Richard studied at Kingston University in Accountancy and Finance and initially worked in a Chartered Accountancy practice before moving into financial recruitment.

He has over 25 years’ 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 Telecoms, FMCG and Energy sectors. He has been personally involved in multiple Executive level searches over the last ten years including placing a full CXO team for a leading telecoms provider in Chad, Group CFO for a FTSE250 FMCG company in Nigeria, Group CFO for a Mining Services company in Ghana, COO for an Oil Services Company in Nigeria as well as several CEO/MD/ Country Manager roles.

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 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.

Tim started his career with a leading finance recruiter in the UK assisting Finance professionals fulfilling recruitment assignments of both an interim and permanent nature for both listed companies and small businesses in the UK.

Since Joining Executives in Africa, Tim has delivered on over forty-five senior Search Assignments including mandates to find CEOs, CFOs/FDs, COOs, Technical Managers and General Managers in diverse industries including Renewable Energy, Financial Services including Development Banking, Agriculture, Mining, Logistics and Manufacturing and has visited clients in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.  Recruiting in Africa is of particular personal interest to Tim as he has family on the continent.  Recently Tim has delivered on mandates for a CEO in Ethiopia for a drinks business, a Regional Head of Africa for a premium drinks brand, a Head of Risk & Compliance and an HR Manager for a Development Bank in Uganda, and a General Manager for an Agriculture group.

Steve has over 20 years’ experience in Recruitment having been responsible for the Global Centre of Excellence for Talent Acquisition across Africa, Asia and Europe within FMCG.  He has developed and introduced recruitment processes, profiling tools and recruitment skills training, aligning the recruitment strategy and processes to change programmes, resulting in controlling costs and improving retention.

Most recently working for PZ Cussons Plc, Steve’s focus for the last 10 years has been specifically on sourcing local talent for operating units, especially in Africa, always aiming to grow senior talent pipelines for the businesses, not just delivering on single critical hires.  He also brings over 15 years’ experience in coaching HRBP’s & Line Managers globally to deliver a strong end-to-end candidate experience and improve Employer Brand and EVP.  Now working as an Executive Search Consultant for Executives in Africa, Steve continues to work within his sectors of strength, being FMCG, Agribusiness and Industrial Manufacturing.

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.

William has 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 and an Associate before becoming a Search Consultant.  He has travelled to Nigeria and Kenya to meet clients and attend conferences as well as being active with Africa focused networking events held in London.

William has successfully executed Searches on a large variety of roles including General Management, Technical, Finance, HR, Sales and Marketing business leaders.  He also has experience across a broad range of industries and sectors including FMCG, Premium Brands, Telecommunications, Agribusiness, Charities, Transportation, Media, and Renewable Energy, especially Solar.

Dan graduated with a BA in History from University of Winchester and joined Executives in Africa initially as a Researcher.  He worked on a range of senior level mandates in Africa across General Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources and Finance positions as well as delivering on some specialist senior Technical and Quality Assurance roles.

Dan then followed his passion for emerging technologies working for boutique international consultancies for four years where he placed senior technology professionals into strategic positions globally.  Now that Dan has re-joined Executives in Africa as a Consultant, he is keen to apply his experience in this exciting and disruptive area of advanced technology to the growing opportunities across the Africa markets and add value in the Telecommunications, IoT, Financial Services, Media, Entertainment and broader Technology sectors.

Matt spent the first 4 years of his career working for companies such as McLaren and the National Rifle Association and is a determined and meticulous individual who can adapt to working effectively within a team or individually.  He went on to study History at Swansea University, graduating with First Class Honours in 2018 before joining Executives in Africa as a Research Associate.

Having completed his Gold Duke of Edinburgh in Nepal working alongside charitable organisations and travelling through South Asia, Matt brings valuable experience in working with diverse cultures and an international outlook.  He has delivered high quality research for multinational FMCG and Financial Services companies as well as for leading Property and Real Estate investors.

Graeme joined Executives in Africa in August 2019 after emigrating to the UK from South Africa in January 2019.  He brings valuable hands on knowledge of not only Southern Africa but Africa as a whole as well as the Middle East.  He has over 40 years’ Financial Management experience including 16 years with a leading Mobile Telecommunications Company in Africa having been based in South Africa and the Middle East.

Most recently Graeme utilised his strong communication skills in a Customer Experience Manager position in a regional role covering Southern and South Eastern Africa.  Besides Telecommunications, Graeme had also had exposure to a number of other sectors including Venture Capital, Hospitality and FMCG.  This extensive corporate experience gives him a unique insight from the “client’s” perspective and enables him to bring first-hand experience of the challenges of operating on the ground across Africa.

Louise graduated from University of York in 1988 with a degree in Music.  She has over 25 years’ experience working within Global and Boutique Executive Search, having started her career as a Researcher with Russell Reynolds, focusing on Financial Services.  During her career, Louise has worked with specialist global Retail, FMCG and B2C Search Firms as Head of Research and also as a Delivery Consultant.

Louise has worked extensively at Senior Divisional and C Suite Level for Search Mandates based across the world.  Whilst raising her family, she operated as a freelance Research and Delivery Consultant as well as extending her experience to Career Performance and Leadership Coaching.  As Head of Research and Professional Development with Executives in Africa, Louise oversees the Associate Team as well as driving professional development and growth at all levels through coaching and training.

Ed has recently graduated from Bournemouth University with First Class Honours in History and joins Executives in Africa as Research Associate.  He has previous experience working in the Finance sector as an Assistant Administrator at Crestbridge, a company managing trust funds on the island of Jersey.

For the past 14 years Ed has competed at a high level in different disciplines of Motorsport, giving vital experience in interacting with sponsors as well as showing versatility when problem solving as an individual or as part of a group.

Tim graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from York University in 1983. After spending 12 years working in finance and accounting for various companies, Tim decided to join VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) and in 1995 was posted to Guinea-Bissau in West Africa to teach IT at the National Business and Administration College.  Following this 2 year posting, Tim joined a medical research organisation as Coordinator for their research station in a remote village in Guinea-Bissau.  Later he moved to the capital, Bissau, also within a health research environment, as International Coordinator.

Tim returned to the UK in 2018 and continues to have a strong personal interest in Africa, in particular Guinea-Bissau and its development.  Having worked in a research environment as well as corporate environments, combined with having spent many years in Africa, Tim is a real asset to the EiA Research Team.

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.

Louise completed her Global Diploma in Personal Training back in 2003, initially starting her career as a Fitness Instructor and developing the ability to build relationships to support the people she was working with. Moving into recruitment in 2007, Louise initially worked as an Internal Recruiter setting up new staffing processes for one of the UK’s first financial broker pioneers in Bournemouth. Since then, Louise has gained over 10 years’ professional recruitment experience across diverse sectors, including Hospitality, Education and Medicine.

Louise’s role at Executives in Africa requires excellent organisational & project management skills as well as attention to detail in order to deliver every Search on time and with high quality documentation. Her excellent interpersonal skills allow her to work across all levels within the organisation as well as internationally with our Ethiopia team to ensure resources are managed effectively to fulfil deadlines and meet Client and Candidate needs to our exceptional standards.

Meareg Hailu has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science form Addis Ababa University.  As part of the Executives in Africa team in Ethiopia, Meareg works very closely with our QA Manager in the UK and works on assuring the accuracy of documents.  He also works on Research Projects including database integrity.

Meareg plays soccer and is a devoted Manchester United fan.  He loves travelling around the country and visiting the different “Ethiopian Treasures” like Axum and Lalibela.

Johannah brings over four years’ of progressive administrative experience gained within diverse sectors, including recruitment. Her self-driven motivation and excellent organisational skills, ensure that an effective secretarial and administrative service is provided to the Managing Directors, Senior Management and the Consulting team.

Johannah supports the EiA Search Process by making travel and visa arrangements, scheduling appointments and interviews, as well as supporting our Quality Assurance Managers with Search documentation.