Sasza Bandiera, CEO – Oyster Partnership

Sasza joined Oyster as a trainee recruiter 16 years ago, with 12 of those years in a managerial capacity. He was promoted to CEO from managing director in November 2023. 

Among his achievements are implementing continuous professional and personal learning and development (L&D) for employees. He established a 16-week training programme and invested in hiring an in-house L&D consultant to deliver tailored training, along with ongoing support. For managers, he has implemented specialised leadership skills training. At his direction, Oyster is also undergoing training with a public speaking specialist to enhance employees’ confidence and communication skills.

A testament to Oyster’s focus on employee development is that 96% of the company’s management team started their journey at the company as trainees. The average tenure rate is 10.8 years per person.

And he is also credited with successfully leading Oyster out of a period when the business suffered significant headcount issues.

Recognised for his listening skills and taking a visionary yet strategic view of Oyster’s future, he has set up divisions, hired and trained recruiters, and mentored junior staff into management and director roles. 

Judges’ comments

“Sasza was a worthy winner out of a really competitive category. He spearheaded the business as we believe a leader should, scaled the business during an erratic external market … quite humble in his approach, self-aware and generous in his nature, he clearly kept morale high in his business through motivation and support at the core. His implementation of technology and demonstrable understanding of data and analytics were impressive. He clearly cares about his people enormously.”

Highly Commended: Natasha Makhijani, CEO – Oliver Sanderson Group