The Story Behind Torpai
I’m Kester Quarmby. I started Torpai Consulting to build a recruitment business around the way I believe search should work: understand the business, understand the pressure behind the hire and make introductions that are worth people’s time.
I work exclusively across the U.S. market, with a focus on infrastructure, the built environment and utilities. I spent part of my early life in Southern California and still have family and friends in the States, so America is a market I know personally as well as professionally.
Torpai means “next step” in Thai. The name reflects my Thai roots and what I want the business to help clients and professionals do: move forward.
Experience Behind the Search
My work sits where hiring has a direct impact on delivery. I work across U.S. infrastructure, built environment and utilities, partnering with consultancies, contractors, EPCs, developers, owners and operators on roles where getting the right person matters.
That can mean a technical specialist who solves a difficult problem, a project leader carrying responsibility for cost and schedule, a discipline lead strengthening a team or a senior hire brought in to help a business grow.
A lot of hiring challenges are not obvious from a job description. The real issue might be a team carrying too much, a project entering a critical phase, succession planning, a new market or simply not having the right experience around the table. I want to understand that before I start searching.
Over the years I’ve built a network of more than 24,000 LinkedIn connections alongside relationships developed through my recruitment work. The number itself matters less than the access it gives me to conversations across the market and people who may never apply to an advertised role.
My approach is relationship-led and grounded in what is happening in the market. With clients, that means honest market feedback and realistic hiring advice. With people considering a move, it means proper context, straightforward conversations and opportunities that genuinely make sense.
I work best with businesses that see hiring as part of delivery and growth, not simply a vacancy to fill.
A Partner in the Market
I want Torpai to be useful beyond an individual search. That means understanding where a business is heading, staying close to the market and being someone clients can call when they need a view, an introduction or help solving a hiring challenge.
TURNING POTENTIAL INTO PROGRESS