Seven candidates are standing for five individual directors’ roles on the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) Council of Directors. Two of the candidates already sit on the Council, while the remaining five would be newcomers to the Council.

To be eligible to vote for the individual director candidates, eligible voting members must be paid-up individual members of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP) including full individual members (or MIRP), affiliate individual members (or AIRP) and Fellows (or FIRP).

Online and postal voting will close at 5pm next Monday (20 June). Eligible voting members who have not cast a vote online or by post will be able to vote in person between 11am and 11.30am on 22 June, the day of the REC’s Annual General Meeting. The AGM will be held at the REC offices at 15 Welbeck Street, London W1G 9XT.

A total of 25 people sit on the REC Council, including 17 corporate directors, seven individual directors and the chief executive officer. A quarter of the council is appointed each year. Recruiter published profiles of the 19 candidates for six corporate directors’ positions in the 1 June issue.

The candidates for individual directors’ roles are:

Jim Berrisford (left), owner, Berrisford RSC and REC regional director, Northern Ireland. If elected, Berrisford said he would “use all my skills and experience to attract new members and support existing members, build bridges with disillusioned members, look at realistic ways that will add benefit and value to being an REC member, recommend ground-roots strategies and ensure that all members uphold the credibility and value that being an REC/IRP member represents. I will not be afraid to challenge the Council members if and when necessary”. [Editor’s note: Berrisford is also standing for a corporate director’s role.

Mike Cooper (right), board director, The Best Connection Group. In August 2010, Cooper was co-opted onto the REC Council of Directors and now seeks to have his position endorsed by the membership. If elected, he said he wanted to “help grow the profile of the REC and to promote all that is good about our industry…we need to promote quality of service, value for money and cost efficiencies”. He went on to say, “we need our members to believe in the value of the service that we provide, and I see the REC as being vital in the communication of this to all sectors of the industry”.

Philip Higgins (left), managing director (MD), Rullion Engineering Personnel. He said he has long supported “raising professionalism within our industry and ultimately gaining recognition for both individuals, via a recognised qualification and members alike”. He also said that he would like to become more involved with the REC on a strategic level.

Greg Latham (right), MD, Encore Personnel Services. He said he was driven by his interest to see the REC’s work in lobbying, compliance and professional standards “expressed more effectively to our most important audience our clients… I would like [the REC] to be more involved with communicating directly with our customers they really need to know the benefits of using REC members’ agencies”.

Louise McCarthy-Teague (left), HR director, Meridian Business Support. Her experience in working “on the international stage” and in “navigating change and difficult transformations” would be useful to the REC, she said. “I understand what success looks like, but more importantly, I know what needs to be done to achieve it and to ensure that others support it and get on board. My strength in leadership comes with the ability to make complexity easy to understand, barriers simple to overcome and hard work fun”.

Richard Toy (right), operations director, SkyBlue Solutions, and previously an REC regional director in the West Midlands. “My constant thirst in my business role will help drive [the REC] from where it is today.” If elected, he said he would bring “passion and enthusiasm” to the Council as well as keeping members’ interests at the forefront, ensuring management in accordance with corporate governance and to review and challenge the REC’s strategies and budget management to validate membership’s value as an investment.

Phil Westwood (left), senior partner (consultancy capacity), The Lexus Partnership, currently an REC individual director and chair of the REC Professional Standards Committee for the last seven years. Also serves on Employment Tribunals and chairs Careers Wales, among other roles. He said he wanted to continue in his REC Council role in supporting the organisation “to become an influential leader and the recognised organisation of choice that government and business leaders turn to in the development of recruitment practices”.