Brien Keegan: Helping leaders solve the people challenges of growth

Brien Keegan is the Founder and Managing Director of Sprout People. He works alongside founders, owners and senior leaders to solve the people challenges that come with growth, from designing the right organisation and developing leaders to finding the critical capability a business needs next.

With more than 30 years of experience across executive recruitment, leadership and business transformation, Brien has seen organisations at every stage of growth. What continues to motivate him is simple: helping other people succeed.

That philosophy has shaped Sprout too. Brien believes recruitment and people consulting shouldn’t exist in isolation. Understanding where a business is going, designing what it will need to get there, and bringing the right people into the organisation are all parts of the same problem.

In 2025, Brien was recognised as both RCSA Recruitment Leader of the Year and SARA Recruitment Leader of the Year.

Why did you become a recruiter or consultant?

I actually always thought I’d become a recruiter when I was “old”... maybe I am old now.

Executive search used to be something people often moved into later in their careers, once they’d built up a lot of experience. Today, it’s much more about your ability to connect with people, run a thorough process and uncover talent that others can’t. I love it.

What I originally thought I wanted to do was work in communications management. In a slightly random way, that’s where I’ve ended up. The more I’ve learned about consulting in the people space, the more I’ve realised how much of it comes back to effective communication.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

My “why” is pretty simple: I do my best to help others be successful. That shows up in three places.

First, our team. When you start a business, you can either try to build it on your own or intentionally build a great team around you. I chose the latter. I love seeing our people grow, develop and help ambitious organisations do the same.

Second, our clients. I feel like I accidentally hit the jackpot here. Working with founders and business owners inspires and challenges me every single day.

And third, problem solving. Our role is ultimately about solving the people challenges of growth. I love the constant context switching and helping leaders navigate whatever is coming at them next.

I still love recruitment too. Getting the right person into a business at the right time can have a massive impact.

What kind of problems do you love helping leaders solve?

For me, it’s largely about helping leaders navigate the next stage of growth, not just solving the problem sitting in front of them today.

Organisations are dynamic. If you think about a business as a system, changing one part of that system will affect other parts too. You might change the structure, introduce a new leadership role, shift strategy or add capability.

The question is not only, “Will this work now?” It’s also, “Will this still work effectively where we’re going next?”

That’s the kind of problem I enjoy helping leaders work through.

What's something people often misunderstand about recruitment or consulting?

This is something our industry, including Sprout, has a responsibility to get right.

If recruitment or consulting is done poorly, it’s easy to question the value. But when it’s done really well, the equation should look very different. You should not only be avoiding mistakes that can cost a business significant time and money, you should be creating real value through better people decisions.

What I find interesting is how few businesses combine recruitment and people consulting.

How can you recruit effectively for a growing business without understanding its future strategy, structure and capability needs? And equally, how can you advise an organisation on its people strategy without taking some ownership for helping bring the capability it needs into the business?

For me, those things naturally belong together.

What makes Sprout different from other places you've worked?

Well, I started the company, so you could say I don’t have much choice!

But I haven’t always been able to say this: Sprout is my favourite job.

It comes down to the combination of our team, our clients and the work we get to do. I love that we can work with a founder on a growth challenge, help them think through what their organisation needs to look like, support their leaders and then help find the people they need to make it happen.

I’m incredibly grateful for the team we’ve built and for all of the clients, supporters, partners and suppliers who have backed us along the way.

More than anything, I’m excited about what we get to build next.