In this, the second of a series of articles, we’ve been talking to the people who were there right at the start. Here are their thoughts on how Pure has changed over the years, and what that means to them both personally and professionally. This time around it’s the turn of David Culley and Lynn Walters.

David Culley, managing director

I haven’t been at Pure for the full 20 years – but at 19 and a half, I’m not far off! In fact, I’ve been a proud part of Pure for almost half my life, so it means a huge amount to me. It’s amazing how far we’ve come – from a minute office with one fax machine and dial-up internet, to the sleek and successful business we have today.

I think we all still have the same energy and enthusiasm as we did at the beginning – that start-up mentality never really leaves you. And I’m proud of how we’ve never lost sight of what makes us who we are. This business was founded on a desire to build long-term relationships, go the extra mile and serve our customers the best we can. We did it back then and we’re still doing it now.

Some of my favourite memories of Pure have been our summer and end-of-year events where we celebrate our successes. Having everyone together, forgetting about work for a little while and seeing my colleagues in a more informal setting is brilliant for team morale.

I firmly believe that our future success is dependent on us staying true to our values – working with our customers’ best interests at heart, being our authentic selves and focusing on the things we can control. We continue to attract great people to our team and I know we’ll go from strength to strength, delivering even more recruitment solutions to a larger audience.

Here’s to another 20 years.

Lynn Walters, executive director and co-founder

It’s humbling to look back on the last 20 years – 20 years of relationships, knowledge, insight and experience of the eastern region’s recruitment and business community. I’m pleased to say that the values we set out with in 2002 – to provide quality, relationship-led services that help people achieve their potential – are very much still at the heart of the business. I’m incredibly proud of who we are, what we do and the way we do it, and the difference that Pure makes to people’s lives.

My proudest achievement is our team. They’re the backbone of our business and we wouldn’t be where we are without them. Together we’ve helped more than 28,000 people find their dream jobs. We’ve also helped develop the leaders of the future through our Women’s, Finance and HR Leadership Programmes. The Best Employers Eastern Region programme has made a significant impact on many organisations, lots of which have told us they’ve used it to build their entire HR and people strategy.

This anniversary is bittersweet, however – and that’s because we’re saying goodbye to Gill. She’s been such a huge part of Pure for the last 20 years. I’m really happy that she’s off to follow her dreams, but she’ll be missed.  

The thing that makes me happy to go to work every day is the feedback we get from job seekers we’ve helped to make the right career move. The effect this has on them can be life-changing – and it’s incredibly rewarding to have played a part in that. I know we’ll continue to make a positive impact with our team, clients, job seekers, community and partners, and help them thrive and grow.

The future’s looking pretty bright.

HAVE YOU GOT A PURE STORY YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

If you’ve got a fond memory of Pure, whether that’s as a client, job seeker or business partner, we’d love to hear from you.