Contract and permanent recruiter Capital International HR Solutions has appointed Nick Butcher as chief executive, taking over from Karen Silk, who remains on the board as a non-executive director.

Butcher said: "I'm really excited to be joining Capital. My aims are to build on the company's core brand values alongside the excellent client, customer and staff relationships built over the years, to drive success and increase profits through business growth both here and across Europe."

Silk added: "This is an important step for the company. He'll play a central role in our future success."

Graham Rees, non-executive director, said: "It was apparent that to meet our growth objectives we needed a big hitter from within our industry. Nick fits that bill perfectly and I'm thrilled that he's joining Capital."

Butcher has held director-level positions at Computer People, Spring Contracting Services and Spring IT Solutions.