Core capabilities
Key appointments we deliver include:
- Non-Executive Chair
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Divisional Managing Directors
The Essenta difference
Why Essenta?
Essenta connects talent across adjacent markets to broaden the leadership pool without compromising relevance.
Deep sector expertise
Proven track record across engineering, technical, facilities, utilities, and outsourced services.
Global talent networks
Connecting clients with executives who have scaled and professionalized complex platforms across the UK, Europe, and US.
Proprietary Discovery Process
Applying rigorous Assessment to evaluate commercial judgement, operational grip, and transformation capability.
Context-led Assessment
Matching senior B2B leadership capability directly to private equity buy-and-build models or PLC transformation agendas.
Case studies
Proven lasting impact
We deliver tailored Executive Search, Interim and Advisory solutions, securing transformational leaders who professionalize businesses and accelerate value creation.
Matt Parkin
Principal, B2B
B2B
London
David Purcell
Senior Partner, B2B
B2B
London
Joshua Butler
Consultant, B2B
B2B
London
Alex Teague
Principal, B2B
B2B
London
Connect with Matt 
Email Matt 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
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
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
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.
Let’s build your next leadership team
Tell us what the business needs to achieve. We will give you an honest read on the leadership challenge in front of you, and how you should approach it.