Our Team

Kate joined Drax in 2018 to support the development of our consumer practice across both private equity and high growth companies. Her main focus is within the Retail and Branded Consumer Goods sectors, working across all cap sizes and with a Pan-European focus, supporting brands and funds both pre and post deal. She is also passionate about supporting Founder owned and primary investments as they navigate the world of private capital, and as such leads our Founder coverage. She previously spent three years working for an executive search and advisory firm specialising in private equity, having started her career in Investment Management. Kate graduated in 2011 with a Masters in English Literature from Balliol College, Oxford.

Outside of work, Kate's dedication to expanding her consumer knowledge across all subsectors knows no bounds, much to the detriment of her bank balance.

Jamie joined the Consumer Practice in 2021 after working for a boutique headhunting firm specialising in senior management and C-Suite roles in the hospitality sector across the EMEA, GCC and USA. After completing a degree in Business and International Hospitality Management at Oxford Brookes University in 2014, Jamie spent five years working with a number of leading hospitality and lifestyle brands in London before pivoting to the world of Executive Search.

Zoe joined Drax in 2021 to support the delivery of assignments across the Retail and broader Consumer sector. Starting her career in HR, Zoe holds ten years of focused delivery management experience of talent acquisition, senior executive and C-suite hiring, providing market research and data insight solutions for publicly listed, founder led, and PE backed companies, based in both the UK and EMEA. She brings experience of leading delivery and research teams in both a leading global organisational consultancy and consumer boutiques, executing senior appointments within the Global Consumer, Retail & Lifestyle Industry across several functional disciplines.

In her spare time, Zoe can usually be found being creative, whether this be through teaching floristry or her love of crafting.

Max joined DRAX in 2021 to support the delivery of assignments across the Consumer Practice and has now developed expertise within marketplace & online businesses. He has previous experience working within executive search at a global boutique search firm working across various practices before specialising in sports, media and entertainment. Max has a track record delivering c-suite and board level mandates across Europe, USA and Asia.

Outside of work, Max is a keen sportsman and can be found in the summer months attempting to captain the Steak and Kidney Pudding Cricket Club. He also likes to go and watch his beloved rugby team Gloucester, although recent performances have been tough to watch.

Demi recently joined the Consumer Practice as an Operations Executive in April 2022, after working within the NHS for several years. During this time, most of her workload involved Operations, Procedure Improvements, Training and Data Analytics. Prior to this Demi studied Sociology and Social Sciences at Christ Church University.​

Alongside her experience within the public sector, she also lived and worked in Sydney back in 2018 as part of a working holiday visa, where she joined a Recruitment Company for 6 months.​

Outside of work, Demi loves socialising with friends, finding new board games to add to the ever-growing collection, and a more recent addition, discovering hidden independent coffee shops!

Royona joined DRAX Executive as part of the company's Graduate Scheme in September 2022 after graduating with a Modern Languages Degree (French & Spanish with a Year Abroad) from King's College London in 2021. She spent the past year as a French and Spanish tutor and volunteered remotely as a Spanish Translator & Proofreader at a Peruvian NGO that addresses the educational needs of children and vulnerable adults in an extremely impoverished area of Northern Peru. She is currently working in the Consumer practice before moving onto Leadership Dynamics.

Outside of work, Royona enjoys cooking, travelling, and dance.

Harriet joined Drax in 2021 and is a Director within the consumer practice. Previously, she led the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors as well as supporting the broader consumer Partners’ on delivery at a global boutique search firm. During her career, Harriet has developed an extensive network across the consumer industries and a strong track record in placing senior executives into both listed and private equity backed businesses on a global scale, with recent focuses on Asia and the US. Harriet also heads up DRAX's approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Harriet graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Politics.

In her spare time Harriet spends as much time as she can skiing in the Swiss Alps, and outside the season can frequently be found spectating sporting events, particularly horse racing and rugby.

Sebastian joined Drax in 2014 as a researcher and supported the delivery of assignments for high growth businesses and those backed by private equity across a number of sectors. More recently he has supported the development of the consumer practice with board level appointments spearheading Drax’s engagement across both F&B businesses and those in Travel, Leisure and Hospitality, something that he is personally passionate about. Sebastian graduated from the University of Bristol in 2014, having read history.

Outside of work, and other than travelling, Sebastian is passionate about skiing, the gym, is an avid watcher of all sports and enjoys live music and gigs.

Lucy joined Drax’s CFO practice in 2021, after spending two years at a specialist recruitment company, where she focused on CFOs in Private Equity, both mid- and large-cap, across all sectors. Prior to this, Lucy graduated with a First-Class degree from Leeds University and a Master's degree in Gender and Politics from UCL. in 2023 Lucy moved to DRAX Consumer team to focus on CFO placements within Consumer.

Outside of work, Lucy is a self proclaimed restaurant connoisseur and enjoys doing a variety of gym classes from Boxing to Barre.

Ruby leads on searches within PE backed and high growth Technology & Tech-Enabled businesses. Recently Ruby has undertaken multiple searches on behalf of our clients to maximise the opportunity that digitisation presents to their businesses across a variety of different sectors from both the B2B and B2C environments. Ruby leads on diversity within leadership across the company and has been both an early adopter and instrumental in introducing Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In initiative to the UK.

Patrick is a Partner within the Technology & Tech-Enabled practice. He joined Drax in 2017 and has delivered assignments across a variety of private equity-backed organisations, encompassing pre and post-deal mandates. This has involved supporting a breadth of leadership teams and value creation strategies. Geographically, Patrick has worked across the Nordics, DACH and Benelux regions as well as with UK businesses. Previously, Patrick spent some time living in Zambia supporting social enterprises.

Outside of work, most sports appeal albeit his ability doesn't match his enthusiasm.

Bertie has been with Drax Executive in the Technology and Technology-enabled Practice since 2021. Her main focus is working with PE-backed businesses experiencing significant growth across both UK and European markets. Before joining Drax, Bertie worked in recruitment consulting for close to 4 years, specializing in financial and technology-related client profiles. Prior to this, her first role was within the office of the Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Bertie holds a BA in Archaeology from the University of Newcastle. She is a qualified ski instructor, and in her spare time enjoys exploring new terrain on horseback whilst trying to keep relatively fit!

Joining in 2019, George is an Associate Director within the Technology & Tech-Enabled Practice. He has successfully delivered assignments for a number of private equity and venture capital backed businesses across a number of technology related sub-sectors including: Software, IT Services, IoT & Telecommunications. He has also successfully supported a variety of businesses develop their executive leadership teams across both the UK & US markets. Prior to joining Drax, George spent a year living and working in Melbourne, Australia.

Outside of work George likes to play as many sports as time allows, and is a religious follower of the NFL and F1. He considers himself a coffee connoisseur and so is constantly on the hunt for the best local café.

Connor joined DRAX in 2023 as an Associate Director. Before joining Drax, Connor worked with a leading Governance, Private Practice, and In-House Recruitment Agency for seven years. Connor provided searches in Corporate Governance, his focus was on the UK plc market.

Connor is excellent at building relationships with candidates and clients; he takes the time to understand requirements and deliver. Outside of work, Connor is a keen golfer and regularly represents his home club across Middlesex. Whenever Connor isn’t golfing he’s sampling the culinary delights that London has to offer. 

Alex joined Drax in 2020 as is currently a Consultant for Leadership Dynamics, Drax’s in-house data and analytics team. Alex is currently supporting the Technology & Tech-Enabled practice with leadership analysis and insights through harnessing the power of Leadership Dynamics’ product suite. His primary focus includes supporting PACE, our behavioural assessment tool designed especially for leaders in private equity, and Leadership Dynamics, our proprietary analytics tool.

Alex graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BA in History and Ancient History. Outside of work, Alex enjoys playing rugby, football, and lacrosse. While he spends most weeks watching West Ham.

Jack is a Partner in our Business Services Practice. He joined DRAX in 2009 as a Research Analyst with an early focus on the Private Equity space, and during his time in the business, Jack has worked with a wide range of private equity firms and portfolio companies to support with CFO appointments and senior finance hires. Jack leads on CFO mandates, both in the UK and Europe. From a sector perspective, Jack predominantly works with portfolio companies across business and support services, consumer services and manufacturing and industrials.

Jack spent his early life in the northwest close to the Lake District, then graduated from the University of Nottingham with a 2:1 Honours degree in Russian and Slavonic Studies.

Outside work, Jack is a keen runner, golfer, cricketer, and enjoys outdoor pursuits, reading and travelling when time permits.

Upon graduating with a History (BA) from Durham University, Josh began his career as a consultant within the FinTech space headhunting talent for quantitative trading firms, hedge funds and investment banks specifically across the EMEA and AMER regions. He now works as a Researcher sitting within the CFO Practice here at DRAX.

Outside of work Josh loves to watch and study world cinema as well as writing his own poetry and spending his weekends supporting his team Manchester United.

Mark leads Drax's CFO Practice, which is one of the market leading practices for Private Equity CFOs in the UK, and constitutes circa 30% of the firms recruitment fee revenue per annum. Mark has successfully delivered numerous CFO searches across a range of sectors for PE backed portfolio companies across Europe and is a trusted advisor to a number of Private Equity Houses. He is also responsible for building relationships within the CFO and broader community to support and coach their own personal career development.

Sandy is the CFO Practice’s Group Insights Manager. She joined DRAX’s CFO practice as a Team Administrator in September 2021 after graduating with Psychology degree from the University of St Andrews earlier that year. Before DRAX, Sandy worked part-time along her studies as a data assistant for a tech marketing company in the US.

Outside of work, Sandy is an avid tennis player and long-distance runner.

Sundas joined DRAX in 2022. Sundas prides herself in building a diverse strategic talent pool by utilising LCap Group’s Leadership Dynamics and PACE products. Before DRAX, Sundas spent 7 years delivering on a variety of global C-Suite searches based on thorough market mapping, perception analysis, employee value proposition, and succession planning in Financial Services, Consumer, TMT, Legal and Public Sector. Sundas graduated with a First in BSc Economics and Finance from the University of Brighton.

Outside of work, Sundas spends time with her son building Lego models, solving word puzzles, and enjoys spinning classes.

Alex joined Drax as a Researcher in 2015 and has supported the development of our Financial Services & Professional Services practice from its earliest stages. He has successfully delivered pre & post deal assignments for high growth PE backed businesses across various sub-sectors including; Insurance, Asset & Wealth management, Lending & Specialty Finance, Fintech, Trust Corporate Services & Fund Admin, Consulting, Accountancy, Legal Services and broader professional services.

When not working Alex can be found out on or by the water, he is an avid sailor & has competed at various European & World Championships.

Andrew joined Drax in May 2021 having spent 15 years in Search working across Financial Services, in particular with challenger and new entrant banks, specialist lenders, consumer finance, FinTech's, payments and servicers for Public and Private Equity clients. Andrew has appointed at Exec and Non-Executive Board and Senior Management across a wide range of functions. Andrew brings his experience of financial services to help strengthen our existing relationships and continue the growth of the Financial Services team. Andrew holds a BENG in Civil Engineeering from the Univeristy of Aberdeen.

Outside of work Andrew is Dad to William and Charlotte and enjoys coaching William's U15 rugby team and watching Charlotte on the hockey pitch.

Chris joined Drax in 2021 to help grow the Financial and Professional Services practice, with a particular focus on private equity and high growth tech-enabled businesses in the sector. After a number of entrepreneurial ventures, he spent 10 years working in executive search as a strategic advisor to public and private market fund management businesses, globally. Prior to joining Drax, he spent 2.5 years launching and growing startups in UK and California to first event, adding an insightful perspective to our practice. Chris hold a BA in History of Art from UEA and University of Sydney, a post-graduate diploma in M&A and Private Equity Valuation.

Outside of work, Chris enjoys picking up after his 2 small children and time on the golf course.

Emilia joined DRAX in 2015 as a researcher & has successfully delivered assignments across a variety of private equity backed organisations. Since 2018, Emilia has focused on Financial and Professional Services assignments both pre & post deal, across insurance, fintech, consulting and legal services. Emilia holds a BA in Classics from the University of Nottingham.

In her free time, Emilia enjoys watching and playing sport, and seeing friends and family. When possible, she likes to spend time in the mountains (both winter and summer), Pilates and trying out new restaurants.

Mete joined DRAX Executive as part of the company's Graduate Scheme in 2022 after completing a degree and a master's in law at the University of Exeter. He has since become the dedicated Leadership Dynamics consultant for the Financial Services practice, harnessing the power of our product suite in order to provide powerful insights to drive the leadership advisory process.

Outside of work, Mete enjoys visiting family in Turkey, as well as being an avid football and basketball fan.

Euan joined Drax in 2018 from another search firm where he spent the previous six years working exclusively with private equity funds. He’s been in the recruitment market since 2010. He is a Partner focussing on the Financial Services & Professional Services markets, originating, and executing searches across Board and C-suite. Euan supports management teams and their private equity sponsors achieve their growth aspirations through impactful leadership change and analysis.

Euan graduated from Loughborough University in 2007. His young family keeps him occupied when not in the office, but he also enjoys most sports, more watching than playing now unfortunately.

Talia joined Drax's Financial Services team as a Consultant to support the delivery of assignments for a range of Private Equity backed firms. She began her career placing strategy consultants into large corporates and Private Equity at a boutique executive search firm, and prior to this graduated with a Psychology and Art History degree from the University of St Andrews. With an international background across Europe, Australia, and Asia, Talia enjoys opportunities to travel and work globally.

Mathew is the Managing Director responsible for our Financial Services & Professional Services practice. Mat joined Drax as a graduate in January 2009 and progressed through various roles before setting up the Financial Services practice in 2015. He has extensive experience in supporting investors and boards in building high performing leadership teams across a variety of sectors including Wealth Management, Insurance, FinTech, Payments, Specialty Finance, Trust Corporate Services & Fund Admin, Consulting, Accountancy, Legal Services and broader professional services. Mat graduated with a degree in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds in 2007.

Outside of work, Mat is married to a secondary school teacher, has two young daughters and is an avid Leeds United supporter. In his younger years, he was an average goalkeeper and a better poker player; having been ranked in the UK Top 20 and twice playing at the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.

Brenda joins DRAX as Marketing Executive, supporting the Marketing Director on various marketing initiatives across the business, including campaign planning, content creation, event planning, and social media & website management.

Brenda graduated from the University of Aston with an LLB in Law, and in her spare time enjoys painting, visiting art exhibitions and socialising with friends and family.

Nancy joined Drax in 2022 to support the development of the Deal Advisory practice.

She previously worked at a large global expert network, where her main responsibilities were negotiating global contracts, developing and delivering account plans/strategy, and increasing engagement with her client base. Nancy has a long history in client facing roles, across asset managers and other financial services companies and served clients within the investment community such as Private Equity funds, investment banks, Pension funds and hedge funds for over 15 years.

Originally from Brazil, she is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.

Benedict joined Drax in 2021 to support the development of the Deal Advisory practice. He previously spent three years working with Bain & Company, a global management consultancy, where he helped to launch a new service proposition (the Bain Advisor Network) to support clients by aligning External Advisors to support on projects – in particular, large cap private equity clients seeking External Advisor support on deal processes during commercial due diligence. Earlier in his career, Benedict worked for a private equity focused executive search and advisory firm.

Upon finishing her Undergraduate degree at Durham University, Maddy attended Oxford University to complete a Master of Science in Latin American Studies. Following this, she began her career in executive search, supporting private equity clients at a large global expert network. Maddy joined Drax in 2022, where she works to drive impact and identify transaction opportunities within the Deal Advisory team.  

Maddy speaks French and Spanish fluently, and is passionate about Latin American politics and history.  Outside of work, she enjoys singing and performs frequently with renowned national choirs. You might also find her on stage in a London venue performing with a live band.

James is responsible for DRAX’s engagement with Private Equity and proposition development. Having led the focus within Private Equity for over a decade, James has led and supported a number of significant Private Equity transactions from early stage high growth through to large cap businesses by bringing alongside the executive teams of Chair, CEO and CFO throughout Europe and the US. His experience and knowledge within Private Equity and associated advisors is extensive.

John joined Drax in 2020 and is currently an Associate Director for Leadership Dynamics. By harnessing the power of the Leadership Dynamics product suite, he provides powerful insights for private equity houses and portfolio businesses pre-and-post deal to help enable them to create and crystallise maximal value. He is heavily focused on supporting investors and portfolio businesses with off-market deal origination, which is powered by LCap's proprietary Transaction Propensity algorithm. He was previously a Consultant at a private equity focused executive search business. John has a First Class BA and MA in Political Science from the University of Birmingham and won multiple MA scholarships following his award-winning undergraduate dissertation.

Outside of work, John enjoys making music, going to the gym, and watching Aston Villa.

William is focused on the broad industrials sector, with a particular focus on working on pan-European assignments. His particular focus is pre-deal and board searches. He joined Drax after spending three years with Skillcapital where he worked on a wide variety of search assignments for private equity-backed businesses within the European industrial and services sector. Previously, William was an investment banker for 16 years, including ten years based in Paris. He worked for global banks Citigroup, BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Canada, where he advised both corporate and private equity clients on numerous M&A transactions and capital raisings.

David leads searches in private equity & debt funds across EMEA and the US and is responsible for delivering searches in high growth & large cap businesses. He is also a member of the Drax Board focused on the client experience and developing our capabilities. David delivers Chair, Non Executive and CEO appointments and recently undertook a global search across health services that captured a short list of candidates from three continents.

Outside of work, David has a passion for sports, in particular golf and rugby. David also enjoys spending time with his family

Ella joined DRAX in 2022 after moving to the UK from Vancouver, Canada. After working in client service, marketing and account management in the travel and hospitality sector, Ella pivoted into executive search with a particular focus on the Healthcare & Education sector.

She is passionate about the study of human development and holds a degree (B.A.) in Human Geography and Diploma of Marketing Management

Adam joined Drax in 2021 to grow our coverage within infrastructure, real estate and sustainable technology markets. He recently spent three years at a high-growth search and leadership advisory firm, where he founded and grew their Cities Practice. Over the years, Adam has developed an extensive track record across a range of market themes and asset classes, which has primarily involved advising investors, private equity firms, government bodies and listed companies on Chair, Non-Executive Director and C-suite appointments.

Elliott joined Drax’s Business Services practice, to focus on leading the research and delivery of projects associated with the Healthcare and Life Sciences markets. Prior to Drax, Elliott came from a background working in contingent recruitment with his specialism focusing on building scientific teams of start-up and seed funded pharmaceutical, medical diagnostics and healthcare companies. In addition, he has assisted on a select number of mandates for senior positions of venture capital backed biotechnology companies.

Toby joins Drax with nearly 20 years of experience spent in both recruitment and business consulting solutions, delivering to clients across the investment banking and wider financial services industries.  During this time, he specialised in senior technology and change management hires, working across front-office trading environments and responding to impactful regulatory mandates.

Toby is now part of the Business Services division within Drax and will continue to drive activity across our established portfolio of clients in this space.  A keen sportsman who enjoys golf and football predominantly, he lives in South London with his young family. 

Nancy joined DRAX as a Consultant within the Business Services Practice, where she supports in a research and project execution capacity. Prior to DRAX, Nancy worked in the Expert Network Industry. She has a Bachelors in Modern Foreign Languages and a Masters in Translation Studies. She has also studied and worked in both France and Spain.

Outside of work, Nancy enjoys travelling, skiing and playing netball.

After deciding that using his Masters Degree was significantly overrated, Kit made the transition into executive search. Since then, Kit has successfully delivered multiple assignments across a range of sectors within private equity and listed environments. Upon joining Drax in 2016, Kit has helped to develop Drax's focus on Board level appointments and now leads our Healthcare & Education Practice, working across health & social care, NHS outsourcing & insourcing, pharma services, life sciences, clinical & consumer healthcare, private school groups, children's nurseries, and learning & training providers.

Outside of work Kit can be found following Sheffield United home and away, however these days he is more likely to be spending time with his young family instead.

Walker joined Drax in 2022, joining the Business Services division. He spent the previous 12 years in Technology & Transformation recruitment, operating in both the UK delivering across EMEA as well as in APAC. He has worked within large scale and boutique consultancies delivering highly specialised search capabilities to clients across all sectors.

Originally a Law Graduate from the University of Edinburgh, Walker moved into the IT recruitment space and leveraged this to support his love of travel worldwide (and following Scotland rugby on the always stressful journey to international stadia)

Kieran joined Drax in 2023 as part of the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, where he focuses on CFO and Corporate Development hires. He has 4 years of Recruitment experience and a vast network of contacts throughout Life Sciences and Healthcare across Europe. Prior to his recruitment experience, he studied Politics & Economics at Reading University. Outside of work Kieran enjoys boxing and supporting Liverpool FC.

Susannah is a Learning and Development Executive for the LCap Group. She is a key member of the People function, embedding the learning and development agenda across the house of brands. Working with key stakeholders, Susannah is responsible for supporting our colleagues onboarding and continuous development to ensure all teams are empowered with relevant skills and training to optimise performance and career aspirations.

Susannah is also responsible for implementing a thorough internal upskilling agenda across the LCap Group and supports the embedding of Leadership Dynamics working practices. Susannah delivers powerful PACE and Leadership Dynamics training sessions to all internal teams to ensure expertise when delivering our products and platforms to private equity houses and portfolio businesses pre and post-deal. 

Susannah read Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London and enjoyed being President of Royal Holloway Netball Club during her time at university.

Rana is a full-stack marketer with over ten years of expertise in digital marketing, social media, and brand management.

Rana has a diverse range of creative abilities and expertise in all aspects of digital marketing, including strategising and executing new approaches to increase traffic and positively promote brands. Advertising, product development, and innovation are all things that Rana is passionate about.

DRAX Executive's Chief Executive, Mark Sherman, has been with the company for over a decade. Mark has played a key role in developing the firm's track record and growth in the consumer market, building a highly talented team and an excellent track record and reputation across the private capital market. He has also been involved in supporting the development of the broader LCAP proposition, successfully leveraging our full capability to deliver impactful leadership solutions to clients.

Today, Mark leads the DRAX brand with a new company vision and culture to support the next phase of growth. This will be focused on putting our colleagues, candidates, and clients’ experience at the heart of the business and ensuring that we are supporting the development, learning and progression of our colleagues whilst building out a more structured, systematic approach to leveraging central functions to support our ongoing growth.

Mark is an invaluable asset to the DRAX brand, and his leadership will help to establish the company as a trusted leadership advisor for our clients and as a great place for individuals who want to develop their careers.