualified Life Coach! |
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| Consultant |
| The cosmopolitan Karolina has a nose for the good things in life. And that's official! She recently attended a perfume making course and managed to replicate a Ralph Lauren perfume in under two hours. Such nasal dexterity may explain why she dreams of one day living in richly scented Tuscany and also loves the smell the seaside; although it doesn't explain her love of lighthouses!? But when it comes down to it, fine perfumes and Tuscan hills don't compare to a simple roast chicken and mashed potatoes meal, probably the result of being a Russian speaking Pole raised in New York. And while Karolina is terrified at watching horror movies, she is quite blase in admitting her adoration of Duran Duran and 80's music. Now that really is scary to some people. |
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| Senior Consultant |
| Kate believes in sailing through life with a smile and a tap dance -- though it's doubtful that she found time to tap a shoe sailing in the Tall Ships race celebrating Christopher Columbus's Bicentenary what with the fifty foot waves and all. These days, Kate's into more simple land-lubberly activities like indulging her love of walking, the countryside, flowers and horticulture. And she's fairly easy-ish to please;- a simple bunch of flowers brings on the smiles. But please, no chrysaths! |
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| Consultant |
| It’s a dog’s life for Linda. With a collie and husky taking up most of her time, space and sanity, it’s a wonder her 3 children and husband get a look in! We were curious though, what does Linda do in her spare time? (“Spare time?’ she laughs.) Well, if the animals aren’t digging up her flowerbeds and she’s not running about with her family, or cooking for friends, or going to church, or running marathons, Linda likes to enjoy every ray of sunshine that graces her churned up lawn. And while she’s there, sunbathing, she dreams of fast cars and retiring to somewhere HOT one day - and maybe, just maybe, having a separate garden for those darn (lovely) dogs…! |
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| Business Head |
| Despite being born with 'negative buoyancy', this has never stopped Melanie diving in at the deep end at everything! Which probably explains why she's been in the marketing business longer than most agencies - what Mel doesn't know about the industry, probably isn't worth knowing! Mel's real passion in life is food, having eaten her way around most of the top restaurants in the world - annoyingly she still can't top 10 stone (and is the envy of all the chocoholics at Stopgap). Maybe it was a result of her early days DJ'ing around London's hot night spots till the wee small hours while holding down her day job. |
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| Junior Consultant |
| Don't let Nina get you in her sights as she's pretty good at shooting. Either holding a shotgun or a camera, she's a dab hand firing off both. In fact Nina (who admits that she'll always be an optimistic university girl at heart) is truly passionate about photography and art. And her bias is definitely towards the natural world as she loves nothing better than spending long languid summer evenings relaxing in the countryside. If not snapping away, or horse riding, then socialising with friends with good food, wine - and beer; But it's not all quiet on the Nina front - while she's a big fan of most sports, it's the ear-shattering Formula One that really gets her adrenaline going. |
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| Coordinator |
| One of the office’s expanding Aussie contingent, our Charlotte is a huge football fan (Australian rules that is) and lists her local team Geelong as one of her passions in life! Since she’s been here, the guys have convinced her to join the office fantasy football league, which hasn’t brought much success to date! Charlie loves James Bond, photography, music and her guitar and harbours an addiction to Diet Coke! She misses her dog Fritz, who’s back at home in Aus and was disappointed to find out that the English aren’t all like characters from her favourite TV show, Black Books! |
