Our Partnership
Since 2016, Sherrington Associates have been the retained executive search partner for sustainable construction products leader DB Group. During that period, we are proud to have supported their growth through the recruitment of several key leadership positions and in 2022 assembling a new sales team for their innovative eco-construction products arm Cemfree. Their organisational purpose is to decarbonise the construction industry through innovative products, so it was only natural that they wanted to partner with a search firm who understands how sustainability is driven by culture.
DB Group
Since it was founded in the early 1970s, DB Group has been a pioneer in the construction industry. It was originally established to provide specialist sands to industry for cement testing and fuse manufacturing and they are still exporting sands all over the world today.
Today, the group is a leading sustainable construction products business, manufacturing a range of products that support the construction sector's transition to net-zero, including structural waterproofing solutions, sands and their revolutionary non-cementitious concrete additive - Cemfree.
The last ten years have seen significant change across the business. As the company founder and previous Chairman neared his retirement, he began to seek investment for the business. For the business to grow it was imperative to partner with strategic investors whose values were aligned to the group’s values and future vision. On Feb 24th 2015 a deal was completed with an exciting new investor in the form of private equity investors Wheatsheaf Group (Grosvenor Estate’s private investment business) to join the long-term investment trade partner Altro Flooring. The group was seen as having huge potential by Wheatsheaf and complimentary to their interest in supporting businesses with a strong eco-agenda and sustainability focus. A new senior management team was established later that year and new CEO Wayne Zakers (formerly VP Europe at £200m construction chemicals manufacturer Fosroc) joined the business in June 2016 with a vision of growing the business significantly through new product development, geographic expansion (including international) and finally moving into lucrative new market sectors.
Cemfree
Sustainability runs through the core of the business. That’s why, in 2015 they introduced Cemfree ultra-low carbon binder – a complete game-changer for the construction industry that achieves dramatic carbon savings of up to 80% in concrete. This innovative technology was developed in-house and has since won multiple awards.
Cemfree is a totally cement-free alternative to conventional concrete and a ground-breaking milestone in low-carbon concrete technology. The market for innovative sustainable construction products is buoyant and Cemfree are cultivating a strong brand following in the market.
New Sales Team
In 2022, Sherrington Associates were appointed by DB Group to assemble a new sales team for the Cemfree business, starting with a new General Manager to lead the new team and grow Cemfree's market share in the construction sector.
Crucial to the assignment was achieving a strong appreciation of the group's organisational culture before starting work. To achieve an accurate understanding, Sherrington's team spent significant time meeting various stakeholders from the client's organisation, including the CEO, Head of HR, Group Commercial Director and team members from businesses within the group. Crucially we also explored the company's shared values and culture and used the Barrett Model to identify aspirational values for potential candidates.
Throughout 2022, Sherrington Associates conducted research across the construction products sector to identify key targets and gradually cultivate a talent pool of high potential candidates for consideration by DB Group.
During this period, over 300 candidates were identified and over 50 candidates were interviewed by Sherrington for a total of four live positions, but crucially with the aim of achieving a talent pool for consideration for future recruitment alongside the live recruitment.
By late 2022, the Sherrington team successfully appointed the General Manager and a new Product Manager for Cemfree, as well as a Key Account Manager South, Key Account Manager North and a Technical Sales Manager for Pudlo and Business Development Manager for their service arm MPS.
The Sherrington team are proud to continue our relationship with DB Group and began 2023 with a new assignment for DB Group to recruit a new National Sales Manager.
