Meet the Team

William Douie - Group Executive Chairman

After two years in export sales, commencing in 1962, with British Oxygen, he moved into banking with Midland Bank and qualified as an associate of the Institute of Bankers. In 1969 he moved into Merchant Banking, joining Keyser Ullmann Limited and spent six years in Investment Management before joining the Bank Board in 1975. In 1981, following the merger of Keyser Ullmann and Charterhouse Japhet, he left to buy out, and become Chairman of, the Group's Instalment Credit subsidiary, Broadcastle Plc, and to become Chairman of British Benzol Limited, a fully listed company in the solid fuel industry. Following the acquisition by Broadcastle of Harton Securities Limited, he oversaw the merger of Broadcastle Plc and ATA Selection Plc, a USM listed recruitment company, before becoming Chairman of the Group in 1990. He joined with Clive Chapman in 1992 to purchase the ailing ATA Recruitment business from the group, and remains Executive Chairman.

Andrew Bailey - Group Managing Director

Andrew spent five years with a provincial accounting practice, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in June 1982, when he moved to KPMG. Having progressed to departmental manager within a general department, working on audit, accounting, tax, reporting and investigation work, Andrew left in 1987 to join Eagle Trust plc as a divisional financial controller. In 1990 he joined Sanderson CFL Ltd, a computer software and services business, as Finance Director. Andrew was appointed Managing Director of Sanderson CFL Ltd in 1993 and also held a number of non-executive roles within the Sanderson Group. On 24 April 2003, Andrew was appointed to the Board as Commercial Director of ATA Group Plc and became Group Managing Director in January 2006.

Charles Cornwell - Operations Director – Southern Regions

My Career at ATA:  Having left university with a degree and little understanding of what I wanted to do next I took several months off doing typical student menial work and tried to think what was important to me and what I wanted out of my first "real job".
I came to the conclusion that a role in some form of technical sales was what I wanted. It would provide me with a competitive job, I would directly influence my earning potential and more importantly I would be in control of the speed of my development. I therefore approached ATA Selection and one other recruitment consultancy and rather than finding me a job they both offered me a role to start with them.
Having a general understanding of recruitment I knew that my sales motivations would be met in these roles and so I looked at the companies in more depth. The key areas that attracted me to ATA were;
a.) The growth plans and how I, as part of the company's succession plans, could really develop a worthwhile career.
b.) The uncapped earning potential, i.e. the more business that I generated, the more I got paid.
c.) The passion that I felt from everyone working within the organisation to be a success.

After the initial steep learning curve I started to book business on a regular basis, working my way up the company performance ladder and within 18 months had taken my first step on the career ladder. Since then I have moved steadily up that ladder to the Director level role that I hold now, working in all of the new market areas that the company has looked at. This has allowed me to test my thinking in new business areas and develop brand new profit and revenue streams within the group.

During the 13 years that I have been working for ATA I can honestly say that I have never stood still in terms of my skill and career development. Couple that with the values and ideals that I joined the company for still being as strong now as they ever were and I look forward to a continued rise in my input into future success of the group.

Andrew Hardaker - Operations Director – Northern Regions

About me! - "After graduating and spending some time reflecting on what career path to follow I spotted an advert for ATA Selection. It seemed to offer everything I was after - namely somewhere I could earn some good money, move my career fast based on performance and not require the usual "previous experience". Since then I have genuinely never looked back and have progressed through the ranks from the role of consultant to the board of directors in less than ten years. I would certainly not see myself as unique and this speed and level of progression is available to everyone in the company - provided that they have the courage to follow through on their ambitions. I can also say that I have always put great store in the ethos of the business that has always reflected my own values - honesty and trust are certainly key building blocks of any successful organisation. I now look forward to leading the business in to a highly lucrative future as we continue to embrace risk and seek profits in existing as well as new markets."

Sandy Seta - Business Development Director

"Having graduated with a first class honours degree I took 6 months out to travel & decide what career I wanted pursue. I decided I wanted a career based around people management, but one that also offered good remuneration, structured training and a fast paced environment where I could progress.

I had 3 job offers when I came back all in recruitment. I decided to join ATA as it offered an unrivalled opportunity for career progression based on meritocracy, as well as the opportunity to earn decent commission based on performance.

I have been with ATA for over 14 years and have had numerous opportunities to further my career from consultant, Principal consultant, Team Leader, Business Development Manager and currently at the sharp end of our new venture in Corporate Contract as Business Development Director. Having reflected on my career over the years, it is apparent that it is up to the individual as to how quickly they are able to progress, based on their own personal ability, hard work, and focussed career goals.

Over the years ATA has provided the platform for individuals at all levels for on -going support, mentoring & personal development in order to maximise their potential & enable all to fulfil their personal career aspirations."