EM Group

Meet the Team

With decades of experience within their specific markets, EM’s Partners and Non-Execs have built, led and owned search and selection businesses, globally. Their breadth of knowledge and networks enable them and their teams to structure and deliver the best solution for each client scenario.

Carl Thompson - Chairman

Carl is stakeholder and corporate development advisor to EM. He is focused on EM's organic and inorganic growth plans as we capitalise upon human capital opportunities in the recovering economy. Initially brought in as CFO he became Chairman in September 2015. Prior to EM he was most recently CFO and founding shareholder of Hexagon Human Capital Plc, a "buy & build" in the executive search and interim management sectors. The business IPO'd in 2007 with a market cap of £35m and in 2009 generated £25m net income & £6.5m EBITDA. Previously he held FD / MD roles in entrepreneurial high growth businesses within technology and Human Capital, including Mission Testing (which he sold to Capita PLC), Denistron PLC and Fujitsu (ICL). He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst and Young. Email address: [email protected]

David Howell - Managing Director

Since co-founding EM in 1993, David has led teams delivering search and selection campaigns across finance, financial services, and consulting. His own projects have focussed on profit centre leaders and the providers of equity that finance them; including HgCapital, Lloyds Development Capital and Bridgepoint, as well as Associated British Foods plc, 20th Century Fox, and Asda Wal-Mart. David has additionally held responsibility for EM's own development, across four sector specific divisions and three geographic regions. In 2007 EM Group was acquired by private equity investors, and he subsequently led an MBO to take EM independent in 2009. David's early career was in commercial finance, within the defence and publishing sectors, as well as heading the UK division of an international financial recruitment firm. Email address: [email protected]

Jan Shaw - Partner - Board level

With a career spanning Executive Search, Human Resource leadership and Behavioural Science Consulting, Jan is widely acclaimed as a senior level talent acquisition expert. As the architect of Asda’s senior management team in the 90’s, he worked with then-CEO Archie Norman to build a world class pool of talent, many of whom have now gone on to head up other global retailers. His network of long-term relationships across retail, media and consumer facing sectors are to the benefit of his clients, both private equity backed growth and publicly owned businesses, in the UK and Internationally. Prior to Asda, he held senior roles in Human Resources Strategy at Trafalgar House Group, British Airways Imperial (Courage) as well as Lecturing at the National Institute of Industrial Psychology. Email address: [email protected]

Nigel Milford - Partner EM Finance

With a financial recruitment career at Michael Page spanning the Thames Valley, London, Hong Kong and Canada - incorporating senior Executive Search - Nigel is hugely accomplished across all areas of talent acquisition. He is also experienced in start-ups, the growth and leadership of (large) teams of recruiters. Since leaving Page in 2008 he built a successful financial recruitment business in Toronto, which he sold in 2012. Now working with EM Finance he brings over 25 years’ experience in senior level finance search, across all sectors. Nigel graduated from Cardiff University in Accountancy & Law before training with Ernst & Young as a Chartered Accountant. He was then approached to work with the International Audit team at Raytheon, a Fortune 500 manufacturing company on profit improvement throughout Europe, Africa and the USA. Email address: [email protected]

Gemma Hawes - Director of Operations

Gemma has over 18 years search and selection expertise. Her role is in the administration and operational management of assignments including target identification, developing ideas, controlling data, document and diary management and supporting all projects. Gemma also manages a team of dedicated Resourcers, and is in charge of event management, organisation and planning. For the Interims business she manages EM’s contracts and contractors; and maintains relationships with both contractors and clients, including invoice management and credit control. Having previously worked for a specialist boutique focussing on Management level search, she joined EM in 2006 where her coverage has been across the UK, the rest of Europe, North America and Australia. She also looks after Finance & Credit Control. Email address: [email protected]

Henry's photo for bio on website

Henry Courtney-Guy - Partner, EM Legal

Henry leads EM’s Legal Search team, specialising in lateral placements of senior lawyers at top international law firms. Partner-level hires, with a particular focus on Corporate and Private Equity markets, though client experience covers adjacent practices, including Real Estate, Private Client, Commercial and Litigation. Recent searches have been cross-border, particularly into the US and EU. Henry built his early career at EM covering the full spectrum of the firm’s clients, and assisting EM’s Partners in retained search mandates spanning Finance, Consulting, Legal and Business Leadership. Henry holds a degree in Modern History from the University of Bristol. Email address: [email protected]

Miles Ruggiero E-M photo

Miles Ruggiero - Partner, EM Legal

Miles contributes significantly to EM's global legal search team, specialising in facilitating lateral placements for junior to mid-level lawyers across a spectrum of law firms, from boutiques to large international practices. His focus is particularly honed into the dynamic realms of Commercial and Residential Real Estate. With a diverse client portfolio spanning Corporate, M&A, Private Equity, Private Client, Commercial, Construction, and Litigation sectors, Miles has successfully connected legal professionals with exciting opportunities in the market. Miles’ passion for executive search spans over 6 years. He brings a wealth of experience in - and an understanding of – candidate talent pools, adding value to careers and delivering successful outcomes for his clients’ businesses. He is dedicated to helping legal professionals navigate their career paths effectively. Email address: [email protected]

Ashley Nicholls - Partner

Following a successful career as Director of Marketing and Business Development in global professional services firms, including EY, BDO and Grant Thornton, Ashley launched her own marketing and business development recruitment business in 2009 to provide a very personal and bespoke recruitment service in the UK and globally. Many of Ashley's former employers became clients and her team members candidates and/or referrers to support the growth of the business. Clients included Arup, Baker McKenzie, BCLP, BDO, CBRE, EY, FTI Consulting, Grant Thornton, KPMG, Weil and Withers in professional services and Coutts, Mitie and Rolls Royce, amongst others, in industry. With an extensive network of professional contacts, Ashley has now joined forces with EM Group to additionally recruit Partners and C-suite Executives in the UK, the US and globally. Ashley lives in London and holds an Executive MBA from the University of Kingston. Email address: [email protected]

Naomi Drummond - Partner - Digital & Technology

Naomi brings over a decade of experience in recruitment focusing on the Regulatory Financial Services, Gambling, e-Commerce markets. She has a wealth of knowledge within Digital, Technology and Compliance gained at two leading international recruiters, before launching her own business, Ivy-DigitalRS, in 2021. She continues to grow and build within these sectors; differentiating by focussing on the People aspect to add to client processes and growth of their teams and brand. Assignments successfully delivered have varied from mid-level to Senior Executives and the C-suite; clients have ranged from start-ups to large well renowned global established brands. Email address: [email protected]

Chris Shaw - Partner - Board level - SME

Chris has nearly 20 years’ experience in the recruitment and search sector. He has specialised in SME Industrial, Retail, and Leisure & Hospitality Operations. He has recruited in both dynamic agency environments and structured in-house roles, including Michael Page and Walgreens Boots Alliance. Clients through his career include Punch Taverns, Tiffany & Co, Office Shoes, Boots Opticians, Enterprise Inns, and Whitbread Group, placing roles such as Managing Director, Head of Retail, HRD, and Operations Director. Chris takes a highly flexible approach to assignments, understanding that one size does not fit all. He looks to understand the broader needs of the client through his strong academic background with a Masters from Warwick Business School and CIPD qualification, and hands on experience. Email address: [email protected]

Sandy Zhang - Partner – APAC

With a career built at the intersection of Executive Search and Tech Commercialization, Sandy specializes in matching top talent with tech-driven business goals. She helps clients find the right leaders and design the teams needed to embrace digital transformation, build business ecosystems, and scale rapidly into new markets. Sandy has been covering China, Japan, Korea Singapore, and the ASEAN region in recent years. Sandy brings over 10 years of commercial experience from leading tech MNCs and high-growth Chinese internet startups. Her background includes leading business model exploration from 0 to 1 and quickly expanding businesses from 1 to N. This unique blend of corporate strategy and startup agility allows her to deeply understand a company's specific needs. She excels at efficiently finding and assessing the right talent to deliver results in fast-paced and complex environments. Sandy is Chinese and a graduate from Shanghai International Studies University. Languages: Mandarin, English, Japanese. Email address: [email protected]

Ena Vieira - Partner

Ena holds an LLB Honours degree from Buckingham University (UK), and is a previously certified Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (UK). Ena has led and managed the recruitment process for Executive, Managerial and Professional positions for a wide range of sectors across the UK, Europe and the USA spanning Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Construction and FMCG. In addition to start-up businesses and SMEs, her portfolio includes a number of global brands such as Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, SkyTV, EDF Energy, GlaxoSmithKline, GE, Diageo, Mars, Gillette, and Vinci. Having recently returned to the UK following 4 years based overseas in the Caribbean, where she worked as the Group Head of Talent for a large Caribbean Conglomerate covering sectors such as Financial Services and Banking, Manufacturing, Retail, Distribution, and Media. Fluent in Portuguese and with working knowledge of French and Spanish. A Certified Assessor in DISC Methodology behavioural profiling through Thomas International. Ena holds an LLB Honours degree from Buckingham University (UK), and is a previously certified Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (UK). Email address: [email protected]

Carol Cheung - Partner International Markets

Carol has over 20 years commercial experience across Banking, Publishing, Energy, Infrastructure and Private Equity. Her formative years in General Management provided her with a firm foundation in Human Capital where she gained unique exposure to working with C-Level executives and Management Boards, globally. Carol’s understanding of people and cultures across Asia Pacific, Middle East & Europe afford her the innate ability to “size up” potential candidates incisively for complex and sophisticated roles. Her most recent role position was with IL&FS Transportation Networks, one of the largest public listed infrastructure companies in India, as a Human Resources Director, International Business covering Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and US. In her early career, she managed advertising and sponsorship for a leading Publications business. She was also the Marketing & Events Manager for Sentosa Golf Club, the most prestigious golf club in Singapore. Carol is trilingual in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. Email address: [email protected]

Louise Bartlett - Consultant

Louise has approximately 15 years’ Executive Search experience, with her primary specialism being the consumer sector in particular FMCG companies and food retailers.  In her time in search, however, she has had experience of working across a range of other sectors too including her secondary specialism, professional services, and other sectors, TMT, and higher education. She has operated across B2C as well as B2B, pureplay digital companies as well as traditional high street bricks and mortar businesses. She has delivered executive search briefs both in boutique search firms and in-house, at Betfair PLC, the online gaming business, where she was responsible for delivering their executive search requirement. Although with a predominant focus on finance, strategy & legal searches, over her career she has partnered with most business functions being engaged on senior, cross-border and C-level appointments, and also working on market mapping, competitor intelligence and board assessment projects.   Louise graduated with a 2:1 in French & German from the University of Bristol. Email address: [email protected]

Emma Lane

Emma Lane - Research Partner

Emma brings over 25 years of expertise in Executive Search and Headhunting, delivering a range of strategic talent solutions to organisations worldwide. Her career encompasses senior in-house recruitment at Santander as well as leadership roles through multinational recruitment firms, giving her a well-rounded perspective across both corporate and consulting environments. With a remit that extends beyond the UK and Europe, Emma has spent the past four years driving continued global success from her base in Southeast Asia. She specialises in designing and delivering bespoke recruitment strategies for C-suite and senior leadership appointments across Finance, Legal and Compliance, Sales, Marketing, Operations and HR. Her sector expertise spans Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail, Logistics, Construction, Pharmaceuticals, Facilities Management, and Travel. In addition to Executive Search, Emma provides comprehensive talent solutions, including talent mapping, market intelligence and insights, salary benchmarking, RPO, and vendor management. Known for her energy, curiosity, warmth, and integrity, Emma builds trusted, long-term partnerships with her clients, reflected in a strong track record of repeat engagement and enduring professional relationships. Email address: [email protected]

Giuglia Gainsborough-Waring - Research Associate

Giuglia comes to us from EY, having joined EY London in September 2015, based in the London Bridge office and also working remotely, serving TAS, TAX, PAS and Advisory. During her time with EY Giuglia: Participated in Head Hunting, Diversity, Psychometric assessment, Developed Talent Acquisition GDS Poland with internal networking, Was a facilitator for "Building Winning Relationships" across UKI region, Advisory, Rating score “Gold”. Giuglia is a senior recruiting professional having recruited at all levels in multi-platform industries. Her career has taken her into several industry sectors including Professional Services (Booz Allen & Hamilton), Banking (Bear Stearns), Life Sciences and Manufacturing (Pall Corporation + Philips Nederland), Aerospace (SITA Aero), and Insurance (Genworth Financial formerly GE). During her career Giuglia has recruited to Board Level and worked on major projects including a new office build in Turkey, a manufacturing start-up in Slovakia and the development of a multilingual Customer Service Centre in Finland. She has a strong global mindset and natural passion for connecting with people. Email address: [email protected]

Tom Panagos - Research Consultant

Tom leads searches for EM internationally and particularly in Asia Pac and the United States. He has over 14 years of global executive search experience across a broad range of industries and functions, of which nine years was as a partner with a small boutique, retained search firm. Tom left the firm to start the in-house executive search function for an enterprise software company that received a large series of funding and supported them during over a two-year period of hyper-growth, supporting the C-Team in higher their next level of executive management globally. Born in New York, he spent 10-years living and working in Singapore, then onto San Francisco and now calls Las Vegas, Nevada home. Tom received BS in Management Information Systems and Marketing and an MBA in Marketing and Operations Management from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Email address: [email protected]

Caroline Warwick-Smith - Research Associate

Caroline Warwick-Smith has over fifteen years in Executive Search, garnered within the Tech industry, from B2B Technology through to the Consumer Internet. With a perennial focus on commercially-led leadership roles, Caroline has a wealth of experience working with earlier-stage technology businesses to grow their leadership teams, including Chief Technology Officers and Chief Product Officers. Caroline has recent experience in working with the FinTech space, including blockchain players and a number of tech platforms disrupting the broader financial services industry. Caroline has extensive experience of working across North America and Europe in addition to being fluent in French. She has a BA Hons from the University of Leeds in French with Italian.” Email address: [email protected]

Sarah Benson - Research Associate

Sarah's 15 years in global Recruitment have been spent primarily in-house as part of HR and Talent teams. As Resourcing Business Partner for Yell she developed key skills in assessment, selection, management hiring and leadership development giving her unique insight early on. Over the years she has recruited across multiple areas of business for brands such as United Biscuits, and Treasury Wine Estates, honing her skills in assessment and identification of talent. Her ability to match business goals with candidate skills and culture fit has seen her place high potential individuals in MD, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing roles across EMEA, Australia and Latin America. Sarah launched her Executive Search career with a boutique, Africa search firm where she focused on CXO and CXO -1 Hires across, Private Equity, Consumer Banking, Tech, Agriculture, FMCG, Mining and Construction across the African Continent. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Surrey Sarah graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a BSc in Biology and Business Management. She joined EM early in 2020. Email address: [email protected]

EM Legal

Clients include private practice and in-house teams in the UK and Internationally. With a focus on Corporate and Commercial, appointments are at Partner level, particularly within alternative business and self-employed structures. 

Who We Are

EM is a leader in executive search and interim management both nationally and internationally. With over 25 years experience providing Financial and Consulting solutions, EM Group have worked with some of the worlds best known companies. 

 

Get in Touch

Based in Mayfair, London. Our experienced and friendly consultants will help you find the perfect job in the financial sector. Visit our contact page for more information and to be contacted by a recruitment agent.

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