Over the past 25 years, Carling Recruitment has played a role in shaping careers, supporting organisations and strengthening the drinks industry community. This collection of stories celebrates the people behind that success—the team whose expertise, commitment and personality have helped make Carling Recruitment what it is today. As the company marks this significant milestone, it also looks forward to the future with the same enthusiasm and determination that inspired its founding.
1 January 2001, day one of Carling Recruitment. Bill and Julie were sitting at their desks waiting for the phone to ring. Neither would have sat there very long, as they’re both proactive, determined individuals and were discussing business strategy. However, the phone did ring and it was John Redman, who had been the President of the International Brewers Guild and was now the operations director of Greene King Brewery. Greene King needed a new head brewer and so John Redman and Greene King were to become Bill and Julie’s first client in their new venture and he was not disappointed. As Julie says “The rest’s history! It was very kind of John to put his faith in us, particularly as we had no track record in recruitment at that time, but we found the right person for the role and it was a good fit.”
Bill and Julie had been working together at the International Brewers Guild, which was to merge with the Chartered Institute of Brewing and Distilling, and it seemed the natural time for a change. Bill asked Julie what was the most regular question they were asked. The answer was simple: everyone in the industry was interested in who might be looking for a job and who was looking for candidates. They realised they’d been providing an informal recruitment service and that there was a niche opportunity that they should explore. From there it was a short step to realising that with Bill’s knowledge and contacts and Julie’s administrative and organisational skills, a recruitment company within the drinks industry had the potential to be not only successful but an interesting and exciting opportunity for them both.
Over the last 25 years, Carling Recruitment has not only had an influence on many businesses within the industry, but the lives of many individuals and their families. The team at Carling Recruitment are very conscious of the importance of their role in ensuring the right match and that the successful candidate will be the correct fit for the recruiting organisation. Time after time they’ve achieved this and now, 25 years on, the phone rarely stops ringing! Here’s to the next 25 years!
Caroline
Fortunately for Carling Recruitment, Caroline “just fell into recruitment”! After leaving university, Caroline worked in a number of sectors in both HR and recruitment almost continuously. She joined Carling Recruitment in 2024 and the standout for Caroline is that those in the industry really care about their products. Yes, they’re competing with each other but it’s so refreshing, having come from professional services, to see how they help each other and there is a real sense of collaboration in the drinks industry.
Caroline enjoys encouraging the next generation in the industry. Recently, she’s been to Heriot-Watt University to talk to students and give them tips on refining their CVs and guidance on interview techniques. It’s a very competitive world out there and Caroline is happy to help give students the edge.
She enjoys challenging herself and among other feats has climbed Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia, and has just conquered the mighty Mount Olympus! Good luck with future conquests Caroline and, for goodness’ sake, no repeat of your introduction into recruitment!
Brigid
Every team needs a Brigid! Brigid, the office manager, has been with Carling Recruitment for over five years and fulfils all those administrative tasks which allows the other members of the team to concentrate on recruiting. Brigid thoroughly enjoys the variety that working as a member of a small team involves. Although this is her first venture into the drinks industry, over the years Brigid has gained experience and transferable skills in a variety of administrative and project management roles for both large and small enterprises. Brigid’s background has come to the fore during the course of the recent rebranding in which she played a key role. Brigid says, it has been a great experience and hugely productive in terms of teambuilding.
Since moving to Surrey, Brigid has developed a great friendship group and enjoys socialising, reading and travel, her most recent trip was to Italy by train. One of her guilty pleasures is completing jigsaws hopefully without a missing piece!
Laurence
Laurence hails from south-east France and when growing up in France thoroughly looked forward to Sunday lunch when, in her early teens, she was allowed to enjoy a small taste of Champagne! Laurence came to England when she was 18 to work as an au pair and to improve her English and eventually moved to Surrey, where she took her MSc and met her husband.
Laurence joined Carling Recruitment from the in-house recruitment department of a large pharmaceutical company in 2015 and now fills the role of talent acquisition manager. Laurence likes working within a smaller team and has really enjoyed the process of working with her colleagues during the rebranding process. She relishes finding solutions to complex recruitment problems: On one occasion she had to pull out all the stops when she was asked to find a ‘head of operations’ for a distilling company in the middle of nowhere in Scotland, run by an owner who spoke little English and no French either! “We did it!” said Laurence “It was a bit of a struggle, but we did it and it was a brilliant fit and a great success”. Perhaps the perfect occasion for a glass of Champagne!
Bill (informally referred to as ‘The Chairman’ by one and all!)
Together with Julie, Bill founded Carling Recruitment, having spent the majority of his career in the Army Air Corp flying helicopters. On leaving the Army Bill joined The Brewers Guild and it was only when The Guild merged with The Chartered Institute of Brewing and Distilling that The Chairman decided he needed a new challenge.
Bill has been Chairman of Carling Recruitment since the partnership was established and there are very few brewing events over the last 25 years that have not been graced with his presence. Whenever he goes out to eat, Bill spends longer deciding which style and make of beer to have than he does on choosing his food! The semi-retired octogenarian said, “We have a fantastic team at Carling Recruitment, which allows me to enjoy my coffee and read the newspaper in the office!”
Julie
White-water rafting is not one of the activities that Julie would have on her bucket list but, she’s a team player and when asked to make up the numbers in a boat in Uganda at the Chartered Institute of Brewing & Distilling Conference, she didn’t hesitate. “I enjoyed it, it was exciting and sometimes you need to push yourself to find out what you are capable of,” said Julie. However, she did get out of the boat when they decided they were going to roll it over!
Julie, one of the two directors of the Company, has a very can-do attitude and will always go the extra mile. Present her with a problem and she will find a solution. The ethos of Carling Recruitment is very much driven by Julie on this premise and she gives an entertaining account of the time she placed a candidate, who had never visited the country before, in Australia and was determined to take his cat with him! “We found a way,” said Julie. “And it just illustrates the personal nature of the work that we do; it can be life changing and not just for the people involved! We never forget about any candidates we have placed or the businesses that we have placed them with”. It is clear that Julie is very determined to ensure that the round peg finds the round hole and she is not one to roll over easily!
Penny
Penny is a ‘people person’ and very much enjoys socialising. It was a fortuitous meeting at a drink’s reception in 2012 when she bumped into Julie and Bill and neither Penny nor Carling Recruitment have ever looked back. Penny is a director at Carling Recruitment and works closely with Julie in all aspects of running the business. Penny’s career started in financial services recruitment in Johannesburg. She then spent a period of time working in a large recruitment company in London before returning to South Africa to work in HR.
Penny says that working as part of a smaller team where everyone is pulling in the same direction is a far better atmosphere than in some of the more competitive ‘dog eat dog’ environments in the past, engendered by larger recruitment companies. Penny thoroughly enjoys attending the exhibitions within the drinks industry and having the opportunity to meet some of the characters who inhabit it. Every day is different, filling different roles with people of different character to those that she has recruited previously.
Recruitment for Penny is like a rollercoaster and you have to enjoy the highs as you can be sure there will be some struggles around the corner. When she is experiencing the highs, Penny enjoys a glass of Graham Beck sparkling wine from her native South Africa. And when away from work, you will find Penny chilling out on a remote, sun-drenched beach.
Shaun
What a varied career Shaun has had! After graduating he filled in teaching History of Art before becoming an art dealer. After seven years he decided that he needed to get a good honest desk job and trained as a solicitor. However, he’d had a passion for wine for many years and eventually hung up his quill pen and formalised his interest by studying with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Having completed the first three levels, on being asked about level 4, the diploma, he told an old schoolfriend that it was like climbing Everest! The response was that Shaun was not the type of person that would go to Everest base camp have a cup of tea and say “Let’s go home now.”
Shaun completed the diploma in 2025. He joined Carling Recruitment in 2023 after, what had appeared to be a light-hearted conversation with The Chairman at drinks do! Shaun said, “I’m thoroughly enjoying working with the team at Carling Recruitment and without a shadow of a doubt this is my last career move!”
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