Blackwood

Martina Ashley
020 7220 0277

Martina leads the asset management practice and also works on hedge fund assignments. Before Blackwood she worked at Goldman Sachs in the Equities Division. She read Politics and Philosophy at Bristol University.

Annie Doherty
020 7220 0263

Annie works on assignments in the asset management and hedge fund practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Saxton Bampfylde Hever working across all practice areas. She read Sociology with Law at Durham University.

Lauren Bridgman
020 7220 0261

Lauren works on assignments across all practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked as a Research Assistant to a Member of Parliament for two years. She read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oriel College, Oxford.

Harry Chetwood
020 7220 0289

Harry leads the hedge fund practice and also works on asset management assignments. Before Blackwood he worked at Richmond & Co. Prior to this he worked at Smith & Williamson Investment Management. He read Theology and Anthropology at Durham University.

Joanne Clayton
020 7220 0297

Joanne works on assignments in the investment banking and private equity practices. Before Blackwood she worked at research and recruitment consultancy FreshMinds. She read Modern History at St. Andrews University and then spent a year studying History and Political Science in the US.

Susie Cummings
020 7220 0257

Susie founded the firm in 1999 and now leads the board practice.  She has worked in search since 1984 and has conducted searches in most geographies at all levels in both the financial services and corporate sectors.

Ariana Issa
020 7220 0262

Ariana works on assignments in the investment banking and private equity practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Oxbridge Group on graduate recruitment campaigns. She read Oriental Studies at Balliol College, Oxford and spent a year studying Mandarin at Peking University, China.

Genevieve Dunne
020 7220 0291

Genevieve is Blackwood’s Office Manager. Before Blackwood she worked at Nortel Networks.

Deborah Felix
020 7220 0286

Deborah works on assignments in the real estate, investment banking, and private equity practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Russell Reynolds Associates. Prior to that she was a strategy consultant at Mercer Management Consulting. She read Land Economy and Management Studies at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Will House
020 7220 0299

Will leads the consumer and industrials practices. Before Blackwood he worked at Long Reach, a sports finance and risk management consultancy. Prior to that, he spent four years as a professional cricketer for Kent and Sussex. He read History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Hector Macandrew
020 7220 0284

Hector focuses principally on the energy, mining and utilities practices. Before Blackwood he was at Skillcapital working on board level assignments for private equity backed businesses across all sectors. Before his career in search, he was Artists’ Manager of Scottish Opera for five years. He read Music at York.

Eleanor Major
020 7220 0258

Eleanor works on assignments in the healthcare, industrials and business services practices. Before Blackwood she worked in research and editorial at Debrett’s. Prior to that she taught scholarship classes at a Worcestershire prep school. She read Theology at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Richard Marshall
020 7220 0260

Richard works on assignments in the investment banking and private equity practices. Before Blackwood he worked at Astbury Marsden focusing on the TMT sector, placing strategy consultants into FTSE 100 corporate strategy functions. He read Geography with International Relations at Plymouth University.

Helen Metcalfe
020 7220 0290

Helen leads the retail and consumer practice. Before Blackwood she worked at TMP/Highland Partners and at Whitehead Mann. Prior to that she was a Commercial Manager with Marks and Spencer for five years. She read Modern and Medieval Languages at New Hall, Cambridge.

Amanda Smithson
020 7220 0273

Amanda co-leads the investment banking and private equity practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Morgan Stanley for thirteen years. She spent ten years in Mergers & Acquisitions in London and New York before becoming COO of the Investment Banking Division. She read English and then Law at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Emily Taylor
020 7220 0275

Emily co-leads the investment banking and private equity practices. She also works more broadly in retail financial services and insurance. Before Blackwood she worked at the Rose Partnership. She read Classics at Bristol University.

Georgina Vaughan
020 7220 0296

Georgina works on assignments in the industrial and business services practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Goldman Sachs in the Private Wealth Management Division focusing on UK clients. She also spent some time working with the Investment Strategy Group. She read History at Edinburgh University.

Simon Vickers
020 7220 0283

Simon works on assignments in the industrial and business services practices. Before Blackwood he worked in the litigation department of a leading British utility firm. He read Modern History and Economics at Jesus College, Oxford.

Terry Wells
020 7220 0287

Terry is Blackwood’s Chief Technology Officer. Before Blackwood he worked at BAE Systems, ABN Amro and Lloyds Treasury as an independent consultant.

Lisa Wilkinson
020 7220 0278

Lisa is Blackwood’s Chief Operating Officer and manages the Finance, Administration and IT Group. Before Blackwood she worked at Deutsche Bank. She has a Bachelor of Commerce - Business Finance and Economics from the University of Natal, South Africa.

John Pearson
020 7220 0259

John works in the IT team. Before Blackwood he worked for AON Risk Services and then IPS Totalstaffing. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Comparative Religion from Manchester University.

Kelly Harrison
020 7220 0282

Kelly is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Asset Management\Hedge Fund team. Before Blackwood she worked at Investec Private Bank. She has a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) - Industrial Psychology from Rhodes University, South Africa.

Suzie Grant
020 7220 0257

Suzie is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Board team. Before Blackwood she worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and as an academic research assistant at Liverpool University. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Politics from Liverpool University.

Sarah Taylor
020 7220 0293

Sarah works on assignments across all practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked at Saxton Bampfylde within the Corporate Practice. She read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Wadham College, Oxford.

Mutsa Mutiti
020 7220 0294

Mutsa is Blackwood’s Financial Controller. Before Blackwood she worked in Finance and Capital Projects at London South Bank University. Prior to that she spent five years at Space Craft Architects. She is an affiliate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting from Solusi University, Zimbabwe.

Sabina Ansar
020 7220 0295

Sabina works on assignments in the legal and strategy practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked as a Solicitor at Clifford Chance in the Private Equity group. She read Law at the College of Law and Psychology and Criminal Justice in the US.

Sarah Fox
020 7220 0274

Sarah is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Consumer/TMT team. Before Blackwood she worked at a property search company. She has a Bachelor of Arts - American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham with a year studying at University of California, Berkeley.

Chris Unwin
020 7220 0280

Chris works on assignments in the CFO practice. Before Blackwood he worked at a Planning Consultancy firm. He read French and German at Keble College, Oxford.

Shaneen Makhani
020 7220 0251

Shaneen works on assignments across all practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked for a disaster relief charity, focusing solely on their fundraising efforts. She read Politics and International Relations at Warwick University and then spent a year studying Economic Globalisation and Development at SOAS in London.

Tessa Cleghorn
020 7220 0285

Tessa is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Industrials team. She has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Agri-Business Management from Newcastle University.

Emma Zimmerman
020 7220 0264

Emma works on assignments in the investment banking, private equity and real estate practices. Before Blackwood she worked at Goldman Sachs in Equity Sales. She read History of Art with Architectural History at Edinburgh University with a year studying at the University of Hong Kong.

Tamara Dupree
020 7220 0292

Tamara works on assignments in the asset management and hedge fund practices. Before Blackwood she worked at a market research firm. She read Spanish and Portuguese at Bristol University.

Anastasia Belinskaya
020 7220 0284

Anastasia leads the industrials practice. Before Blackwood she worked at a global executive search boutique, focusing on private equity-backed industrial businesses. Prior to this she worked at UBS for 10 years in M&A in London and Moscow and as COO of the European Industrial Sector Investment Banking Team. She read Physics at St Petersburg Electrical Engineering University.

Anna Lewis
020 7220 0279

Anna is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Investment Banking and Private Equity team. Before Blackwood she worked at an estate agent in Mayfair after spending a year in Shanghai. She read Geography at St Andrews University.

Mattie Kayukwa
020 7220 0298

Mattie is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Consumer / TMT team. Before Blackwood she worked at English National Ballet. She read International Politics and Sociology at City University London.

Hannah Albrow
020 7220 0282

Hannah is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Asset Management team. Before Blackwood she worked as a polo groom in the UK, New Zealand and as the assistant to the Director of a polo club in Uruguay. She has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Equine Science from Writtle College.

Rosie Ruck Keene
020 7220 0274

Rosie works on assignments in the investment banking and private equity practices. Before Blackwood she worked at CTPartners in the Financial Services Team. She read English Literature and History of Art at Trinity College, Dublin.

Margareta Dale
020 7220 0256

Margareta works on assignments across all practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked at Goldman Sachs in the Fixed Income Division (Distressed Debt Sales and Sourcing). She studied Economics at Stockholm School of Economics.

Richard Ashton
020 7220 0252

Richard works on assignments in the board and CFO practices in both the public and private arenas. Before Blackwood he worked at Spencer Stuart. He is a qualified accountant spending six years with KPMG in Audit and M&A. He read Commerce and French at Birmingham University.

Will Terry
020 7220 0253

Will works on assignments in the asset management and hedge fund practices. Before Blackwood he worked at Wheat within the Equities Team. He read English Literature and Philosophy at Leeds University.

Andrew Banks
020 7220 0254

Andrew leads the technology practice. Before Blackwood he worked at a global search boutique specialising in high growth technology and technology-enabled businesses. He read Geography at Nottingham University.

Alan Stewart
020 7220 0255

Alan leads the CFO practice, working across all sectors, with a particular focus on Media, Retail and Oil & Gas. Before Blackwood he worked at Heidrick & Struggles and has 12 years industry experience. Prior to this he spent four years consulting in the Oil & Gas industry. He read Economics at Strathclyde University.

Holly Bennett
020 7220 0261

Holly works on assignments across all practice areas. Before Blackwood she worked at a business networking organisation running events across the North East/West. She read Geography at Bristol University.

Nicole Pearson
020 7220 0298

Nicole is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Consumer / TMT team. Before Blackwood she worked at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. She is currently reading Social Sciences at the Open University.

Ed Ashurst
020 7220 0293

Ed works on assignments across all practice areas. He read History at Nottingham University.

Fern Freeman
020 7220 0265

Fern works on assignments across all practice areas. She read English and History at Sussex University.

Carmen Cullen
020 7220 0291

Carmen is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Finance team. Before Blackwood, she worked at Speechly Bircham LLP. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Africa.

Jessie Hewson
020 7220 0268

Jessie works on assignments across all practice areas. She read History at Edinburgh University.

Nick Green
020 7220 0262

Nick works on assignments across all practice areas. He read French and Portuguese at St Peter’s College, Oxford.

Gerard Miles
020 7220 0269

Gerard works on assignments across all practice areas. He read Theology at St. Benet’s, Oxford and then spent two years studying Law at Nottingham Law School.

Elizabeth St. John
020 7220 0285

Elizabeth is an Administrator in Blackwood’s Finance, Administration and IT Group and works with the Industrials team. Before Blackwood she worked as Assistant Manager at a charity dedicated to the armed forces. Prior to that she worked at a commodities trading company. She has a Bachelor of Science - Political Science from Santa Clara University, California.