Lester is a law & psychology graduate who has spent over a decade recruiting into the London finance market. After a successful 6 years with Michael Page, Lester was the first one to take the plunge and join Allen Lane in 2005 and has never looked back. Lester is a Director within Allen Lane and he specialises in Government and Industry finance.

Lester was promoted to Director of Allen Lane in Spring 2009 and specialises in interim and temporary contracts in private sector finance.

Known in the office as: Thrifty

Unofficially: Lester loves his cricket and once accidentally hit Courtney Walsh for 6 and has also run out two former Test cricket captains whilst batting with them. Lester can't swim or drive and owns a pet chameleon called 'Ramon'.

Nicole is a sociology graduate and after working in event management following university, she travelled around Thailand before joining Allen Lane in 2007. Nicole specialises in temporary recruitment within the NHS. Her previous experience in event management ensures her commitment to outstanding customer service with candidates and clients alike.

Known in the office as: Princess / Mozza

Unofficially: Nicole has lived in London all of her life but she has never been south of the river. Nicole is famed for her 'Nicoleisms' and has won the title 'Most Inquisitive Person on the planet' several years running.

Gayle graduated in corporate communications majoring in public relations and industrial psychology in South Africa. She joined Allen Lane in 2005 and is fundamentally involved in ensuring that both candidates and clients of Allen Lane receive the best levels of service at all times.

Known in the office as: Gayley

Unofficially: Gayle keeps everything together in the office and is always missed when she's away. At karaoke, Gayle will always be seen holding the mike but never a tune. Only she has ever heard herself hit the right note (once).

Ben is an economics & politics graduate and trained as an accountant with BDO Stoy Hayward. Ben went to register with one of the largest global recruitment firms as an accountant and was snapped up to become a recruitment consultant. After becoming their youngest ever manager, Ben jointly set up Allen Lane in 2004 and he even holds the accolade of youngest ever director of Allen Lane!

Known in the office as: Lano

Unofficially: Ben once played international tennis and his squash record against his business partner is something like 192-1 in his favour. A notorious workaholic, he often logs-in on weekends and when he can't sleep at night. He even logged-in everyday when he was on his honeymoon!

Nicola is a German and business graduate and has spent over 10 years in recruitment. Initially based in her homeland of Scotland, Nicola moved to London and joined Michael Page in 2000. After 6 years with them, including 3 years as a senior manager, she joined Allen Lane in 2006.

Nicola's client base is largely SME businesses that are growing or experiencing change. She specialises in temporary and permanent appointments.

Known in the office as: Buddy / Brooksy

Unofficially: Nicola's sister has played the lead role in Les Miserables but Nicola is anything but miserable. Famed for her positivity and energy, Nicola is definitely a 'glass is half full' type of girl which is what she says when it's her round!

James is a sociology graduate from the University of Leeds. He has over 13 years recruitment experience. During this time, he has recruited a number of leading permanent finance positions for high profile commercial and public organisations. He currently works closely with a number of small, medium and large commercial businesses including Eurostar, Liberata, Deloitte and Arcadis.

James leads our permanent recruitment practice for commercial clients and is fully operational with day to day recruitment.

Known in the office as: Jim / Jimmy / Jimbo

Unofficially: James has often been mistaken for Easyjet's founder but assures us that he has no Cypriot heritage and insists he's more Robbie Williams than Stelios. He loves his football and often makes the bench for Kingston Academicals.

Chris graduated from Kings College London in Computer Science and Maths and before joining Allen Lane worked for Barclays, Fujitsu and Methods Consulting. Chris specialises in all aspects of public sector bidding, and supports the account teams by ensuring customers can engage our candidates through frameworks, preferred supplier lists and through master vendors. Chris also provides commercial and legal support to the team.

Known in the office as: Rocky, Stokesy

Unofficially: Chris was born on 1st April and so his reputation as a bit of a practical joker is very fitting. He is also deadly serious about winning business, having once spent 96 hours straight working on a major bid. Outside work, Chris plays guitar, preaches at his local church and likes to spend time at his holiday home in Turkey.

The half-French Stephanie Baker/ BoulangËre graduated in Spanish and French in London before spending a year teaching English in Mexico. Her true vocation was discovered when she joined the graduate scheme of Hudson in 2007. After a successful few years with them, she went on to travel through South America before joining Allen Lane in 2012, continuing her financial recruitment career specialising in the London Commerce & Industry market.

Known in the office as: Steph, Steffi, Estefania

Unofficially: Stephanie is a keen, but rusty swimmer and a lover of skiing, with aprËs-ski being a particular strength. Her real passions are to travel (she had an accident on Boliviaís ëDeath Roadí resulting in a still broken jaw) and music and she can be often seen at live music festivals and gigs around London ñ particularly the Allen Lane Karaoke nights.