Executive Search in
Social Impact

Arabella Chichester

Global Senior Partner

As Global Senior Partner, Arabella is responsible for the long-term strategic development of Perrett Laver alongside the acceleration of its commercial growth.

Arabella has been at Perrett Laver for over twelve years and was Global Head of the Social Impact and Environment Practice for 8 years. Arabella scaled and diversified Perrett Laver’s Social Impact and Environment Practice to become one of the leading advisors on leadership recruitment in the sector.

Arabella’s experience at Perrett Laver includes senior Chair, Board and Chief Executive appointments across the Social Impact and Environment Sector. This includes working with INGOs, Foundations, domestic non-profits, the UN, research institutes, social enterprises and at the intersection of the social impact and private sector.

Arabella holds a MA (Hons) in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh and a PG Dip in Psychology at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Siobhan Doherty

Partner & Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, Americas

Siobhan is a Partner & Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, Americas.

Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board and Executive appointments in the Global Non-Profit Practice.

She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Shivani Smith

Partner & Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, UKAME

Shivani is Partner & Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, UKAME.

She has experience of senior charity roles including Director and Chief Executive positions for organisations across the UK. Previously she has worked with non-profits on projects covering qualitative research, brand, fundraising, leadership development and CSR. Her experience of the non-profit sector also includes voluntary roles within charities as a Chair and as a trustee.

Shivani has an MA Public Policy and Management, University of York and a BSc Sociology (Hons), London School of Economics and Political Science.

Damaris Matis

Partner & Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, Europe

Damaris is a Partner and Sector Lead, Social Impact & Environment, Europe. Damaris is based in Amsterdam, and since joining Perrett Laver in 2019, has supported hundreds of impactful organisations on their international senior executive and non-executive appointments.

Natasha Zoltie

Partner & Sector Lead, Environment & Sustainability

Natasha is a Partner & Sector Lead, Environment & Sustainability.

Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board and Executive appointments in the Social Impact and Environment Practice.

Natasha holds an MSc in International Relations from the University of Nottingham and has long volunteered for a global youth movement. She leads the practice’s work in the environment and sustainability sector and was recently seconded to Clean Air Fund, a start-up philanthropy, to support them on rapid growth.

Teresa Phiri

Senior Consultant & Regional Lead, Africa

Teresa is Regional Lead, Africa & Consultant for Social Impact and Environment & Sustainability sectors. Her previous work experience includes positions with Citigroup and working with social impact organisations including Acumen and WIT (an NGO with consultative status at the UN).

Teresa has lived and travelled throughout Africa, Europe, and Latin America where she has also volunteered with organisations like World Vision and UNHCR to support in-country programs. Her experience in global non-profits include C-suite and Director level positions for Plan International, Trócaire, World Vision International and she is currently working with Conservation International.

Teresa holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a BA in Liberal Arts and Economics from Sarah Lawrence College, New York.

Erik Jackson

Country Managing Partner, United States & Chair, Employee Ownership Trust

Erik is Managing Partner for Perrett Laver’s work in the US and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

His experience in senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive and other senior leadership appointments our Social Impact & Environment, Higher Education, and Research, Technology & Innovation sectors.

Erik holds BA in History from Menlo College in California, where he was class Valedictorian and an MSt in History from the University of Oxford. Before joining the firm, he held the position of Business Development Manager for the geopolitical consulting firm Oxford Analytica.

Dr Birgit Brandt

Regional Managing Partner, Asia Pacific

Birgit Brandt is Regional Managing Partner, Asia Pacific.

Her experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research, Schools and Global Non-Profit Practices with Asia-Pacific.

Birgit holds a PhD from the University of Warwick in Sociology and MAs in Race and Ethnic Studies and Political Science from Warwick and the Freie Universitat Berlin, respectively. Birgit began her career as a Research Fellow in Berlin moving to the University of Warwick to work in the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations and the Department of Politics and International Studies.

She moved on to join a novel research grants programme that sought to support partnerships between UK universities and charities and was appointed Head of Grants at the Royal Society and Director of Programmes at the British Academy.

She has travelled extensively, including six months in PRC learning Mandarin.

Bing Han

Country Managing Partner, China

Bing is a Partner at Perrett Laver and is now leading Perrett Laver’s new Hong Kong office, opened in January 2015.

His experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research within Asia-Pacific.

A native of Beijing, Bing was most recently Director for China Programmes at the Alliance for Global Education, where he led the design of all Alliance for Global Education academic programmes in China, developed and maintained institutional relationships with more than 200 universities in both the U.S. and China and oversaw the Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an centers of operations.

Bing has many years of experience at senior management in global higher education and prior to that has taught in China and in the US at Asian Studies Department at Vassar College and Williams College.

He has been central in building scholarly exchanges and joint programmes between US and Chinese Universities and brings a deep understanding of Mainland China and Hong Kong higher education and research sectors.

Bing Han earned a BA in Electrical Engineering in 1996, a BA in International Business in 1997, and an MA in Communications Technology in 2000 from the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Beijing Institute of Microwave Metrology & Measurement respectively.

Katharine Poundstone

Country Managing Partner, Hong Kong

Katharine is a Partner at Perrett Laver and co-lead of our Hong Kong operation.

Her experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research within Asia-Pacific.

Katharine has until recently been the Resident Director for the Alliance for Global Education in Beijing. A native of Kentucky, Katharine, has lived and worked in mainland China for many years, beginning with a study abroad experience in Beijing in 1992-93.

After graduating from Reed College (BA in Chinese Language & Literature; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) she spent a year in China as a Thomas J. Watson fellow and then completed her M.H.S. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2000 Katharine returned to China, where she has worked as epidemiologist on various public health projects, including projects focussing on AIDS/STD prevention and control, with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese government. She also received a fellowship from the Blakemore Foundation to study advanced Mandarin Chinese at Tsinghua University in 2008-09.

Michelle Scanlon

Country Managing Partner, Ireland

Michelle is a Managing Partner.

Michelle works in Perrett Laver’s Dublin office. She is a Partner, former Head of the Project Management team and has worked across a number of Perrett Laver’s global Offices including London, Chicago and Hong Kong. She works with organisations across our Global Higher Education, Sport, Social Impact and Health sectors.

Dr Nicole Shea

Country Managing Partner, Germany

Nicole is Managing Partner, Germany.

Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive, Senior Academic and Administrative appointments throughout Europe, within the Higher Education, Research, Technology and Innovation, Social Impact and Environment sectors.

Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Nicole was Executive Director of the Council for European Studies at Columbia University (CES) and the Executive Editor and Founder of the journal EuropeNow. She oversaw the renowned annual International Conference of Europeanists, the prestigious World Society Foundation Global Fellowships as well as the Mellon-Dissertation Completion Fellowships, among others, and supported 17 Research Networks, including those addressing the Environment, European Culture, Immigration and Social Movements.

She is the author of The Politics of Prostitution in ‘Berlin Alexanderplatz’ and the editor of The Many Voices of Europe: Mobility and Migration in Contemporary Europe. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Binghamton University.

Emma Stone

Country Managing Partner, United Arab Emirates

Emma Stone is a strategic and results orientated leader and trusted advisor with extensive governance, human resources, and organisational development experience in the higher education sector. Prior to joining Perrett Laver she was Director of OD and Institutional Effectiveness at Mohammad Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

Before commencing her international career she gained over 20 years experience at the University of Cambridge where she held the role of Director of Human Resources. Her career then led her to an international move joining the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), as Adviser to the Vice Chancellor and subsequently to MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi as Director of OD and Institutional Effectiveness working with the President to establish this new highly specialised graduate school.

Emma is accustomed to operating at board level, leading organizational change, and resolving complex employment relations issues. She specializes in the development and interpretation of policy, leadership of multidisciplinary teams and projects, provision of operational advice, recruitment, and resourcing, learning and development, and employee relations.

Emma hold a bachelors degree in Psychology, MA (Cantab) and is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Cora Hui

Associate Consultant, Americas

Cora is a Associate Consultant at Perrett Laver.

Her level of senior level executive search includes schools, academic and administrative appointments in higher education globally, and in the global non-profit sector.

Cora holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Toronto, MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, MA in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and PhD from City University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Cora worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at City University of Hong Kong where she led government funded projects, organized international academic conferences, and wrote a book on the Umbrella Movement.

Madeleine Loll

Associate Consultant, Americas

Madeleine in an Associate Consultant in the Social Impact and Environment & Sustainability sector.

Her experience in senior level executive search includes Chief Executive, Board and senior appointment internationally for non-profit organizations like Luminate, FMO, Plan International, and the Firelight Foundation.

She holds a Masters in Human Rights from University College London and a MA (Hons) in English Literature and History from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, she held a political and legal research role in the third sector.

She is based in New York City.

Maria Rivas-Rivero

Consultant, Americas

Maria is a Consultant at Perrett Laver.

She has a diverse educational background, including a BA in International Studies from UCV in Venezuela, an MBA from EADA Business School in Spain, a Graduate Diploma in American Studies from Sciences Po Paris, and a MA in Geopolitics from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Prior joining Perrett Laver, Maria gained experience in Alumni Relations and Development at McGill University and served as Business Development and Marketing Manager for a major engineering firm in Canada.

Will Riggs

Consultant, Americas

Will has 4 years of executive search experience and is a Consultant within Perrett Laver’s Social Impact Practice, supporting the practice’s work across North America.

His search experience includes Board, Chief Executive and C-Suite appointments across a range of  nonprofit and private sector clients. Some notable clients include the Gates Foundation, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, FEED and The Claremont Colleges. Before joining Perrett Laver, Will held Consultant and Research roles with other global executive search firms, and led Customer Success for a SaaS startup in local grocery delivery.

Will is based in Asheville, North Carolina. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University.

Gary Tang

Consultant, Hong Kong & China

Gary is a Consultant in the Hong Kong office.

His executive search experience includes senior leadership appointments for universities, international schools, as well as arts and culture organizations in Hong Kong, Macao and Greater China. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Gary had an early career in higher education, secondary education and public affairs.

An expert on the international relations of East Asia and Eurasia, Gary has contributed articles to the World Economic Forum, South China Morning Post, Geopolitics, among others. He has a BA in history and political science from the Australian National University, a MA in Comparative and Public History from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.

Gary speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English and continues to improve his Russian.

Lucy Cooke

Associate Consultant, Europe

Camilla Henry

Consultant, Europe

Camilla is an Associate Consultant.

Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Camilla worked in the world of recruitment whilst working for some of the largest tech companies in the world from Google to TikTok within leadership hiring. Prior, to the world of recruitment, she was working in frontline healthcare. Her passion to work for impactful sectors drew her to Perrett Laver and she is truly inspired by our clients and candidates.

Camilla holds a BSc from Trinity College Dublin; General Nursing and I have a diploma in Psychology from Dublin Business School and is also learning Spanish B1 level.

Sarah Silbert

Consultant, Europe

Sarah is a Consultant in the European team working across a range of sectors including Global Higher Education, Research Leadership, Arts, Culture and Sport.

Sarah holds a BA in Linguistics from Macalester College and an MSc in Comparative Social Change from Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. Her academic interests include diversity and inclusion in sport and language education in schools. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Sarah worked as a English Language Teacher in the United States and Ireland.

Sarah speaks English and Japanese and is conversational in Spanish.

Kundai Mtasa

Associate Consultant, UKAME