Our People

Aaron Webster
Consultant, Public Sector, UK
Aaron has had 3 years experience of successfully delivering senior executive search and selection assignments that span both the public and private sectors. His recent achievements have been across a broad range of functions with local government authorities, housing and Central Government departments.

Aaron completed a BSc degree in Geography at Leeds University and is presently studying towards an MSc in Environmental Decision Making.

Agneta Akerhielm
Consultant, Consumer, Nordics
Agneta has more than ten years experience in the Executive Search industry. Her core sector expertise lies in Banking/Finance, IT and Energy. She has also developed two sales organisations and has wide experience of performance management. Before joining Penna in 2006 she held a position as a Key Account Manager in a staffing and recruiting organisation. Agneta holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Uppsala.

Áine Brolly
Director, Ireland
Áine is the Head of Executive Search for Penna in Ireland with responsibility for the Executive Recruitment and Interim Executive practices in both Belfast and Dublin. She joined Penna in Dublin at the beginning of 2000 and has worked across the public and private sectors possessing a global client portfolio.

A graduate in Law from Queens University Belfast, Áine also holds a postgraduate diploma in professional recruitment and is an accredited psychometrician.

André Morris
Consultant - Public Sector, Technology and Financial Services, UK
André has more than 15 years experience in senior executive recruitment across both private and public sectors and internationally in Europe and the US. His work has been at executive and non-executive level across a broad range of functions.

Recently, he has successfully conducted senior manager/board level search for Central Government departments, NDPBs, local government authorities, regulators and the Security Services and for the advanced technology and digital media sector.
 

Bettina Karsch
Consultant, Spain
Before joining Penna in 2005, Bettina worked in the M&A sector for a boutique consulting firm. Her earlier career includes Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt, Germany and an M&A consulting Firm in Argentina working on middle market deals in the Technology, Pharmaceutical and Banking sector. At Penna she has successfully completed assignments placing Executives in Human Resources, Marketing, Sales and Finance positions in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and Ireland. Her multicultural understanding is crucial in recruiting key executives in Europe.

Bettina is trilingual German, Spanish and English and fluent in French. She obtained her MBA in the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, France/Argentina and graduated from Brown University, USA with Magna Cum Laude.

David Hunter
Head of Public and Voluntary Sector, UK
David leads Penna’s public and voluntary sector resourcing activities nationwide. He has been successfully delivering executive search and selection solutions for over 12 years, and his experience spans the public, private and voluntary sectors.

David’s early career included eight years in the Army, twelve years with Price Waterhouse / PwC where he honed first rate assessment and project management skills and two years with a not-for-profit recruitment boutique, delivering Chief Executives and Senior Management Teams for household name charities and professional bodies. David is qualified Level A and B in psychometric assessment with the British Psychological Society.

Diana Haddad
Managing Director, Europe
Diana joined Penna in 2000 and was instrumental in building the Penna branch in Paris. She now heads up the development of Penna European operations. Prior to joining Penna, she worked for IBM for thirteen years, three years of which were on assignment to the IBM International Education Center in Belgium. She continued her career at one of the leading Executive Search firms in France where she contributed to the development of an International Network of Executive Search firms that grew from 3 to 15 partners.

Diana is of Hungarian origin, bilingual French/English with conversational Hungarian and Spanish and studied at the Sorbonne.

Diane Charnock
Consultant, Public Sector, UK
Diane has seven years experience of executive search and selection in the public sector and has recruited a large number of Chief Executive, Director and Head of Service posts. Prior to joining Penna in 2007 she was Regional Director at Tribal and Partner at GatenbySanderson. Diane was previously Chair of a large NHS trust hospital on Merseyside and a main Board member of the Legal Aid Board. Her early career was spent as a lecturer in a Management Centre and a central buyer for a national department store group following a BA Hons degree in languages.

Duncan Verry
Managing Director, UK & Ireland
Duncan has over twelve years of Executive Search and Selection experience. Following graduation from University College, Swansea with a First Class BA Hons in History, he spent two years in Penna’s Technology and Telecoms practice, focused on recruiting at Senior Manager and Executive Consultant level. Duncan spent the five years with Penna in the Dublin office managing the search practice and delivering assignments to clients across the corporate sector and latterly into a major semi-state utility.

Elisabeth Roux
Consultant, Manufacturing, Spain
Elizabeth has twelve years experience in international executive recruitment and European appraisal projects. Before joining in Penna in 2006, she worked for Neumann International as a Consultant and Head of the Middle Management division. Elizabeth also worked as a Consultant and Agency Manager for over six years.

Elisabeth is a Business Administration graduate from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Toulouse and holds a degree in International Commerce (France). She also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Instituto de Empresa (Madrid) and is trilingual French, English and Spanish.

Eva Borgert Palm
Country Manager, Nordics
Eva joined Penna in November 2004, prior to which she held positions within finance and marketing for companies such as GMAC, Krupp Widia and Munters. Eva has worked in HR consulting, change management and coaching since 1991. In her former company she managed the change management consultancy team of seven and was responsible for all activities and development within Sweden as well as being a part of the Nordic Management Team. Eva holds a degree in International Economics.

Gail D'Arcy
Consultant, Technology, UK
Gail is a Consultant in the Technology Practice and specialises in managing multi role projects and placing senior level technologists into global corporate organisations. Gail has 5 years experience within Search and Selection and prior to joining Penna was Head of Research for a market leading Executive Search firm. During this time she worked in a number of industry sectors across Europe.  Gail has completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies (DMS) at London Metropolitan University.

Greg McCloskey
Consultant, Technology & Telecoms, UK
Greg McCloskey has over nine years experience in search and selection within the technology sector, both in Europe and Asia. Greg has focused on senior level sales and pre/post sales for leading vendors in both software and data communications.

Prior to joining Penna, Greg worked for a niche technology search boutique based in Hong Kong and also for Michael Page in the UK. Greg obtained a BA Hons in Social Studies in 1996.

Jan Fredriksson
Consultant, Technology, Nordics
Jan has over twenty years experience in the sales and sales development sectors. He has been a consultant for more than fifteen years focussing on recruitment and coaching. His clients have been based in the following sectors: CRM, business intelligence, professional services and large insurance organisations.

Before joining Penna in 2000, Jan was a Sales Director at a major computer training organisation. He has recruited numerous senior management roles within Global IT and insurance companies.

Jana Cagin
Consultant, Public Sector, UK
Jana has four years Executive Search and Selection experience across both public and private sector. Prior to joining Penna, Jana worked for a Swedish Executive Search & Selection agency, working at both executive and non-executive level across a broad range of functions. She also has extensive experience in conducting psychometric assessments. Jana holds a degree in Organisational/Industrial Psychology obtained from Manhattan College, New York, as well as a Social Work degree from the University of Stockholm in Sweden. 

Karen Barter
Consultant, Consumer, UK
Karen is a proven leader of retail brand development and management throughout an established corporate career based in the UK. Brands include Pied a Terre, The Pier Retail Ltd, Waterford Wedgwood Group and Le Creuset. She has worked as a consultant in the Middle East advising on private retail portfolios and shopping malls. Karen has over 20 years senior leadership and direct management experience operating and communicating at board level.

Karen joined Penna from an Executive Search firm where she was Head of Retail Executive Recruitment. She is also Chairman and co-founder of Women in Retail, a networking group for senior women within the industry.

Martin Hancock
Consultant, Management Consulting, UK
Martin has worked as a recruitment consultant specialising in the Management Consulting sector since 1996. Having joined Penna in 2007, he previously spent 9 years at a boutique search and selection firm, playing a key role both in growing the business and in it being voted the UK’s No.1 Management Consultancy sector recruitment firm in 2005/6.  Prior to this he spent 18 months with one of the world’s leading global recruitment firms. Before entering recruitment, Martin spent 5 years as a commissioned officer in the Army, leaving with the rank of Captain. He has a BSc (hons) 2i in Biochemistry from Bristol University.

Paul Strangeway
Consultant, Technology, UK
Paul works as a consultant within the technology practice recruiting senior technology professionals, which have recently included Technical Architects and Programme Directors/Managers. Paul has also been responsible for building a number of new technology consulting practices for one of the elite global management consultancies. Paul is an experienced Search Consultant and a Chartered Engineer, with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers with a 14 year track record in IT, Operations and Consulting within Outsourcing and Professional Services across a number of industry sectors including Retail, Defence and Government.

Reeta Nathwani
Consultant, Asia
Reeta began her career with Lloyds TSB before moving into the HR arena in 1990. In recent years her experience has included working in-house for Mars and more recently focusing on selection and assessment at senior levels within the FMCG and Consumer sectors.

Reeta has worked extensively in the international arena including a number of years working abroad in India and has recruited in many countries including Russia, Dubai and China. Reeta is fluent in English, German, Hindi and Gujarati.

Richard Colwell
Consultant - Public Sector, London
Richard has a track record of delivering complex, high-profile campaigns, which have included projects in relation to the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy. For the last 4 years he has been delivering executive search in both the public and private sectors, appointing to senior management/board level positions.  Richard completed an MSc in Occupational Psychology at Guildhall University and he holds the British Psychological Society’s Level A and level B certificates of competence in Occupational Testing.

Sally Abbott
Consultant, Manufacturing, UK
Sally joined Penna in 2005 and has successfully delivered senior search and selection assignments across a number of functions. Recent achievements have been across a broad range of sectors including a General Manager for a leading telecommunications company and a Commercial Director for a niche financial services group.

Following completion of a Chemistry Degree from the University of Leeds, Sally joined a FTSE 100 company as a member of their HR Services team, specialising in recruitment.

Steve Dargan
Head of Sector, Technology & Telecoms, UK
Steve is Head of Penna’s Corporate Executive Recruitment division. He has spent the last fourteen years working in the IT and Professional Services Recruitment sector, across a number of industries, where he has established strong client relationships with a number of blue chip and niche clients. His success to date has been centred on a belief that you build strong client relationships through the open and honest delivery of solutions and that a recruiter’s job is to identify talent as well as skills.