Abi Chubb
Project Coordinator, Leadership Advisory
Alex Jones
Chief of Staff
Alex Maropoulos
Principal, B2B
Alex Teague
Principal, B2B
Amin Mahboubi
Principal, Interim
Annabelle Wood
Project Coordinator, Consumer
Bryony Hallett
Analyst, Technology and Digital
Cara Sawyer
Senior Associate, Consumer
Catherine Harding-Smith
Chief Financial Officer
David Purcell
Senior Partner, B2B
Domagoj Landher
Consultant, Financial Officers
Elizabeth Reynolds
Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
Ellen Wilsker
Senior Partner, Leadership Advisory
Emily Little
Principal, Consumer
Ewan Peaston
Consultant, Consumer
Fred Watkinson
Consultant, B2B
Geoffrey Arner
Associate Partner
Hannah Moodie
Project Coordinator, Financial Officers and Funds
Harriet Grinyer-Doswell
Partner, Leadership Advisory
Isobel Stevenson
Consultant, Consumer
Ivi Tserkezou
Business Systems Manager
James Howells
CEO and Founding Partner
James Kenyon
Partner, New Ventures
James Neil
Principal, Head of Leadership Intelligence
Jessica Osborn
Project Coordinator, Consumer
Jessie Jaques
Operations Assistant and Project Coordinator, B2B
Jiarong Guo
Consultant, Consumer
John O’Donnell
Consultant, Financial Officers
Joshua Butler
Consultant, B2B
Katriona Windsor
Partner, Consumer
Laura Streather
Principal, Financial Officers
Laurence Frantzis
Senior Partner, Interim, Leadership Advisory and Central Operations
Lily Stripe
Associate, Consumer
Marianna Christodoulou
Finance Assistant
Matt Parkin
Principal, B2B
Michelle DesChenes
Partner, North America
Mike Thomas
Principal, Interim
Nanda Veldink
Senior Partner, Consumer
Natalya Sverjensky
Partner, Leadership Advisory
Natasha Lewis
Consultant, Consumer
Nick Gribbon
Senior Partner, Financial Officers
Paula Ford
Partner, Private Capital
Phil Wieland
Non Executive Chairman
Phillippa Dunlop
Consultant, Technology and Digital
Ryan Bradbrook
Finance Manager
Sarah Holland
Principal, Leadership Advisory
Sebastien Cavanagh
Senior Partner, Consumer
Stephanie Barrett
Project Coordinator, Interim
Stephen Menkes
Senior Associate, Financial Officers, Technology and Digital
Tom Warrack
Senior Associate, Financial Officers and Funds
London 
Connect with Abi 
Email Abi Professional overview
A Project Coordinator within Essenta’s Advisory team, Abi provides project support across a range of Leadership Advisory engagements. She works closely with senior colleagues to coordinate projects, manage priorities, and keep client deliverables perfectly on-track.
Abi’s organizational skills speak to exceptional diary management, project coordination, candidate intelligence tracking, and seamless project support. Known for building trusted relationships, she acts as a central point of contact, while anticipating team needs and streamlining communication across key project bases.
Beyond these daily priorities, Abi has an active role in Essenta’s internal initiatives, contributing to the firm’s culture and supporting broader business operations.
Prior to Essenta, Abi has built vast experience in the education sector, including teaching and departmental leadership roles. This has inherently strengthened her strategic workplace communication and stakeholder management skills. She has also developed her ability to navigate competing priorities and manage fluid, often fast-paced, workflows.
Personal perspective
I want clients to experience Essenta as warm, approachable, and genuinely invested in their success. By combining a high level of care with keen attention to detail, I ensure our clients always feel heard and valued. My goal is to be exceptionally responsive, dependable, and thoughtful in every interaction, bringing true dedication to everything I do.
Professional overview
Working across the entire firm, Alex connects people, priorities, and operations to keep everyone aligned and moving forward. He’s a trusted advisor to Essenta’s CEO and Senior Partners, ensuring the leadership team stays on the same page, and that strategic decisions become real action.
Alex’s day-to-day remit is broad: covering people and culture, resourcing, team development, and internal hiring, as well as business infrastructure, systems, marketing, and special projects. With a straightforward and down-to-earth approach, he’s quick to simplify complex problems so teams can focus on doing great work.
Alex is also known for his commitment to fostering an authentic and inclusive culture. People feel heard and psychologically safe in his professional company, while maintaining accountability and exceptional performance standards.
Personal perspective
Curiosity and empathy matter because the right answer rarely comes from process alone. I believe people perform to their full potential when expectations are clear, support is dependable, and there is a safe, non-judgemental environment to speak openly. We’re in the business of people after all, so leadership should be straightforward, consistent, and above all, human.
I aim to bring pragmatism, conscientiousness, and a strong service mindset to every interaction, helping the business move forward without losing sight of the people within it.
Professional overview
Business leaders and investors across real assets and infrastructure turn to Alex to appoint the leaders who will deliver their strategic ambitions. He works across the US and the EMEA, supporting clients through growth, transformation, and market change.
His specialism is senior appointments across real estate and digital infrastructure, with particular depth in industrial and logistics, and multi-site and residential platforms. He supports domestic and multinational businesses across investment, development, asset management, and operations.
Combining deep market knowledge with a pragmatic approach, Alex helps clients look beyond experience on paper to the leadership capabilities and context an individual needs, to succeed in a role.
Before joining Essenta, Alex was a Principal at ZRG, working across its industrials and infrastructure practices with multi-site B2B platforms worldwide. Previously, as a Principal at Granger Reis, he led the industrial logistics real estate practice, advising REITs, developers, and owner operators across EMEA, with a focus on the Benelux, Nordics, CEE, and Southern Europe.
Personal perspective
The right leader is not simply the person with the strongest track record, but the one whose experience and leadership capabilities align with what the business needs next. That’s why I focus on understanding where a client is heading and the context a leader will step into, so every appointment is made with the road ahead in mind. Get that match right, and the difference it makes to the business is felt for years to come.
Professional overview
Ownership change, transformation, and M&A test a leadership team in interesting ways. As a Principal in Essenta’s B2B Practice, Alex helps businesses at those moments find the senior leaders they need. He advises on appointments in operationally complex, people-intensive companies, with a focus on private-equity backed and high growth organizations.
Having been with Essenta for over six years, Alex has built a strong network across the Business Services sectors, where he works closely with investors and management teams, taking the time to understand what is really shaping each business, before identifying the leaders who can help it grow and develop.
Personal perspective
For me, the best leadership appointments start with a simple question: what does this business need at this point in its journey? Experience counts, but the harder test is fit – with the situation, the culture, and where the business wants to go.
Professional overview
Amin is a Principal in Essenta’s Interim practice, where he has a particular focus across Financial Officers and Technology Officers.
His clients include private equity-backed businesses, their boards and investors, as well as corporate clients across manufacturing, media and financial services. Clients typically bring him in for CFO or CTO gaps and succession, and for key moments in a business’s life: exits and refinancing, carve-outs and integrations, turnaround and cash focus, and first-time private equity ownership. He also supports finance function transformation, systems and ERP change, digital transformation and technology due diligence.
Before joining Essenta, Amin worked client-side as a commercial director. He has also led multiple businesses at a listed recruitment group, and a number of businesses across several sectors for one of the UK’s largest privately owned staffing businesses.
Personal perspective
Clients should experience speed without any loss of judgement. I offer a straight view, even when it isn’t the answer someone had hoped for; and I stay close to the mandate from briefing to the end of the assignment, rather than stepping away at offer stage. I believe candidates deserve the same candour, and a relationship that lasts well beyond a single assignment instead of a transaction.
Professional overview
Executive Search has a lot of moving parts: candidates, clients, calendars and time zones. Annabelle keeps them all in step. As a Project Coordinator in Essenta’s B2C team, she supports senior colleagues and clients by coordinating projects and the information and logistics that keep a search running smoothly.
Annabelle brings over 10 years of experience in a support capacity within professional services, and has built a strong reputation for being organized, proactive, meticulous, and responsive.
Personal perspective
Clients should feel they’re working with a partner who is trusted, professional and genuinely personable. For me, the small details make the biggest difference: replying promptly, anticipating needs, and keeping communication clear, thoughtful and consistent. When every interaction feels seamless, clients feel looked after and confident that things are in good hands. I want them to know that the team behind them is invested in their success.
Professional overview
Bryony is an Analyst with a particular focus on the consumer sector. Research is at the heart of her role. She maps markets, identifies and assesses leadership talent, and works closely with Consultants and Partners to turn research into clear, targeted search strategies, and strong insights for clients.
Bryony also supports business development, proactively tracking leadership moves, sector developments and emerging talent themes.
Personal perspective
Getting a senior appointment right starts with understanding what the client is looking for, the context around the role, and the capabilities that will matter most. I bring a curious, rigorous approach to my research, to provide insight beyond the obvious profiles. Leadership takes many forms, but in my experience clarity, adaptability and the ability to build trust always stand out.
Professional overview
A Senior Associate within Essenta’s B2C practice, supporting PE-backed, and publicly listed businesses across the US and Europe. Cara’s consumer experience is broad, with a notable focus on CPG – including health and beauty, food and beverage, alongside sports, lifestyle, fashion, and apparel.
Prior to joining Essenta, Cara worked in an independent recruitment business. This was where she developed a keen, detail-oriented approach and ultimately learned to work at pace across multiple searches.
Personal perspective
I believe great leadership is about bringing clarity to complexity, building trust, and creating an environment where people can do their best work. A strong strategy and good results matter, but so does how you bring people with you along the way.
I bring the same approach to Executive Search: taking the time to understand people, what motivates them, and what they could bring to an organization. The goal is to connect exceptional people with businesses where they can make a meaningful impact.
Professional overview
As Essenta’s Chief Financial Officer, Catherine helps shape the firm’s strategy and commercial direction, as well as its continued international growth.
Working across the UK and US businesses, Catherine partners with the leadership team on the decisions behind a high-performing professional services firm, from financial and operational choices to people-related ones. She is particularly strong at turning complex information into clear commercial choices and building infrastructure that scales, while keeping ambition and sound governance in balance.
A CIMA-qualified accountant, Catherine’s perspective draws on more than 25 years in finance and commercial leadership, alongside business transformation. At Essenta, that means helping the business invest intelligently and grow sustainably, while delivering an excellent experience for clients, candidates and colleagues.
Personal perspective
The best decisions are grounded in evidence, communicated clearly, and made with a genuine understanding of their impact on people. That’s the standard I hold myself to as finance leader: turning complex information into clear choices, and keeping in mind the clients, candidates, and colleagues those choices affect.
Professional overview
David Purcell is a Senior Partner at Essenta, where he leads the firm’s B2B practice. He advises private equity investors and their portfolio companies on senior leadership appointments across business and professional services, particularly when a business is growing, transforming, expanding internationally or changing hands.
Working across Essenta’s London and New York teams, David works closely with investors, boards and management teams to pin down the leadership needed to deliver their ambitions, from CEO and C-suite appointments to wider senior teams. His work spans multiple geographies and ownership structures, with a particular focus on private equity-backed businesses.
David has built his career in Executive Search, specializing in B2B services and senior leadership within private equity-backed and listed businesses. He has advised investors, boards and management teams on appointments across a range of business services sectors and geographies. Along the way, he has built a deep network of senior executives and a clear understanding of what leadership looks like at different stages of growth and transformation.
Personal perspective
A great CV is only the starting point. The real question is whether someone has the experience, mindset and leadership style to deliver what the business needs next. I enjoy working closely with clients to get under the skin of their situation, then bringing a clear, well-informed view of the market and the people who can make a difference.
Professional overview
Domagoj, who goes by Doma, helps private equity investors, CEOs, and boards find finance leaders who can thrive in demanding private equity environments. His work spans B2B and B2C sectors, with a specialized focus on technology, business services, healthcare, data, and consumer and industrial markets.
Doma partners closely with clients to define the leadership requirement and assess the market before identifying the right candidates. His experience also covers listed and high-growth businesses, giving him a broad perspective on finance leadership across different ownership structures and stages of development.
Before joining Essenta, Doma spent three years at The Up Group, a specialist European Executive Search firm focused on technology and high-growth businesses. There he led senior Financial Officer searches across venture-backed, private-equity owned, and listed companies.
Earlier in his career, Doma spent half a decade in Korn Ferry’s EMEA Financial Officers Practice in Vienna and London, working on Financial Officer appointments for FTSE 100/250 companies and other large international organizations.
Personal perspective
The best senior appointments come from understanding what a business needs from a leader, not just matching a CV to a brief. I bring that same discipline to every search: asking the right questions, being clear and honest with clients and candidates, and looking beyond the obvious profile to see how someone will actually operate in the role. For me, good Executive Search comes down to judgment, trust and giving both sides what they need to make a well-informed decision.
Elizabeth Reynolds
Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
Professional overview
As Executive Assistant to Essenta’s CEO, Elizabeth is the linchpin of his day-to-day, and the key point of contact for anyone who meets or works with him across the UK and US. She runs a complex international diary, coordinates travel and meetings, and helps him balance client, leadership, and business priorities.
Elizabeth has built broad experience in executive support, administration and stakeholder coordination over the years, working with senior leaders in demanding, fast-paced environments. She has become an expert at managing complex schedules, and handling confidential information with discretion.
Personal perspective
Trust and a real understanding of the person you’re supporting: that’s where all good Executive support starts.
I anticipate what’s needed, communicate clearly, and keep every interaction simple and professional. This experience underpins the calm, responsive support I give Essenta’s CEO today, allowing him the time and focus for what matters most: the firm’s clients, its people, and its strategic priorities.
Professional overview
Ellen is the sounding board C-level and senior executives turn to when a leadership decision really matters. Her specialism is Leadership Advisory: helping clients work through complex leadership challenges, assess talent and make informed decisions, from succession and leadership development to transitions and critical senior appointments.
Relationships are at the heart of how she works. Ellen takes the time to learn a client’s business, leadership team, culture and priorities, and those relationships tend to outlast any single assignment. That depth lets her spot leadership challenges and opportunities before they surface.
Before joining Essenta, Ellen built her career where Leadership Advisory, business development and relationship management meet.
Her expertise spans executive coaching, assessment, Leadership Advisory, executive transitions and senior appointments, alongside a strong record of originating and growing client relationships. Over her career she has generated more than $125 million in revenue, a figure that reflects how well she builds partnerships that last.
Personal perspective
I joined Essenta because it pairs deep expertise with a genuinely personal approach. We take the time to understand our clients: their business, culture, people, priorities and the context behind their biggest decisions.
With AI and technology reshaping so much, I believe human connection matters more than ever. It leads to deeper conversations, better questions, sound judgment and counsel that technology alone can’t provide. Whether we’re advising on leadership, talent, organizational change or wider business challenges, we aim to be true partners. For me, that personal connection is our “leadership insurance”: the insight, experience and objective counsel clients need to decide with confidence, and to cover the risk of getting it wrong.
Professional overview
Fashion, retail, and the wider consumer world are what Emily knows best. She has built her career recruiting C-suite and senior executives for publicly listed and private equity-backed businesses, as well as founder-owned brands.
At Essenta, she leads every stage of a search, from defining the role and mapping the market to assessing and benchmarking talent, guiding clients through to a successful hire. Her clients range from founder-led start-ups and private equity-backed portfolio companies to established public brands.
Emily’s driven by finding creative answers to complex talent challenges, giving clients and candidates an exceptional experience, and building Essenta’s reputation as the firm of choice – both to work with and to work for.
Emily joined Essenta from Herbert Mines Associates and before that, she was at Egon Zehnder, first in London and then supporting the Dallas office, mostly on retail, apparel and luxury Executive Search. Throughout her career, she has enjoyed working with both established and disruptive businesses on their senior leadership needs.
Her early career was in financial services, focused on retail and consumer, and in retail itself as a merchant.
Personal perspective
Each search is a chance to make a real difference, both to a business and to the people in it. The right leader can transform an organization and the lives of its people, and I approach every mandate with that sense of possibility. Add a naturally competitive streak, and the work is both rewarding and genuinely enjoyable.
I’ve long believed that culture is a critical driver of performance. When placing senior leaders, I give cultural fit equal weight with technical capability instead of focusing on skills alone, and in my experience that typically means longer tenures and greater success in the role.
Professional overview
Ewan advises consumer brands on senior leadership appointments as part of Essenta’s B2C team, working across consumer packaged goods, health and beauty, fashion and apparel, and sports and lifestyle, in particular.
His work goes well beyond Executive Search. Ewan also leads market insight, talent mapping, and succession planning projects. Having partnered with clients across a wide range of functional disciplines, he sees how consumer businesses build and structure their leadership teams, end to end.
Before joining Essenta, Ewan spent three years at Fortune Hill Executive Search, specializing in commercial and marketing within the European consumer market. He started out as a researcher, moved into account management and ultimately led the delivery teams, so he knows the work from the ground up.
Personal perspective
The best leadership appointments come from understanding not just what a candidate has achieved, but how they achieved it: how they’ve built teams, navigated change and made difficult decisions under pressure. Consumer businesses move fast, and the leaders who succeed in them are rarely the ones who look best on paper alone. Our job is to get past that and find the person who will genuinely thrive in the context our clients are asking them to lead in.
Professional overview
Fred works with a diverse range of clients across Essenta’s business services practice and beyond, leading complex Executive Searches with a particular focus on general management, commercial, and operational leadership roles.
He typically partners with organizations that want to unlock growth or deliver a challenging turnaround through strategic senior appointments, often amid transformation and change.
Fred’s built a strong reputation of finishing what others struggle to. Where a previous mandate with another search firm failed to produce an appointment, he has successfully delivered the search, bringing a fresh perspective and a focused, outcome-driven approach.
Fred began his career at JCA Group (later acquired by Heidrick & Struggles), where he helped grow the scale and reputation of the Non-Executive Director practice and worked with a broad range of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 clients across sectors. He went on to work in Egon Zehnder’s Consumer Practice in London, then led Vodafone Group’s international in-house executive recruitment team, which gave him a view of search from the client’s side of the table.
Personal perspective
Executive Search is often treated like a magic trick, too complex and mysterious to show clients. We’d rather show our workings. It’s a process that succeeds through mutual trust and understanding between client and consultant. The rest is creative thinking and communication, shaped by broader insight, experience and muscle memory, and a disciplined, tenacious approach.
Essenta keeps growing with one eye on how we can add the most value for clients. That mirrors our clients’ own value creation journeys, and it shapes partnerships built on shared ambition, intentionality and trust.
Professional overview
As an Associate Partner at Essenta who places senior executives into C-Suite and board roles across B2B services and industrials, Geoff is as interested in the why, as the who. He works with a wide range of financial sponsors, from founders and family offices to global PE firms and corporations, developing talent-centric deal Advisory and due diligence solutions.
A New Yorker by birth, Geoff has lived in Japan and the UK. He studied Philosophy and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, and spent the first two years of his career on political campaigns before moving into Executive Search, where he has built over 15 years’ experience delivering talent solutions for businesses centred on private capital, and business services.
Personal perspective
I think of myself as more of a matchmaker than a recruiter. Qualifications matter, but it ultimately comes down to fit. In any search, you’re asking a successful executive to take a risk and make a change, and it’s easy to forget that people (not CVs) show up to work each day.
Every hiring process is a two-way street, and the best placements are completely aligned with their new companies. To run search well, you can’t just know the candidates, the market, and the business. You have to understand the full context behind “why this role?” and “why now?”
Hannah Moodie
Project Coordinator, Financial Officers and Funds
Professional overview
Hannah is the Project Coordinator for Essenta’s Financial Officers and Private Capital Funds team, and the person who keeps its Executive Search assignments moving from first brief to final hire. She works closely with colleagues to schedule candidate interviews and manage communications, arrange client meetings and track progress, so that clients and candidates experience a process that feels smooth and professional.
Hannah also has a hand in winning new work. She prepares proposals, pitch decks and contracts, and organizes events. Clear communication, close attention to detail and an easy way with people keep the team organized and assignments on track.
Hannah’s career has been a varied one. It began in Executive Search in New Zealand, where she was an Executive Assistant, and moved on to project coordination in local government and then to an Executive Assistant role at the University of Law in London. Each step built her skills in stakeholder communication, project coordination and executive support.
She also holds a Master of Science in psychology, focused on social psychology, group behaviour and belonging. It gives her a real understanding of people and team dynamics, which shapes how she supports clients and candidates.
Personal perspective
My interest in psychology has left me convinced that making people feel heard matters just as much as managing the practical details. I bring a warm, approachable and organized style to my work, building trust through clear communication, reliable follow-through and care in every interaction. Ultimately, I want clients and candidates to feel comfortable, informed, and supported throughout their time with Essenta.
Professional overview
One question sits behind everything Harriet does: does this person have what it takes to succeed in the specific context they’re being asked to lead in? As a Partner in Essenta’s Leadership Advisory practice, she works with private equity-backed and high-growth businesses to build executive teams that can deliver ambitious growth plans. She advises boards, investors, and management teams on executive selection, succession planning, leadership team development and coaching.
A business psychologist by training, with a BSc and PhD in Psychology, Harriet is rigorous and direct, and genuinely curious about what makes people and teams tick. She is accredited in a range of assessment instruments, including Essenta’s proprietary Discovery Process®, and pairs that methodological rigour with real commercial acuity, turning evidence into decisions clients can act on with confidence.
Before joining Essenta, Harriet spent more than a decade in talent assessment, organizational development and senior-level consulting, in roles focused on behavioural diagnostics, psychometric strategy and executive talent insight.
That grounding shapes her work today, helping clients turn evidence into practical decisions on selection, development, coaching and succession. What matters most to her is connecting insight to business context, so that individual leaders and their teams are equipped to succeed.
Personal perspective
Leadership Advisory is most valuable when it reflects the business a leader and their team actually have to succeed in, and not when it leans on track record or data alone. Whether I’m supporting an appointment, succession planning, leadership development or coaching, I work closely with clients to understand that context and turn insight into practical action. I want to be a true partner, working alongside clients to co-design the conditions for lasting success.
Professional overview
Thirteen years in search, across the UK, US and APAC, have taught Isobel to recognize a business at its most critical turning point. She partners with ambitious companies as they grow or transform, working as a key member within Essenta’s B2C team. Isobel runs the delivery of searches for listed, investor-backed and privately held organizations across a broad range of consumer industries and services.
Isobel joined Essenta in 2026. She began her career in London, in the Financial Officers practices at Eton Bridge and Blackwood, then spent four years working overseas before returning to the UK.
Personal perspective
No leader is one trait wide, so no assessment should be either. I aim to bring together the tangible, quantifiable side of a leader’s skills and the more qualitative, behavioural insights, so our clients get a true picture of the impact that person could have in their organization.
Professional overview
When Essenta moved to a new CRM platform, Ivi successfully led the entire migration, from data transfer and user training to post-implementation support. As business systems manager, she looks after the day-to-day running of the firm’s CRM and ATS platform, making sure the way the system is used lines up with what the business is trying to achieve.
She is also the team’s first port of call when something goes awry, offering timely troubleshooting, fixing system issues and spotting ways to make processes faster and simpler.
Before joining Essenta, Ivi worked with CYIENT on the Rural Payments Agency’s GIS programme as a data quality processor and mapping technician. Alongside quality assurance and data management, she led a team of technicians and gave them technical support. That experience shaped her approach to data accuracy, problem-solving, technical support and user training.
Personal perspective
The most effective systems work with people, not the other way round. Every team has different requirements and ways of working, so I focus on understanding what they need and finding practical ways to make our systems work for them. Successful change takes more than installing a new tool. It means understanding how people work, explaining changes clearly and giving colleagues the support and confidence to use new tools well.
Professional overview
James is the founder and CEO of Essenta.
He built the firm on a clear conviction: exceptional leadership creates lasting value, and the best leadership decisions combine commercial rigour with a deep understanding of people.
With more than 30 years in Executive Search and Leadership Advisory, he works closely with private equity investors, boards and senior leadership teams to help ambitious organizations hire, lead and grow with confidence. He advises on critical leadership appointments, executive assessment and the development of high-performing teams, bringing candour, commercial judgment and a highly personal approach to every relationship.
Since founding the firm in 2016, James has set Essenta’s global strategy and continues to drive the development of its integrated leadership proposition, while staying closely involved with key clients and senior-level mandates.
Personal perspective
The strongest Advisory relationships are built on trust, candour and genuine personal commitment. Clients should feel that their adviser understands not only the appointment or the immediate challenge, but the organization’s ambitions, context and culture.
Leadership decisions have consequences that reach far beyond the person being appointed. I want to help clients make them with clarity and confidence, combining rigorous assessment and commercial judgment with a real understanding of people and what helps them succeed. That has been the goal of Essenta since day one, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come in delivering it.
Professional overview
James leads sports, media and entertainment at Essenta, working where sport, media, entertainment, technology and culture meet. With more than 15 years of international experience, he advises businesses, brands and investors, and partners with franchises, rights holders, leagues, governing bodies, agencies and broadcasters across North America and Europe.
Much of his time goes on advising clients on board and C-suite appointments. He also works closely with colleagues on succession planning, team effectiveness and leadership development. His approach pairs strategic thinking with practical execution, helping clients navigate change, unlock growth and build businesses that resonate with audiences around the world.
Before joining Essenta, James helped establish the international business at US boutique Acertitude, and prior to that, was a consultant in the Private Equity and Corporate Officers practices at Russell Reynolds Associates.
Personal perspective
In my experience, great leaders set the direction, create belief, and foster an environment that gives talented people the freedom to deliver. A key part of my work is to find this talent, so that leaders can nurture it and continue succeeding. It’s incredibly fulfilling and really speaks to the “people aspect” of what we do.
Professional overview
James leads Essenta’s Leadership Intelligence and Due Diligence practice, where he helps private equity and growth investors make better-informed investment and leadership decisions. He answers the questions that matter most when an investor is sizing up an opportunity or making a critical hire. Through pre-deal and pre-hire due diligence, he shows not only what a leader has achieved, but how they lead, where their strengths lie and what risks may be hiding.
James’s work gives clients a deeper understanding of leadership capability before they commit, supports more confident hiring decisions, and helps new leaders become effective faster and create value sooner.
He is especially interested in how leadership quality shapes investment outcomes, and in helping investors find the leaders who drive performance, handle complexity and unlock long-term value.
Before joining Essenta, James spent more than a decade as a senior member of Korn Ferry’s Forensic Referencing practice. He completed hundreds of assignments for private equity clients, assessing management teams and senior executives to support investment and hiring decisions.
He also led and contributed to more than 100 GP and fund due diligence assignments across private equity, venture capital, infrastructure and private credit strategies worldwide, helping LPs evaluate GPs as part of their fundraising and allocation decisions.
Personal perspective
Every team has different requirements and ways of working, so I focus on understanding what they need and finding practical ways to make our systems work for them. Successful change takes more than installing a new tool. It means understanding how people work, explaining changes clearly and giving colleagues the support and confidence to use new tools well.
Professional overview
Jessica is a Project Coordinator in Essenta’s B2C team, supporting partners across Executive Search delivery and business development. She is involved at every stage of an assignment, managing client expectations, coordinating communication and keeping searches moving, from the initial briefing through to completion.
Day to day, that means organizing candidate and client interviews, scheduling update calls and preparing detailed candidate profiles, so partners and clients go into every meeting fully informed. She also coordinates prospective client and business development meetings, along with travel for the partners she supports.
Jessica has built broad experience across customer-facing, office support and PA roles. It started on a fruit and vegetable stall at Borough Market, then into student accommodation management, supporting international students and handling bookings, payments and office organization. She later became PA to the south regional manager at Fleurets, the UK’s leading leisure property specialist.
Personal perspective
I believe an exceptional client experience comes from clear communication, thoughtful organization and always staying one step ahead. Starting out on a market stall taught me to connect easily with people, and I bring that same warmth to every client and candidate I work with.
Jessie Jaques
Operations Assistant and Project Coordinator, B2B
Professional overview
Jessie is the person who keeps Essenta running smoothly behind the scenes, as Operations Assistant and Project Coordinator for the B2B practice, where she works closely with the team to coordinate assignments from start to finish.
Alongside her practice work, Jessie oversees a wide range of operational activity, including office management, internal processes, supplier coordination and employee onboarding.
She is proactive and detail-oriented, and it shows in how seamlessly the business runs day to day.
Before moving to London and joining Essenta, Jessie spent six years working as a nanny. She started at Essenta in an administrative role supporting all of the practice areas, which gave her a broad understanding of the business, before moving into the role she has today.
Personal perspective
A seamless experience is built on thoughtful coordination, proactive support and attention to detail, so that every client, candidate and colleague feels valued. Working across the business as I’ve grown in my role has shown me how much each part depends on the others, and I try to make sure none of them are ever left waiting.
Professional overview
Jiarong helps consumer businesses find the leaders who can take them across borders. She advises on senior leadership appointments in international markets, with a particular focus on fashion, beauty, sports, lifestyle, and consumer goods. Her clients include global brands, private equity-backed businesses and founder-led companies across Europe and Asia, all growing, transforming, or expanding internationally.
Cross-border search is Jiarong’s specialism. She helps international businesses build leadership capability in Asia, and partners with Asian companies as they expand into Europe and other global markets. Her work spans CEO, president and general management appointments, as well as senior commercial, brand, retail and people leadership roles.
Jiarong works closely with clients to understand not only the experience a role requires, but the business ambition, leadership dynamics and cultural context behind it. This helps her identify and engage leaders who can handle complexity, work effectively across cultures and make a real impact as businesses evolve.
Jiarong has more than a decade of experience in Executive Search, where she advised clients across private equity, financial services and a range of other industries.
Her route into search has been a less direct one. A mathematics graduate, she began her career in banking, then moved into executive education as a programme manager at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. There, her interest in business, leadership and the people behind organizations grew, and it eventually led her into Executive Search.
Personal perspective
Our work takes more than industry knowledge and a feel for how markets are moving. It takes humanity too: empathy, integrity, openness and a genuine curiosity about people. That matters even more across cultures. Great leadership starts with understanding people deeply, what drives them and what makes them different. Give people with different perspectives and backgrounds the space to be at their best, and that’s often where something extraordinary happens.
Professional overview
John is a Consultant in Essenta’s Financial Officers and Private Capital Funds Practice, specializing in Financial Officer leadership searches across Europe and North America. His clients are private equity firms, portfolio companies and corporates, often at a moment of growth, transformation or change, whether that means an ambitious value creation plan, international expansion, buy-and-build, operational improvement or preparing for exit.
He works closely with investors, boards and management teams to understand what an appointment needs now, and the wider context an executive will have to succeed in. John pairs detailed market knowledge and research with a close focus on the person behind the CV: their motivations, leadership style, track record and fit with the business.
Before joining Essenta, John built his Executive Search career around senior finance appointments, identifying and engaging finance leadership talent across APAC. Having lived and worked in several countries, he brings an international perspective and an understanding of how business gets done in different cultures. He has worked on global mandates and speaks Spanish, which helps him build relationships across markets.
Personal perspective
What someone has achieved matters, but so does how they achieved it, what really motivates them and whether their leadership style fits the business and the people around them.
I bring that thinking to both sides of a search. For clients, that means being straightforward about the market and challenging assumptions where it helps. For candidates, it means taking the time to understand what they want from their next move, not just matching their experience to a job description. The aim is an appointment that makes sense for both sides, and keeps making sense long after the search ends.
Professional overview
Joshua sees Executive Search assignments through from the first brief to the final offer, leading delivery from start to close, including negotiation. He works in the B2B practice, with deep experience in manufacturing and services, for both publicly listed and private capital-backed companies.
His focus is on growth and turnaround, where the leadership challenge may be operational or commercial, and he has particular expertise in general management transitions. Joshua is well versed in helping clients work through ambiguity to find the people who can lead through adversity and deliver results.
Joshua began his career at global Executive Search firm Egon Zehnder, in its Industrial practice. There, he worked across industrial sectors including natural resources, energy, infrastructure and engineering, with a particular focus on manufacturing and B2B services.
He then spent two years away from search, working in sales at AB InBev, the world’s largest brewing company. On returning, he joined Granger Reis as a senior associate, where he built his skills in delivering assignments end to end and gained in-depth experience in the infrastructure and mining sectors.
Personal perspective
Honesty, integrity and respect are the bedrock of any successful partnership, whether we’re working with clients or the market. From there, our role is to stay solutions-focused, even when that means constructive challenge or relaying inconvenient truths. Ultimately, we prove our worth as consultants by listening and finding mutually beneficial ways forward that lead to exceptional hires.
Professional overview
Scaling, transforming, going digital: Katriona works with consumer businesses at the moments when leadership matters most. As a Partner at Essenta, she works with boards, investors and management teams across private equity-backed, growth equity and publicly listed businesses, finding exceptional leaders for ambitious organizations in complex, high-growth and transformational environments.
Her work spans consumer, consumer technology and consumer services, with a keen focus on leadership teams driving scale, digital growth and value creation. She advises on executive and non-executive appointments, bringing deep sector knowledge and a rigorous understanding of what sustains performance. Katriona’s approach is pragmatic. She takes time to understand the business, its context and the leadership it needs for its next phase.
Before joining Essenta, Katriona spent 17 years in specialist, boutique environments, building deep expertise in Executive Search and the consumer sector. Most recently she spent three years at Founders Keepers, the Executive Search arm of Founders Forum, advising investor-backed businesses on board appointments. Before that, she spent 14 years at The Talent Business, where she led the European Executive Search business, working with consumer and creative-led organizations on senior leadership appointments.
She began her career in client services at Havas and McCann Erickson, which gave her an early grounding in consumer brands and the commercial and creative dynamics that shape them. That mix of sector knowledge and search experience has underpinned her work with boards, investors and management teams ever since.
Personal perspective
The best leadership appointments come from understanding what a business will need in the future, as well as what it needs today. I take the time to sink my teeth into an organization’s context, ambitions and culture, and I’m candid with both clients and candidates about what it will take to succeed. The aim is always a thoughtful, well-informed appointment that works for the business and the individual over the long term.
Professional overview
Laura works with multinational groups when the need for the right financial leader becomes key: preparing for a transaction, a change of ownership, a strategic shift or an operational transformation.
A Principal in Essenta’s Financial Officers and Private Capital Funds Practice, she supports international organizations with finance leadership appointments, across both private equity and public environments.
Executives and investors trust her to use her market expertise to appoint leaders equipped to handle the specific challenges their business faces.
Laura began her career in Executive Search at a private equity specialist firm, focusing on C-level appointments. Her route into search was an unusual one, as she spent several years as a translator in the pharmaceutical world. It fits someone whose academic and professional life has always centred on understanding people and cultures. This cultural fluency shapes how Laura works with C-suite leaders, and time spent in agile organizations that challenge industry norms has shaped her approach to search.
Personal perspective
Search is not, and should not be, a ‘one size fits all’ or ‘tick the boxes’ exercise. I believe the best outcomes come when there is room, and trust, for diversity of thought and approach, which delivers balance rather than homogeneity. That trust is built on curiosity, a willingness to listen and a desire to deliver for everyone we support. True partnerships give us space for creativity, informed by our own experience, and that leads to better-than-expected outcomes.
Laurence Frantzis
Senior Partner, Interim, Leadership Advisory and Central Operations
Professional overview
Some businesses need experienced leadership quickly, to steer them through a critical period or deliver a specific outcome. Laurence helps them find it. He leads Essenta’s Interim and Leadership Advisory practices, partnering with private equity-backed businesses and PLCs across the UK, Europe and the US. He advises investors, boards and leadership teams on critical appointments and complex leadership challenges, from transformation, turnaround and value creation to growth and significant organizational change.
Before joining Essenta, Laurence held senior positions at leading Executive Search and Talent Advisory firms, specializing in Executive Interim Management and senior leadership appointments. In a previous role, he played a key part in integrating three complementary service lines, helping shape a more cohesive market proposition across Executive Search, Interim Management and Leadership Advisory. He built significant expertise in manufacturing, FMCG, consumer and healthcare, partnering with PE-backed, privately owned, and listed businesses on senior leadership and transformation mandates.
His work has also been recognized by the Institute of Interim Management, which named him Interim Service Provider Consultant of the Year in 2021.
Personal perspective
Experience on paper only gets you so far. What matters is whether someone has the judgement, pace and credibility to operate in the specific environment they’re stepping into. My role is to understand both the business challenge and the individual, and make sure the two genuinely align.
Professional overview
Lily is an Associate in Essenta’s B2B practice, working across the full arc of a search, from mapping the market and identifying talent to engaging and assessing candidates. She supports Executive Search projects in fashion, beauty, consumer goods and lifestyle for global brands, private equity-backed businesses and founder-led companies across Europe and the US.
She works closely with clients and colleagues to understand what each business needs, what the leadership role demands and the context around it, then turns that into targeted search strategies and useful candidate insights.
Lily joined Essenta in 2025 as a graduate, and began her Executive Search journey from there, and has since built expertise across the international consumer markets.
Personal perspective
Search is both analytical and deeply human. Every business has its own identity, ambitions and culture, so finding the right leader means understanding how a person’s values, perspective and approach will fit that context. I’m curious about what motivates people, how they think and what they bring to a team, and I try to bring a creative, rounded view to each assignment. For me, the right appointment is about creating the conditions for both the individual and the organization to thrive.
Professional overview
Marianna keeps the firm’s finances in good order. As a Finance Assistant at Essenta, she works closely with the wider finance team on day-to-day financial activity, drawing on experience in financial operations, accounts receivable, expense management and client billing.
She manages debtor accounts and company expenses, keeps accurate financial records and monitors outstanding payments. She also deals directly with external clients, coordinating billing, resolving invoice queries and making sure payments arrive promptly.
Marianna joined Essenta from the accounts team of a global commodities trading firm. The fast-paced, international setting gave her solid grounding in financial administration, along with experience of managing financial processes and communicating clearly with clients and colleagues.
Personal perspective
Trust, clarity and consistency are what make professional relationships work. Whether I’m supporting a client, a candidate or a colleague, I aim to make every interaction straightforward, responsive and positive. Timely, helpful communication helps people feel valued and confident in the support they receive, and it keeps processes running smoothly, especially when a query gets complicated.
Professional overview
Matt helps business leaders turn growth ambitions into leadership teams that can deliver them. As a Principal in Essenta’s B2B Practice, he advises on executive talent strategy, working with clients to unlock growth and deliver organizational transformation. He appoints high-impact leadership teams aligned to their strategic, operational and commercial priorities.
Matt’s work runs from facilities management, hospitality and food services to utilities, data centres and the infrastructure behind the transition to net zero.
Before joining Essenta, Matt was a Partner at InX, where he built his expertise over more than a decade, with a sector-specific focus on facilities management.
Personal perspective
Clients get honest market insight, regular updates and constructive challenges where it’s needed, at every stage of a search. I believe candidates deserve the same care: a thoughtful, respectful and well-managed experience. I stay engaged, responsive and accountable – because that’s what builds trust and long-term value for both sides.
Professional overview
The HR function is changing fast, shaped by emerging technology, shifting workforce expectations and a sharper focus on culture. Michelle helps businesses find the leaders to meet that change. A Partner for North America, she leads human resources at Essenta, advising boards, CEOs and executive leadership teams on critical HR appointments, across North America and Europe.
Her clients span private equity, life sciences, energy, manufacturing, engineering, financial services and consumer goods, from privately held to publicly listed organizations. Working with colleagues, she also supports them with Interim solutions and executive Assessment and Advisory, so they have a full range of expertise as they build and strengthen their leadership teams.
With 20 years of experience placing senior HR leaders, Michelle is known for pairing strategic insight with disciplined execution. As demand grows for top strategic HR leadership, she makes sure each appointment fits a client’s long-term strategy and culture.
Personal perspective
HR is one of the most complex and demanding roles in any organization, so listening comes first. I work to understand each client’s unique needs and help them look not only ahead but around the corner at the challenges and objectives facing their business. That means partnering closely with key stakeholders on forward-thinking strategies grounded in best practice, and building relationships on honesty and transparency, so that clients and candidates alike have an excellent experience and the partnership lasts.
Professional overview
Mike is a Principal in Essenta’s Interim Practice, advising private equity-backed, listed and privately owned businesses on senior Interim leadership appointments across the UK, Europe and the US.
His clients are dealing with leadership gaps, transformation, growth, operational improvement and other business-critical situations, where experienced leaders need to make a difference straight away. Mike starts with the business context, the leadership challenge and the outcome required. He combines market insight with pace and judgement to find experienced leaders who can deliver.
Mike has more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment and Executive Search, advising clients on board and functional leadership appointments across international consumer, CPG, industrial and manufacturing markets.
His clients have ranged from early-stage and private equity-backed businesses to major listed and multinational organizations. Before joining Essenta, he held senior leadership and partnership positions in Executive Search and recruitment, and co-founded and ran his own business.
Personal perspective
Integrity sits at the core of how I work. That means being straightforward in my advice, building relationships for the long term and being prepared to give an honest view, even when it isn’t the easiest message to deliver.
In Interim, pace and precision matter. I take a clinical approach to understanding the situation, defining what success looks like and identifying the leadership experience needed to deliver it. The objective is simple: move quickly, apply sound judgement and appoint someone who can make an immediate impact.
Professional overview
As a Senior Partner at Essenta, Nanda co-leads its global B2C practice, advising listed, privately owned and private equity-backed businesses on senior leadership appointments and broader talent matters. Her work spans health and beauty, CPG and FMCG, retail, lifestyle, luxury and fashion, across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.
Nanda has lived and worked in eight countries, including Singapore, the Middle East and the UK, and now divides her time between London and New York. The result is a culturally fluent, international perspective.
Clients value how closely Nanda listens, how well she understands their context and culture, and the care and credibility with which she represents their brand in the market. She also draws on the full breadth of Essenta’s unified talent offering to meet their evolving leadership needs and help build stronger, future-ready organizations.
Nanda has more than 15 years’ experience in Executive Search, and she specializes in complex, cross-border consumer appointments and has a strong record of challenging conventional talent assumptions to find diverse and unexpected leaders. Her international experience helps her read local nuance within a global context, and advise clients with both cultural sensitivity and commercial rigour.
Personal perspective
The best outcomes are co-created, and the real work is listening with curiosity to understand the business, its culture and context, where it wants to go and what leadership it will need to get there. That takes being personally invested, agile and creative, whether we’re shaping a role before it formally exists, benchmarking the market, assessing leadership or running an unconventional search.
I want clients to experience us as a trusted extension of their team: honest in our advice, committed to quality and able to represent their brand with real conviction. Understanding both the immediate need and where the organization is heading means we can find not just an impressive candidate, but the right leaders to close critical gaps and deliver its ambitions.
Professional overview
“What got you here won’t get you there.” It’s the principle at the heart of Natalya’s work, and the one she helps boards and CEOs navigate. A Partner within the Leadership Advisory practice at Essenta, she is a trusted adviser to CEOs and investors on driving the leadership performance that unlocks lasting growth and transformation.
Natalya partners with ambitious businesses at pivotal moments to define the leadership capabilities the next chapter requires, benchmark today’s leadership against that standard, and embed the new skills, habits and ways of working teams need to build for the future. She specializes in mid-market, PE-backed businesses and has worked with teams across industries in the US, UK and Europe.
Before joining Essenta, Natalya spent more than 15 years building Advisory practices in boutique consultancies, including Within People, an executive coaching firm, and Nobl, a change management and organizational design firm.
She is accredited in the Essenta Discovery Process®, a highly objective assessment tool, and leads teams of specialists in executive coaching, succession planning and leadership development, advising clients on what needs to change in their teams and how to change it.
Her background in consulting firms at the forefront of executive coaching, organizational design, change management and leadership development gives her a distinctive blend of approaches to draw on, and she is an expert in building high-performing leadership teams.
Personal perspective
For leadership teams navigating the dual challenges of growth and transformation, what got you here won’t get you there. I’ve always believed that taking the business to the next level means taking leadership to the next level. That’s the principle I work from at Essenta, and it shapes every client conversation I have.
Professional overview
Natasha brings Essenta’s international network to the US market. A Consultant in the B2C practice, she is based in New York, where she focuses on senior leadership appointments across CPG, luxury, beauty, retail and technology-enabled businesses.
She works across the full search process, from gathering market intelligence and identifying talent to assessing candidates, managing client relationships and supporting decisions. Natasha also weaves Leadership Assessment and Advisory into her searches, giving clients a fuller view of the talent landscape and the capabilities their business needs to succeed.
Her understanding of where talent is heading in her industries helps her turn business context into a clear leadership profile, a tailored search strategy and a differentiated shortlist.
Natasha studied Economics at University College London and joined Essenta in 2021, she has built her Executive Search expertise in London before having relocated to New York in 2026.
Personal perspective
A job description only tells you part of the story. The more closely you understand an industry and a company’s ambitions, challenges and culture, the better you can spot the leadership it needs. I bring that thinking to every conversation, helping clients think more broadly about the market and giving candidates a clear, honest view of the opportunity. I particularly enjoy the moments when talent gets to shape a role and make a real difference to the business.
Professional overview
Over his career, Nick has partnered with more than 50 private equity funds, from lower mid-market to large-cap, to place the finance leaders who make a difference. Nick specializes in private equity CFO search and he leads Essenta’s Financial Officers and Private Capital Funds Practice and is widely recognized as a market-leading Executive Search specialist in his field, with over 25 years of experience.
Nick advises private equity investors and their portfolio companies on critical CFO and senior finance appointments across the UK, EU and US. He supports clients at every stage of the investment cycle, from pre-deal evaluation and talent pipeline building, through post-completion leadership alignment and mid-cycle growth and transformation hiring, to positioning the CFO before an exit for maximum value.
Before joining Essenta in 2022, he developed his expertise at Russell Reynolds and Heidrick & Struggles. He then spent a significant part of his career at Blackwood Group, where he led the CFO practice.
Personal perspective
Senior leadership appointments are business-critical milestones, and when the stakes are high for both the organization and the candidates, treating search as a standard hiring workflow is never enough. My team and I act as trusted, hands-on advisers throughout the process, guided by personal accountability, collaboration and integrity, and we stay deeply engaged at every stage. We are meticulous about the details clients rarely see, because that is where quality is built, long before a shortlist is presented.
Professional overview
Paula leads Essenta’s Private Capital Funds practice, advising private equity and other private capital firms across investment teams, origination, fundraising and IR, value creation, senior functional leadership, partner-level hiring and succession. Her clients include established firms, emerging managers and teams building new strategies or capabilities.
Paula pairs a broad view of the market and its people with a highly personal approach. She takes time to understand the context behind an appointment: what a firm is trying to achieve, how it operates and who will genuinely thrive there.
She also works closely with colleagues who advise private capital clients at portfolio level. Seeing both the funds and their investments helps the team understand each client’s strategy, culture and approach to value creation.
Paula has spent 20 years working with private equity, growth and venture capital firms and the people within them. Before joining Essenta, she held senior roles in specialist finance and private equity recruitment businesses, building longstanding relationships across the UK and European investment community.
Having worked through several market cycles, she understands how the talent market has evolved and how a firm’s needs change as it grows, institutionalizes and builds new capabilities. Her relationships give her access to people below the radar of conventional search, and the market intelligence to help shape an appointment.
Personal perspective
Private equity is good at recognizing familiar patterns: the right firms on a CV, comparable deals, the expected career path. They matter, but they can lead firms back to people who look and think much like the ones they already have. The more interesting question is what someone adds to a team’s collective capability, and that doesn’t mean taking unnecessary risk. It means being precise about what is essential to success in a role. For me, that is where search is most valuable: helping clients be ambitious about what their future team could look like.
Professional overview
Phil is Essenta’s Non-Executive Chairman, following an extensive background in corporate and private equity leadership, most recently leading the IPO of Diversey as its CEO. He has successfully exited a number of businesses, bringing a depth of knowledge in growth, transformation and value creation to the management of Essenta’s broader talent Advisory offering.
His profound understanding of global markets and commitment to sustainable business practices have consistently elevated the companies he has led, driving them towards market leadership. Moreover, his philosophy that a company’s strength lies in its people, deeply reflects our core values.
Professional overview
Phillippa advises organizations on appointing senior technology, digital, product, data and AI leaders, at moments of growth, transformation or change. Her clients range from established corporates to high-growth and entrepreneurial businesses, and she helps each one define the leadership it needs, make sense of an increasingly converged, platform-dominated market and secure the right individual for the context.
She works closely with boards, CEOs and senior leadership teams on appointments that fall within the remit of the CIO or CTO. Her approach is evidence-led and market-informed. It weighs the individual against the organizational context they’ll need to succeed in, and the balance of technical and commercial capability that will help them do it.
Before joining Essenta, Phillippa spent more than 15 years in Executive Search, in senior search and research roles at several boutique firms. Her experience spans technology, digital and TMT leadership, working with large corporates and entrepreneurial, growth businesses alike. She has delivered senior assignments across a range of technology and digital disciplines, and is expert at identifying and assessing leaders who can connect technology strategy with commercial and organizational priorities.
Personal perspective
The job description is rarely the whole story, so I spend time understanding what is really driving an appointment and what needs to change. A good search does more than present strong candidates. It gives clients a clearer view of the market and of what will genuinely work for them, whether or not that’s the person we first expected to find.
Professional overview
Ryan turns the numbers into something the whole firm can use. As Finance Manager at Essenta, he supports the firm’s financial operations and gives colleagues clear, reliable information to base their decisions on, working closely with teams across the business to keep financial processes smooth, accurate and efficient.
His remit covers management reporting, budgeting and forecasting, cash flow, billing, financial controls and day-to-day finance operations. Practical, detail-focused and service-minded, Ryan helps colleagues find their way through financial processes with confidence. He holds himself to high standards of accuracy and accountability, and keeps improving the systems and processes that support Essenta’s growth.
Personal perspective
Finance should be a trusted partner to the business, not just a reporting function. Accuracy and strong controls are the foundation, but good finance also takes curiosity, pragmatism and clear communication, so that people understand the impact of their choices and the business can move forward with both ambition and discipline.
Professional overview
Sarah helps CEOs, boards and investors find out whether a leader or a team is ready to deliver. A Principal in Essenta’s Leadership Advisory practice, she specializes in leadership assessment, development, succession and executive coaching, advising on critical leadership decisions and helping clients define what success looks like. Her question is always whether the people involved have the motivation, capability and readiness to achieve it.
Her work spans senior appointments, succession, team effectiveness and leadership development, often at moments of significant growth, transformation or change.
Sarah combines rigorous assessment with deep qualitative insight to build a rounded view of leaders and the context they operate in. Curious, pragmatic and highly personal in her approach, she turns insight into practical action, whether that means making a critical appointment, strengthening a leadership team, identifying future talent or helping an individual realize their potential.
Prior to joining Essenta, Sarah was a member of Egon Zehnder’s Leadership Advisory practice in London, advising global organizations on executive assessment and leadership development. She is a certified executive coach and is accredited in a range of tools, including Hogan, 16PF and the Essenta Discovery Process®.
She graduated from Princeton University, where she competed as an NCAA Division I athlete.
Personal perspective
Leadership decisions matter, and our role is to bring an independent view: looking beyond the obvious, getting underneath the data and being prepared to challenge assumptions. My approach is high care and high challenge. I take the time to understand the individual, the context and different perspectives, but I’m candid about what I see. The aim is not just to offer insight, but to create the clarity and constructive challenge that helps people make better decisions.
Professional overview
Seb has spent more than 25 years helping consumer organizations build their boards and management teams. A member of Essenta’s Senior Leadership team, he co-heads its Consumer divisions and is responsible for building the firm’s reputation across consumer industries in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific.
He is also closely involved in developing Essenta’s broader offering, including Assessment, Advisory, Interim and referencing. Seb’s time is split equally between publicly listed and private capital-backed businesses, which gives him a clear sense of what each requires, separately or together.
Having worked globally for most of his career, Seb has supported organizations and investors with both domestic and international growth ambitions. His clients range from public companies to private equity-backed businesses building towards secondary, tertiary and IPO capital events.
Personal perspective
A strong leader creates followership. A healthy balance of EQ and IQ builds the trust and loyalty at the heart of high-performing teams, and finding and qualifying those teams is what motivates me. That’s why executive referencing is now so focused on those qualities, particularly when growth and transformation sit at the heart of a business’s strategy.
Professional overview
Stephanie helped establish Essenta’s Interim practice, implementing the systems and processes that enabled its growth, and she now keeps it running day to day. She makes sure assignments are managed accurately and efficiently from first engagement to completion, and she is a key point of contact for clients and Interim executives, bringing structure and clarity to a fast-paced, often complex environment.
Working closely with the Interim team, she manages executive diaries across multiple time zones, complex international travel, client and candidate communication, invoicing and credit control, business development activity and the practice’s operational needs.
With extensive experience supporting C-suite executives and working in Executive Search, Stephanie is organized, responsive and trusted to anticipate requirements and manage competing priorities, so that clients and candidates consistently receive a high level of service.
Stephanie has more than 20 years’ experience supporting senior executives, managing complex operations and delivering projects across Executive Search and professional services.
She has also held PA and project management roles at Goldman Sachs and RBS, gaining extensive experience of complex project delivery, stakeholder management and high-volume operational environments.
Personal perspective
I want people to feel that everything is under control, even when circumstances are changing quickly. That comes down to anticipation, trust and consistency: knowing what needs to happen next and spotting issues before they arise. In an Interim environment, where priorities shift fast, I bring structure, keep momentum and make sure everyone knows what’s happening and what comes next.
Stephen Menkes
Senior Associate, Financial Officers, Technology and Digital
Professional overview
Stephen helps companies find the leaders who drive sustainable growth and long-term value. A Senior Associate at Essenta, he leads Executive Search delivery across the North American market, advising on critical leadership appointments for private equity-backed and global public companies, across a variety of sectors and functions.
Before joining Essenta, Stephen was a recruitment consultant at a global firm, specializing in senior technology and product leadership appointments for high-growth businesses.
He partnered with companies at critical stages of growth to identify and build the teams they needed to scale and keep expanding.
Personal perspective
I’ve spent much of my life playing competitive sport, including at collegiate level, and it taught me that success starts with the right team. I approach Executive Search as a way of solving complex leadership challenges: identifying the missing pieces, bringing the right people together and building teams ready for sustained growth.
Professional overview
Tom is a Senior Associate in Essenta’s Financial Officers and Private Capital Funds Practice, supporting Executive Search across the private equity and portfolio market. He provides end-to-end delivery support, from in-depth market research and analysis to candidate identification and the execution of senior-level search mandates, identifying and appointing finance executives internationally.
With more than 10 years in Executive Search, Tom has completed assignments across a range of industries and functions, with private equity-backed businesses as the common thread. At Essenta, he focuses on Finance hires, building strong relationships with both candidates and clients.
Prior to Essenta, Tom worked at a specialist search and consulting firm, focused on senior transformation and strategy hires for mid-to-large cap private equity clients. He began his career at a boutique Executive Search firm, providing delivery support on C-suite hires for private equity-backed businesses.
Personal perspective
Good search delivery takes lateral thinking and curiosity. I explore the obvious, analogous routes across the talent landscape, and the less obvious ones too, so that candidates and clients get the best service I can give them.
Join the team
We hire experienced people and trust them with senior work from the start. If you want to work across Executive Search, Interim and Advisory with people who care about the outcome as much as the assignment, we would like to hear from you.
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