Our people
The EM team works in partnership with Associates, Researchers and our Office Management function to ensure outstanding levels of service delivery for each assignment.
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.
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Carl Thompson - Finance Director
Carl is CFO, 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.
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.
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Jan Shaw – Partner
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.
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Chris Bradford - HR Partner
Chris Bradford: Most recently as HR Director of the British Olympic Association, Chris has built her career providing change management and business transformation solutions. Sector specializations have included TMT , professional services, oil and gas and leisure, in the UK and internationally. She held senior HR roles with Vodafone, where she led the change initiative post the Mannesmann GmbH acquisition, Mercury Interactive as HR Director and Parabis Law. She delivers pragmatic people solutions and provides strategic advice to EM Group. Her expertise includes:
- resourcing and assessment
- talent mapping, development and succession planning
- building organisational capability through effective restructuring and OD
- brand and employee engagement
- policy development and employment law advice
Chris holds the post-graduate diploma in Human Resources Management as well as a first class Honours degree, in English.
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Francesca Howell - Senior Associate
At EM Francesca leads on Contractor and Interim Assignments placing Digital and Technology specialists, their functions ranging from Project/Programme Management, Change Management/ Business Process Improvement and Strategy. She works with Project Managers, Directors and Management Consultants securing them positions across industry sectors from Global Leaders to SME’s within Media and Digital Agencies to Publishing, Technology, Financial Services and Retail. Her role builds on her recruiting history within Business Consulting where she delivered at Director level working with the Consulting arms of global organisations. Prior to her eight years consultant experience Francesca worked in industry herself within Public Relations for leading brands including The Body Shop International. She is a BA Graduate in Psychology.
