15 Executive Search Partners to Know Around the World

Executive search partners help boards, chief executives and leadership teams think through senior appointments, succession and the shape of the team that comes next. This directory brings together 15 current search partners and consultants from major international firms.

The scope is global and cross-border. The people below work across CEO and board succession, technology, finance, healthcare, consumer markets, energy, insurance, investment management and professional services.

If you are choosing a search partner, use this page as a starting point for better questions. Look for the right sector knowledge, the right geography, the right level of board access and the right understanding of the leadership problem you are trying to solve.

Executive search matters because senior appointments change more than a job title. They influence succession, decision quality, culture and the organisation’s ability to handle its next stage of work.

A useful search partner helps a board or leadership team describe the real challenge before it starts comparing candidates. The best fit depends on the sector, geography, function and leadership transition in front of the client.

Executive search partners to know

1. Scott Atkinson

Senior Client Partner, Global CEO & Board, Technology & Sustainability, Korn Ferry

Scott Atkinson is Senior Client Partner, Global CEO & Board, Technology & Sustainability at Korn Ferry. San Francisco, North America is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Scott is a Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry’s CEO and Board and Financial Officers Practices, where he specialises in finding and developing transformational leaders and managing succession planning for high-impact clients. Prior to Korn Ferry, he held firm-wide leadership roles at Heidrick & Struggles, including Managing Partner of its Global Sustainability Practice and Global Venture Capital Practice.

2. Andy Cannon

Senior Client Partner, Global Insurance Practice, Korn Ferry

Andy Cannon is Senior Client Partner, Global Insurance Practice at Korn Ferry. London, EMEA is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Andy is a Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry’s London office and a member of its Global Insurance Practice. He leads the UK Insurance and InsurTech practice and works on executive search, leadership advisory, assessment and succession assignments across the UK, EMEA and international offices.

3. Isabelle Claus

Consultant, Executive Search and Leadership Advisory, Egon Zehnder

Isabelle Claus is Consultant, Executive Search and Leadership Advisory at Egon Zehnder. Brussels, EMEA is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Isabelle Claus is active in Egon Zehnder’s Industrial, Technology and Health practices and advises clients on executive and board search, management appraisals and leadership consulting. Before joining Egon Zehnder, she was a consultant and recruiting manager at McKinsey and a research fellow at the University of Chicago.

4. Jonathan Edwards

Consultant, Technology and AI Practice, Egon Zehnder

Jonathan Edwards is Consultant, Technology and AI Practice at Egon Zehnder. Boston, North America is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Jonathan Edwards is a consultant in Egon Zehnder’s Technology and AI Practice Group. Before rejoining the firm, he led executive and leadership recruitment at Red Hat, created and led an executive search practice at Wilson HCG and served as a partner at True Search.

5. John Kelly

Consultant, Human Resources, Technology and Digital Officer, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Spencer Stuart

John Kelly is Consultant, Human Resources, Technology and Digital Officer, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications at Spencer Stuart. Dublin, Ireland is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

John Kelly is a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Human Resources, Technology and Digital Officer, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications practices. He joined Spencer Stuart after its 2019 acquisition of MERC Partners and also helped found and build Index Partners, MERC Partners’ interim executive business.

6. Kieran Duff

Consultant, Executive Search and Leadership Advisory, Spencer Stuart

Kieran Duff is Consultant, Executive Search and Leadership Advisory at Spencer Stuart. Dublin, Ireland is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Kieran Duff is a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Dublin office, working across executive search and leadership advisory assignments. He joined the MERC Partners team as a partner in 2008 before its acquisition by Spencer Stuart in 2019, and he leads CEO searches and leadership succession projects.

7. Limore Zilberman

Global Industry Leader, Board and CEO Advisory and Risk Management, Russell Reynolds Associates

Limore Zilberman is Global Industry Leader, Board and CEO Advisory and Risk Management at Russell Reynolds Associates. Chicago, North America is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Limore Zilberman sits on Russell Reynolds Associates’ Senior Leadership Team as Global Industry Leader and leads work in Board and CEO Advisory and Risk Management. Before joining the firm, she worked in public affairs and in capital markets at Citadel and Goldman Sachs.

8. Justin Cerilli

Head of the Americas, Board and CEO and Technology Advisory, Russell Reynolds Associates

Justin Cerilli is Head of the Americas, Board and CEO and Technology Advisory at Russell Reynolds Associates. New York, North America is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Justin Cerilli is Head of the Americas business at Russell Reynolds Associates and focuses on CEO, board, technology, operations, digital and data leaders. He previously held several leadership positions at the firm, including Area Manager for New York and Stamford, Area Manager for Boston and membership of its Global Executive Committee.

9. Richard Ker

Partner, Financial Services Practice, Heidrick & Struggles

Richard Ker is Partner, Financial Services Practice at Heidrick & Struggles. London, EMEA is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Richard Ker is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office and a member of its Financial Services Practice in the UK. He works with investment, wealth, private banking and asset owner clients on board and senior management positions, including international assignments.

10. Suresh Raina

Partner, Industrial and CEO and Board of Directors Practices, Heidrick & Struggles

Suresh Raina is Partner, Industrial and CEO and Board of Directors Practices at Heidrick & Struggles. Mumbai, Asia is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Suresh Raina is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Mumbai office and a member of the global Industrial and CEO and Board of Directors practices. He brings more than two decades of corporate experience followed by more than 15 years in executive search and leadership advisory.

11. Rickard Ericson

Managing Partner, Boyden Sweden, Boyden

Rickard Ericson is Managing Partner, Boyden Sweden at Boyden. Sweden is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Boyden describes Rickard Ericson as Managing Partner at Boyden Sweden and highlights his work in strategic recruitment. His experience includes executive and senior manager searches in financial, consumer and manufacturing sectors, including cross-border searches and interim engagements.

12. Nick Robeson

Managing Partner, United Kingdom, Boyden

Nick Robeson is Managing Partner, United Kingdom at Boyden. United Kingdom is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Boyden identifies Nick Robeson as Managing Partner, United Kingdom. Its profile describes a 20-year track record in executive search, businesses built in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and work advising C-suite executives and recruiting executives, board members and interim executives.

13. Michael Al-Nassir

Equity Partner, Head of Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, Head of Private Equity Practice APMEA, Pedersen and Partners

Michael Al-Nassir is Equity Partner, Head of Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, Head of Private Equity Practice APMEA at Pedersen and Partners. Africa and Middle East is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

The Nairobi office of Pedersen & Partners lists Michael Al-Nassir as Equity Partner, Head of Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, and Head of Private Equity Practice APMEA. The office describes its executive search team as serving Kenya and the wider sub-Saharan African region with global resources.

14. Amina Tukur-Tarfa

Client Partner, Pedersen and Partners

Amina Tukur-Tarfa is Client Partner at Pedersen and Partners. Lagos, Africa is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

The Lagos office of Pedersen & Partners lists Amina Tukur-Tarfa as Client Partner. The office describes its local, regional and international executive search work in Africa.

15. Jeff Marsh

Partner and Head of Service Delivery, Odgers Interim and Professional Search, Odgers Berndtson

Jeff Marsh is Partner and Head of Service Delivery, Odgers Interim and Professional Search at Odgers Berndtson. Canada is the location or market named in the firm’s public profile.

Odgers Berndtson Canada’s Professional Search page lists Jeff Marsh as Partner and Head of Service Delivery. The service line supports director-level and above appointments, and the company’s launch material identifies Jeff in the same current role.

What these profiles show us

These profiles show that executive search is a wide professional craft. The work can sit close to boards and CEO succession, inside a particular industry, or at the intersection of talent, strategy and transformation.

The common thread is fit. A partner who understands the role, market, stakeholders and change can ask better questions before the organisation commits to a search process.

The appointment is one moment in a longer leadership journey. Boards and executives also need a clear picture of what success looks like and what support will help the change hold.

How to use this list

Start with the leadership problem, not the supplier list. Write down what the role must achieve in its first year, what has made similar appointments difficult and which stakeholders need confidence in the process.

Then compare partners by the work they actually do. Ask about the relevant practice, the partner’s personal involvement, the markets they know and how they will test the role brief.

Finally, agree how the relationship will work after the appointment. A good search process should leave the organisation with more clarity about leadership, not simply a name on a contract.

Conclusion

Executive search is at its best when it helps an organisation make a clearer leadership decision. The right partner brings more than access to names. They bring questions that sharpen the brief and judgement about what the role really requires.

Use this directory to notice the different lenses available across global firms, then narrow your search to the people whose experience matches your sector, geography and leadership challenge. Your next step is simple: write a one-page success profile for the role before you contact a search partner.

Related Reading

Read more about leadership teams, healthcare leadership consulting and the Working Genius facilitator guide.

A practical leadership conversation

If your organisation is working through a leadership transition, team reset or executive offsite, I can help turn the conversation into practical next steps. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

About the Author

Jonno White helps leaders turn leadership conversations into practical next steps. To enquire about a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.