Dan Wise
Chief Executive Officer
About Dan
Dan was employee number one at Sterling Cross, joining just three months into the company’s journey. At the time, he was running a successful Financial Services desk with a national recruiter having served his apprenticeship in commercial sales, and was headhunted to grow the company’s fledgling client base.
“It was an interesting time for me; I’d recently bought my first home and started a family, so joining a start-up was a calculated risk. I believed in the founders’ vision and their ethical approach, though, and was excited about joining a company for which client care was top of the agenda. It was my “Jerry Macguire” moment!”
Since joining in 2003, Dan assumed control of Sterling Cross’s business development and talent acquisition, and functioned as Chief Operating Officer until early 2022.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with some immensely talented people during my time with Sterling Cross, both on the client side and members of our team. We’ve seen the industry change dramatically during my time here, from the introduction of the first job boards, the decline in traditional print media and the next-generation networking opportunities afforded by social media. One thing which hasn’t changed, though, is the value of strong client and candidate relationships in the healthcare recruitment space.”
Working closely with the NHS, Dan was a key figure in implementing the government’s plans for mass vaccination centres in London during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing together his contacts from across the healthcare sector, Dan played a leading role in putting together a team who oversaw the delivery of more than 15 million vaccines in the capital between December 2020 and September 2021.
Dan now works as the CEO at Sterling Cross and has responsibility for commissioning services designed to tackle some of the healthcare sector’s biggest recruitment challenges.
In 2024 Dan, alongside partners Kate Willmott and Aichan Archibald, successfully completed an MBO process to purchase Sterling Cross from the founding partners.