Spear’s Review

Like so many people in the luxury household service industry, Izzy Boland of Cora Partners started her working life in ski chalets.

‘The chalets that we worked in were at the end of a cul-de-sac and had a gate; they were very private, so we were able to provide services to people who didn’t want the paparazzi being able to get in,’ she says. ‘A lot of them were Hollywood, football, celebrities. [We were] building a network and providing services to people who want something extra.’

With strict controls in place to protect clients’ identities, Cora Partners provides high-net-worth and high-profile homes with staff – from family office specialists to housekeepers, PAs, maternity support and old-age care nurses. ‘Anything that has to do with someone’s lifestyle,’ Boland says.

In recent years, an increasing number of clients have relocated internationally, which Boland is well-equipped to support by sourcing staff in their new jurisdiction.

Adviser Profile

Izzy Boland has been working at the forefront of luxury hospitality since graduating from Oxford in 2000. By chance she found herself doing a ski season (or nine) in the French Alps, spent two summers working on superyachts and has remained within the world of UHNW lifestyle management since then.

She has grown Cora Partners from the kitchen table in 2013 to its internationally recognised and respected presence today; through recommendation, word of mouth and trusted discretion. With offices in the UK and France, the team works with UHNW/VIP clients and family offices from LA to HK, sourcing and placing professional, agile and experienced staff in all positions, from under gardeners through to household and estate management, grooms to executive personal assistants.

The company’s focus remains on the relationships built with clients, some of whom have been with the team since the day the doors were first opened for business. When asked recently what it is about the industry that gives her reason to get out of bed each day, Izzy described it as ‘...the joy of human psychology. Meeting people from all walks of life or cultures and learning what it is that would make their lives run more smoothly. This industry is as much matchmaking as it is recruiting, and I relish giving candidates the opportunity to work in extraordinary places with inspirational people.’

In 2022 Izzy expanded Cora’s footprint by opening Eagle Private – a boutique executive search offering working solely in the single- and multi-family office space and Cora’s much-lauded ‘big sister’.

The team works from centre of Tisbury in south-west Wiltshire, and the Côte d'Azur in France, but relishes any opportunity to spend time face to face with clients and candidates wherever they may be.