Blaise Thomas
General Manager
Blaise joined Bell Recruitment Group from a European-listed international recruitment firm where he was the WA State Manager of their technical and engineering division. This followed a role in which he was responsible for the establishment and development of the banking and finance division of a publicly-listed Australian recruitment company, focusing on mid and senior level management positions.
Prior to his return to Perth in 2003, Blaise spent 15 years working in London, most recently as general manager of a leading investment banking and technology search firm, with a client base that included Citibank, JP Morgan, HSBC, IBM and Microsoft. He also worked as a senior consultant with an executive search and selection firm, specialising in senior management roles across many disciplines including sales, marketing, management, operations and technology.
Before joining the recruitment industry, Blaise commenced his career in the UK in the financial services industry as an investment advisor and broker, after which he was recruited to the role of UK Sales & Operations Director for a Perth-based, ASX-listed software company.
Born in Perth, Blaise attended Nedlands Primary School and Hollywood Senior School, prior to completing an Accounting Diploma at Perth Technical College. After graduating, he joined a large retail company in WA before leaving Australia for the UK, where he settled and began his career progression. His rapid rise through senior management ranks, combined with his exposure to areas as diverse as sales, marketing, investment banking, search and selection, business development and operations, have equipped him well for his current role at Bell.
Judy Anderson
Executive Manager - WA
Judy founded Bell Personnel, as it was then known, in 1996 after 10 years in the recruitment industry, commencing with Churchill Personnel in London in the mid-1980s. It was during this time that she identified the recruitment and employment industry, which was then in its infancy in Australia, as an area with significant growth potential.
Determined to carve out a successful career in the sector, Judy returned to Australia in 1986 and embarked on a “bottom-up” career path designed to give her exposure to every aspect of the industry. After four hectic but satisfying years, Judy was headhunted as General Manager of a newly-established business and office services unit in one of Australia’s fastest-growing recruitment firms. In the following years, Judy guided the division through a period of exceptional growth and a market share of over 60%.
Judy attributes the decision to establish her own business to “5 days of enlightenment”, when she attended a recruitment industry conference entitled “Creating the Future” in Philadelphia in 1995.
“I saw first-hand what was happening in the US, where a massive shift in employer/employee relationships was under way and the whole employment dynamic was changing. I decided then that I wanted to play a role in that shift in Australia, which at that stage was several years behind the US. That really was where the idea for Bell was born”.