Ambient People is a company established by four friends who share a vision for the kind of business we can be proud of, a belief in what we do and a hunger to improve.

our Leadership Team

Max Plaice - Director

07564 052111

I've been recruiting with local government since 2012, focusing predominantly on finance since joining Allen Lane in 2016.

I joined a successful interim finance team there and helped it grow to and become what was widely considered to be the best in the market at that time, making over 300 interim placements in my six years. I decided to move on in June 2022.

With time off to reflect over summer 2022, I knew I wanted to work again with the sector and network I love, and when the opportunity to become a Director of Ambient People came up, I was delighted.

I’m lucky enough to love what I do, work with three very good friends, and I am really excited to see what we can achieve together.

 Just not quite as excited as I was to spend summer 2022 wandering around Italy, drinking wine and looking at nice things.

max@ambientpeople.co.uk

I started in recruitment after graduating University in the summer of 2010 and in the 13 years since, have worked solely with public sector organisations.

I’ve partnered charities, universities, housing organisations and local authorities, each with their own unique culture, challenges, and each requiring something different from me. During my 10-year career with Allen Lane I hired and trained graduate consultants, lead teams of experienced, high performing managers whilst personally placing as one of their top performers.

I chose to be part of Ambient People because Liam and Max, aside from being two of my best mates, care about the things I care about - reflected in our values. They share my desire to create a recruitment business for the public sector that stands out from the pack, with a happy, high performing culture fit for the new era of working.

Based very close to a pub. And Nando’s. In that order.   

andy@ ambientpeople.co.uk

I started my career in recruitment in 2018, understanding the nature of the business and specifically the technicalities of running an effective back office.

A brief nine month stint as a recruiter gave me a helpful perspective, but taught me that the operational side of the business interested me more (it also taught me to try and avoid starting a career in not-for-profit recruitment a month before a global pandemic).

Since then, I’ve been driven to improve my knowledge and management skills and became Operations Manager at Allen Lane, leading a successful team of operations co-ordinators.

Whilst my love for my job remained, a thrust for change and fresh ideas brought me to Ambient People, who share my ambition and appetite for improvement.  I’m excited to develop new ways of working; introduce new initiatives; and explore how the operations function can centre itself in a thriving start-up business.

Ideally without having to listen to how great everyone else’s pre-Ambient People sabbatical was.