Richard studied Accountancy and Finance at Kingston University and initially worked in a Chartered Accountancy practice before moving into financial recruitment.  He has over 30 years of professional recruitment experience, operating and managing businesses recruiting at the most senior level across Commerce and Industry, Sales and Marketing, IT, HR, and Finance.  Richard has previously held Managing Director and Director roles within UK-based international recruitment companies.

Having covered the African market since 2007, he brings specialist experience in the Fintech, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Telecoms, FMCG, Renewable Energy, Business & Professional Services and Oil & Gas sectors.  In the last 15 years, he has been personally involved in a significant number of Executive level searches across the Continent completing numerous Searches for CEO’s and other CXO roles, for example, a CEO for a leading Telecoms provider, Group CFO for a FTSE250 FMCG company in Nigeria, Group CFO for a Mining Services company in Ghana, and COO for a FinTech business in Kenya. He also specialises in the identification of senior leaders required by Private Equity, African-focused funds and Venture Capital investors for their portfolio companies, identifying individuals in both operational and Chair/NED/Advisory positions.  In addition, in 2020, he was responsible for the securing of both the CEO and COO for the AVCA.

Graham Palfery-Smith has been involved in the recruitment industry for over 35 years. He is an accomplished and highly experienced strategic senior manager who has run a wide range of specialist recruitment businesses internationally, including HW Group, Robert Walters, Faro and FiveTen Group. Presently he is working with a small portfolio of businesses in, or allied to, the recruitment sector in the UK, Europe, US and Far East, as a Non-Executive Director or Board Adviser, helping them achieve strategic success.

A highly effective communicator and a team creator, Graham is considered a superior motivator with exceptional leadership skills. He brings an energetic, enthusiastic and passionate approach, international contacts and an excellent market intelligence network.

Kiera graduated from University of Sussex and spent five years working in recruitment before moving into senior executive appointments in early 2007.  Kiera began her career with Executives in Africa in 2010, heading up the In-House Research Team.

Kiera is now responsible for Operations including Research, Business Services, HR and Quality Assurance.  With experience spanning the UK, European and African markets, Kiera’s experience working as a Search Consultant gives her an in-depth understanding of the industry, thus providing relevant support and Quality Assurance which is critical to the success of every mandate.

Adam graduated with a Master’s Degree in Philosophy before working in International Executive Search & Selection for over 5 years in the Construction, Mining and Oil & Gas sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Here, he worked with leading international companies and indigenous SMEs on high-profile Director and C-level mandates.  Adam has since developed his specialist sector knowledge to include the Agribusiness, Financial Services and Manufacturing sectors.

Since joining Executives in Africa in 2016, Adam has delivered on over 50 senior Search Assignments across Africa including an MD for a Manufacturing Business, CFO for an Agribusiness, Global COO for a Technology Company, Head of Remedial for a Pan African Bank, Multiple General Managers for an Agribusiness and a Business Development Manager for a Global Mining Company.  Adam has worked on mandates across multiple African countries including Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

William holds a Business Management degree with the University of Surrey and joined the EiA team in 2012.  Since graduation, William has risen quickly through the business, working as a Research Associate, Associate, Search Consultant and now Executive Search Consultant.  He has travelled to Nigeria and Kenya to meet clients and attend conferences, takes an active role in Africa-focused networking events held in London and has worked on over sixty Search Mandates on the continent.

William has expertise within a variety of sectors but has a particular interest in the Agriculture sector, both within Agricultural Development not-for-profits helping small holder farmers across the continent and within Agricultural Cultivation for organisations growing Tea, Avocados and Macadamia Nuts and raising Livestock.  He has also gained experience in Pharmaceuticals across Africa working with one of the world’s largest generic pharmaceutical companies. Working with PE funds has seen him deliver senior leaders in Life Sciences in East Africa as well as the Retail sector where he also worked with a multinational shoe manufacturer and retailer.

Andrea joined Executives in Africa after re-patriating to the UK from South Africa in June 2018 bringing valuable local knowledge of Southern and South African culture and a passion for empowering and uplifting the local African talent.  She has over 25 years’ Sales and Management experience including 10 years in Freight Forwarding and Clearing and 15 years in Recruitment and Executive Search having owned her own recruitment firm in South Africa.

Andrea focused mainly on the Financial Services sector and was awarded a substantial contract with a blue-chip insurance company in Johannesburg as a result of her thorough approach and commitment to delivering results.  She was responsible for all levels of Recruitment throughout their entire Policy Services Division from Call Centre through to Director Level hires.  Since joining Executives in Africa, Andrea has been involved in a number of Director and MD Level Searches within Financial Services and Real Estate.

Ryan holds a Higher National Diploma in Business and Finance and after a short stint working as an accountant, began his twenty-five-year career in recruitment, working firstly in professional Finance recruitment for six years before establishing a Search and Selection business for the UK market.

For the past fifteen years, Ryan’s area of expertise has been within Financial Services internationally, with a particular specialist focus on all areas of Risk and Compliance within this.  He adopted a research methodology to map, track and attract candidates in niche areas across risk within Capital Markets, Retail & Corporate Banking, Wealth and Asset Management.  Ryan’s keen interest in the development of financial inclusion for individuals and microenterprises on the continent of Africa led him to join Executives in Africa, where his specialism remains in Financial Services along with Banking, Wealth Management and Fintech.

Recent examples of completed mandates include: Credit Risk Quant Manager and Digital Transformation Director for a Financial Services organization; Risk Management Consultant for a Management Consultancy; Structural Reform Manager within a Financial Services organisation; Senior Compliance Manager for a Boutique Bank; Legal Analyst for a Fintech and Compliance Manager for an Asset Management organisation.

Tonye is an HR leader with almost two decades of experience and expertise in the multinational telecommunications and financial service industries across the Human Resources spectrum in Recruitment, Training & Development, Performance Management, HR Operations and HR Shared Services. He has held leadership positions across the African continent and has led multiple transformation activities to drive business growth with extensive experience in People, Process and System Re-engineering projects from a career that includes stints in Customer Service and Marketing.

Having recently led the global Shared Services team for UBA Plc covering 23 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and America, as well as the Shared Services team for Bharti Airtel covering 15 countries in Africa, he brings on board not only his vast networks in the financial services and telecommunications sectors but also his understanding of the Africa market and its talent landscape as well as his project-driven approach to delivering value to businesses.

A graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria with a BSc degree in Geology and an MBA in Business Administration and General Management from the University of Liverpool, he is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and holds various certifications across the HR value chain.

Heba was born in Morocco and moved with her family to Paris at the start of her secondary education.  She went on to achieve a Master’s Degree in International Trade and Arabic at the Sorbonne and Dauphine Universities in Paris. Being trilingual, (Arabic, French and English) has enabled Heba  to live and work in several countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe before settling in the UK in 2010.

Heba’s broad-based work and life experience, together with qualifications in psychotherapy, enhances her natural ability to understand and communicate with people at all levels.  A natural team player, Heba’s deep personal interest in Africa, resourcefulness and emotional intelligence together with her keen sense of fairness and objectivity makes her a highly focused and valuable addition to the EiA Team with a specific focus on Francophone Africa.

In 2010 Paul founded Lightbulb, a training and consultancy business with the mission to reduce the painful bits we often live with when working for organisations and with other people! Lightbulb’s Painless People Management Programme continues to prove popular to organisations of all sizes and its innovative Chinwag approach is ditching the annual performance appraisal and redefining how we manage performance at work.

Paul’s experience spans several blue-chip Companies in operational, HR and at board-level as a COO in the recruitment sector. He is also the author of ‘HR & Other Swear Words: Practical & Credible HR for Beginners’. As a speaker he is reported as being ‘engaging’, ‘memorable’, ‘non-fluffy’, ‘energetic’ and ‘down to earth’. He has trained, coached and worked with hundreds of people across sectors and from SMEs to more well-known brands such as Mulberry, Rank Entertainment, MC Saatchi, BMW, Zenith, Eurostar, Macmillan Publishing, Conde Nast, ITV, Pizza Express, Primark, Citigroup and London School of Economics.

Yared studied Software Engineering at Adama Science and Technology University in Addis Ababa. During his time there, he was involved in a charity group and was also one of the Founders and President of Red Cross Club in the university.

As part of the Executives in Africa team based in Ethiopia, Yared works on Research Projects including database integrity.  In his spare time, he undertakes charity work as well as having a keen interest in photography and graphics work.

Yafet has a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance from Arbaminch University. He was involved in an International professional work experience opportunity representing Ethiopia as a Global Volunteer with AIESEC. He spent his early career working for a Trading Industry Construction & Services Company as a Sales Associate.

Yafet has an interest in Sports and Travelling.

Ayre studied Sociology and Social Anthropology at Bournemouth University, she has previously worked in hospitality and currently manages an Airbnb which has helped her build transferable skills such as, time management, communication skills, problem solving and attention to detail. Alongside working as a Researcher in the Research team for Executives in Africa she regularly competes her horse in dressage and eventing competitions.

Carla graduated from the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania, USA) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education in 1997. After spending a short time in private banking with Brown Brothers Harriman on Wall Street, New York she moved to the UK where she taught French and Spanish for 9 years at secondary level.

Portuguese by birth, Carla joined Executives in Africa in 2012 to support Consultants specialising in Portuguese-speaking C-Level mandates, assessing Candidates’ language skills in order to deliver to Clients the very best available individuals who best match the target profile. Now a permanent member of the team as a Quality Assurance Manager, she is a critical member of our delivery team ensuring excellence on every Search.