Tom O'Loughlin
Tom grew up in London, UK and as a keen amateur sportsman went on to study Sports Science and Management at Loughborough University.
Having started in IT recruitment in London just before the economic crisis in 2008, he quickly started to enjoy getting to understand clients’ hiring problems as well as candidates’ career wishes and matching the two. It’s this simple premise which underlines his thoughts:
“For me a job description or a CV is not enough. They rarely give enough information to understand the underlying skill sets, desires, or struggles. Let alone find the right solution for both sides. That’s why everything we do has a personal touch. I want to get to know you and help you.”
After a successful career in London, he was chosen by his company to move to Switzerland in 2013 to try and turn around their failing Zürich branch. He spent 4 successful and award winning years rebuilding that branch from the ground up. In early 2017, he branched out to found Summit Recruitment AG.
“… I was getting further and further away from what I enjoyed doing. That is helping clients find the right person, and candidates find the right position. I set up Summit to come back to this foundation.”
Since then these principles have been core to Summit’s success and he doesn’t plan to change them.
“at our core, we are a boutique Swiss recruitment company. I don’t want to overcomplicate what we do. We don’t have ambitions to substantially grow our headcount or take over the world. We’d be very happy being an excellent recruitment partner, valued by a select group of clients and candidates who share our values and appreciate the work that we do for them.”
Outside of work, Tom lives in Emmenbrücke (just outside of Luzern) with his Swiss wife and two young children.
Tom is still an active amateur sportsman with football, cycling, running and triathlon his passions. He takes part in endurance and ultra-endurance events such as the Tortour Swiss Ultra-Cycling championships and has completed Ironman Thun, a triathlon consisting of a 3.8km Swim, 180km hilly bike course and then a 42km marathon to run at the end. He is a member of Luzern’s Triathlon Community. He also plays football for Luzerner Sportclub Senioren. Since moving to Switzerland, he has also become a keen skier.
He enjoys travelling, having at last count been to 50+ different countries in 5 continents, and of course catching up with friends and family.
Languages: English (native), German and Swiss German (both to approx. C1 level).