Airswift, the global workforce services provider, and Competentia, the global recruiting and workforce management specialist, have merged to form a global workforce service provider serving the energy, process, infrastructure, mining and technology industries.
Airswift chief executive, Janette Marx, will be CEO of the merged entity and Competentia Group CEO, Jayden Wallis, will be chief marketing officer and SVP of ASPAC. Kyle McClure will become CFO of the combined company.
Marx says, “There has long been mutual admiration between Airswift and Competentia. As two high-performing businesses, we share a focus on continual improvement and a mutual ambition to become the workforce solutions provider of choice for clients, candidates and contractors in the energy, process, infrastructure, mining and technology industries. In a rapidly digitizing, post-pandemic environment, companies across the world’s technical sectors must quickly respond to new ways of working to achieve sustainable, long-term growth. We believe that our combined size and experience, and our firm focus on the energy transition, perfectly positions us to help clients respond to the complex workforce challenges of the future.”
Wallis adds, “We see this as an opportunity to create the world’s most forward-thinking workforce solutions provider. We also believe we have a key, supporting role to play in enabling the energy transition, not only in the industries we serve, but through responsible business operations, business models, investment in technology and innovation, and collaboration with our peers. Our combined strength and shared ambition mean we’re even better placed to deliver on that.”
Airswift and Competentia’s private equity backers, Wellspring Capital and Reiten & Co., respectively, are retaining their stakes in the merged entity and will continue to be actively involved with the business. Airswift has also issued a bond on the Norwegian bond market to ensure maximum flexibility and access to alternative funding in the future.
Matthew Harrison, managing partner at Wellspring Capital, commented, “Airswift and Competentia share the same foundational values and are guided by both delivering excellence to their clients and creating a great employee experience. Together they can do this even better, and I look forward to seeing the new merged company do great things.”
Bård Ingerø, managing partner at Reiten & Co concluded, “These are two companies with such similar cultures and successful track records, which we believe will fit together seamlessly to offer the market the greatest possible breadth, depth and quality of services, wherever clients may operate.”