Sarah graduated from Oxford University in 1992 and worked in professional recruitment for ten years before moving into Emerging Markets Search in 2003 initially covering Financial Services in Russia and CIS. Having travelled extensively throughout East, West and Southern Africa, Sarah took the opportunity in 2008 to focus purely on the African markets. She co-founded Executives in Africa with Richard Putley in 2010 and has since worked on nearly 100 Search mandates across a range of C-level, Senior Management and Technical roles. Her specialist focus remains in Financial Services but she also brings experience working with a range of clients across FMCG, Pharmaceutical, Media, Business Services, Charities, Manufacturing, Property, Energy and Oil & Gas Services in countries right across Africa.

Sarah travels regularly to visit clients on the continent when possible and is passionate about delivering the very best talent, both African and expatriate where required, to contribute to the successful growth of businesses in Africa. She regularly speaks at Conferences, established the Professionals for Africa (PfA) network in the UK, and is delighted now to be supporting 100 Women in Finance with growing their networks across Africa.

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.

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.

Nicki graduated from University of Central Lancashire in 1996 with an HND in Business Management and Marketing.  Her career within recruitment began in 1999 in the Commercial Industry before specialising for 15 years in Finance and Accounting, Financial Services and General Insurance.  She then moved into the niche mobile space within the Tech industry, headhunting candidates worldwide on behalf of her clients, especially in the disruptive area of advanced technology.

Nicki’s talent lies in gaining a thorough understanding of a client’s talent needs -from a business and cultural perspective; and matching that to both skill set and, more importantly, an individual’s character.  Nicki brings a flair for developing lasting relationships and has a track record of building rapport and fully working with individuals both in the capacity of candidates and as clients.

She has worked on over forty Searches across the continent mainly in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa including Chief Product Officer for a Nigerian eCommerce organisation in hypergrowth, Global Head of Talent and Culture for a Fintech Financial Inclusion organisation based remotely, a confidential search for a MD of an Insurance Company, CDO for a Pan African Bank, a COO for a Microfinance business, County Manager in Mobile Payments and a B2B Country Lead in Tech Education.  Nicki comes highly recommended by all her clients for her superb Search management and high levels of candidate care.

Matt graduated in 2018 from Swansea University with First Class Honours having studied History. He joined Executives in Africa following his studies and as since risen quickly through the business from Research Associate to Associate, Delivery Consultant, Search Consultant to Executive Search Consultant. During his time at Executives in Africa he has been responsible for securing the first Chairman search in EiA’s history as well as executing the first Sports search for EiA.

Since joining Executives in Africa, Matt has delivered on over forty senior Search Assignments including mandates to find Board members, Group Executive Management and C-Suite level across a broad range of sectors including Financial Services, Non-For-Profit, Agriculture, FMCG, Sport and Entertainment, Construction, Logistics and Manufacturing.  Recently Matt has delivered on mandates for a CFO in East Africa for a football club, a COO for a financial services group, a Chairman for an East African bank, and a HR Director for a global construction business.

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.

Anju graduated from Kings College London in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies.  She started her career in Public Relations in the UK and subsequently moved to India where she specialized in Marketing, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations representing companies across diverse sectors.  Having spent most of her childhood in Nigeria, Anju decided to move back to Lagos in 2009 and in 2010 she joined the Emel Group where she spent ten years working in different capacities including Marketing & Communications, Business Strategy & Management, People & Culture Development.  During the last five years of her tenure at Emel, Anju played a key role in recruitment at all levels and across multiple business divisions.

As a Consultant with Executives in Africa, Anju brings valuable knowledge of the Nigerian market and culture, as well as hands on experience of dealing with local talent and multi-cultural teams.  She is an insightful interviewer with an aptitude for understanding the true requirements of a role and assessing whether an individual has the requisite skills and behaviours to succeed.

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.

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.

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.