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.

Having studied Law at Liverpool University, Jon qualified as a chartered accountant with Grant Thornton in 1999. He moved from public practice into commerce progressing his career within industry within various sectors including marketing, media, film and sport. Whilst at Tiger Aspect Television he oversaw the finances for films such as Billy Elliot and Kevin and Perry Go Large, and as Finance Director at Ska Films oversaw the financial production of the film Layer Cake. Jon was also responsible for running the takeover of the Football League club Peterborough United in 2006 for one of his high net worth clients.

Utilising his experience Jon is now Finance Director for Executives in Africa as well as for a portfolio of organisations providing a balance of financial rigor and commerciality to the Finance function.

James has a background of over 16 years’ experience working for specialist consultancies in the UK where he recruited professionals from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria into a range of roles within UK-based organisations.

Since joining Executives in Africa, James has developed specialist sector experience in the Agribusiness, Industrial, Transport & Logistics, Development Finance, Oil & Gas and Construction sectors, working on a range of senior searches across General Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources and Finance as well as delivering on some highly technical and specialist positions. These include a Head of Logistics and Distribution Africa based in Morocco for a multinational industrial company, Head of Marine & Aviation for a multinational downstream Oil & Gas company based in South Africa, a GM for a commercial real estate business in East Africa, a GM for a multinational shipping company in Nigeria; and Country Managers for a multinational industrial company in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, DRC, Ethiopia, Benin and Angola.

Gary studied law at the University of Zimbabwe, then spent the first 2 years of his working career working for the Zimbabwe Ministry of Justice where he rose to the position of Registrar of the Supreme Court.  After this, Gary was appointed as Head of Contracts at Old Mutual Zimbabwe where he successfully migrated the entire Zimbabwe contracts creation and maintenance portfolio from South Africa to Zimbabwe.

Gary was headhunted to join ICL Limited in Zimbabwe and within two years was headhunted by NCR Corporation.  He went on, through rapid promotions, to hold a Marketing Management post at NCR’s Middle East/Africa Headquarters in Cyprus and then on to be the Managing Director and Chairman of NCR East Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

After returning to Zimbabwe in 1998, Gary and his wife, Barbara, set up their own recruitment company, which they jointly ran successfully for 17 years recruiting a range of positions based in multiple African countries as well as the Middle East.  Gary recently immigrated to the UK to join the Executives in Africa team bringing with him a wealth of Pan-African experience.

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.

William has been part of the EiA team since 2012, initially joining on a year-long work placement as part of his Business Management degree with the University of Surrey. Since graduation, William has continued his career with EiA, rising quickly through the business, working as a Researcher and an Assistant Consultant before becoming a Search Consultant.

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

Sarah graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2002 with a joint honours degree in Biology and Business Management. Her career in HR/Resourcing began within the Telecom/Digital sector with a primary focus on psychometric assessment and job profiling.  She completed training with the British Psychological Society and is also a qualified NLP practitioner.

After six years in the Tech sector, she moved into the FMCG sector with a UK-wide remit, resourcing for Commercial, Manufacturing, Procurement, HR and Marketing roles which gave her experience across a wide range of functions.  She went on to spend a further four years working in the Drinks industry with responsibility for roles across Europe, Middle East and Latin America including Europe Country Managers, Commercial Managers in Latin America, Brand Directors as well as Senior Sales and Category roles.

Sarah’s passion lies in really understanding a Client’s talent needs, from a business and cultural perspective, and matching that to both skill set, but more importantly, an individual’s character, in order to deliver the right overall fit to the opportunity.

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.

Colleen holds an honours degree in Psychology and Linguistics obtained at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. After 16 years’ working for a privately owned recruitment consultancy and later running her own business recruiting for small and medium-sized companies, she joined EiA in 2014 to cover Executive Search in Africa.

Colleen is passionate about Africa, assisting the professional development of candidates and contributing to a lasting and positive impact on the continent of her birth. She has worked on C-level mandates in Banking, Microfinance, Property, Telecoms, Commodities and FMCG. Working across Senior Management, HR, Engineering and Finance functions, Colleen has delivered on multiple mandates including a CEO, CFO, HRD and other Executive and Operational roles covering Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Egypt.

James studied at Southampton Solent University and then spent 5 years working in the retail, hospitality and logistics sectors. Here he developed strong telesales skills as well as gaining management experience.

A keen sportsman, James brings his naturally competitive nature to the team, as shown in his previous role as Managing Associate.

James is now responsible for technology within EiA as well as developing Social Media and supporting the Business with Statistics and Analytics.

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.

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.

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.

Joe spent the first 5 years of his career within the hospitality industry, developing his ability to lead and work well throughout a team environment.  He started working for Executives in Africa through a work experience placement and after impressing the team with his natural capability to deliver research to a high standard, Joe was offered a permanent role within the company as a Research Associate.

Joe is a self-motivated and conscientious individual, always keen to impress and work well both within a team and independently.  He has previously gained experience with people, cultures and teams having attended a multi-cultural school while living in Qatar for two years.  He has delivered research on the search for an HRD for a leading Bank in Nigeria and multiple roles within a high growth Agri group covering both corporate and operational roles.

Joe will be attending Swansea University from September 2018 to complete a degree in Business Management with a year in industry which will be spent working with Executives in Africa.

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.

Liya Tadesse has a bachelor of Law (LLB) from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. For her externship program while she was still in school Liya has worked as an associate in the legal department of an Insurance Company.

Liya has spent her early career working for a non-profit organization, Digital Opportunity Trust Ethiopia, with its headquarters based in Canada as a community facilitator and a business development extension worker. During her time there, among others she was conducting business health assessments, recommending and delivering different capacity building and business development training, coaching business owners, and organising and hosting different events and competitions. Liya is very passionate about entrepreneurship and business analytics.

As part of Executives in Africa team based in Africa, Liya works on Research projects including database integrity.

Aida has a BA in Management from Addis Ababa University, School of Commerce and was VP for an NGO affiliated to the UN which focuses on providing opportunities for youth to participate in meeting global SDGs and thought English in Egypt.

Aida previously worked as a researcher for an independent consumer advisory company, and carried out qualitative and quantitative research for clients which included some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest FMCG brands.

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.

Wilhelmina has a HND in Business and Finance from Portsmouth University. She has 8 years’ experience in the Financial Services, Investment Banking and Retail sectors before joining Executives in Africa as Quality Assurance Manager.

Previously, she worked as Personal Assistant for C level Managers within large and small organisations which has helped her to gain a clear understanding of company organisational structure, human resources and recruitment processes. She has strong administrative skills and attention to detail, which will help her ensure that the EiA team are able to continue to deliver the best quality standards to Candidates and Clients alike.

April obtained her ATll (CTA) in Taxation Accounting in 1989 and holds Level 3 Diplomas in Business Administration and Customer Service.  She has over 30 years’ work experience across Financial Services, Education, Retail and Leisure & Tourism industries before joining Executives in Africa as Office and Events Manager in 2018.

April’s over 20 years of experience in Management and Administration roles ensures that the Executives in Africa teams are well supported to provide exceptional service to our clients and candidates.  She has the ability to think quickly and solve problems whilst ensuring details are not missed and standards are consistently high.