Meet the Experts
‘Calibre One: Meet The Experts‘ is a series that delves into the minds of our Partners at Calibre One. Join us as we talk with our industry leaders about their experiences, insights, and strategies in navigating the competitive landscape of executive search and placement.
Background:
I grew up on a farm at the bottom of New Zealand,a grounding start that taught me the value of hard work, community, and perseverance early on. I played and competed in sport my entire life, both as an individual and in teams. Before moving to the UK in 2012, after university, I spent time working in the mines and later as a property developer, experiences that shaped my appreciation for grit, resilience, and the people who make things happen behind the scenes.
Since arriving in London, I’ve built a life and career around connecting extraordinary leaders with transformative businesses. Over the past decade, I’ve founded and led specialist executive search and advisory practices focused on venture and private equity-backed technology companies. Today at Calibre One, I partner with founders, investors, and boards to deliver leadership that unlocks growth, innovation, and long-term value.
My approach blends deep functional and sector expertise with a highly personal, transparent, and relationship-driven philosophy. I’ve been fortunate to partner with some of Europe’s most innovative and fast-scaling tech companies and the investors who back them on leadership hiring that truly moves the needle.
I live in London with my wife Lisa and our two beautiful boys, Dylan and Zac who keep me grounded, inspired, and reminded daily of what really matters.
Areas of Specialisation:
My focus sits across Technology, Product, Data, Security, and AI leadership, working with VC and PE-backed scale-ups as well as public and enterprise technology organisations. I partner with founders and investors to identify and attract C-suite and VP-level executives at pivotal moments of transformation, whether that’s international expansion, M&A integration, or AI-driven reinvention.
Alongside executive search, I also advise funds and portfolio leadership on operating partner, board, and advisory appointments, as the lines between value creation and functional leadership continue to blur.
Core Areas of Expertise:
- Executive Search – Hiring C-suite and -1/-2 executives across multiple functions and asset classes.
- Advisors, Portfolio Support & Value Creation – Hiring executives into part- or full-time roles within PE & VC funds and their portfolio companies.
- Talent Mapping & Intelligence – Delivering competitive analysis, organisational design mapping, and succession insight.
- Pre-Deal Advisory – Assessing and benchmarking executives, and hiring interim or deal-support leaders during diligence phases.
- Board, Chair & NED Appointments – Building boards, independent NEDs, and operating partner benches aligned to investment strategy.
Functional Expertise:
- Technology Leadership: CTO, CIO, VP Engineering, Chief Architect, and senior engineering leaders.
- Product Leadership: CPO, VP Product, Chief Digital Officer, and product strategy/growth executives.
- Data & AI Leadership: CDO, Chief AI Officer, VP Data, Head of Analytics/ML, and data monetisation leaders.
- Security Leadership: CISO, VP Security/Trust, and cyber/risk executives.
- Board & Operating Partner Talent: Building boards, independent NEDs, and investor value-creation benches with backgrounds across these functional domains.
Asset Class Focus:
- Venture & Private Equity-backed Technology Companies
Sector Expertise:
- Fintech & Financial Services
- E-commerce, Digital Consumer & Marketplaces
- Sports, Media & Entertainment
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Enterprise Software & SaaS
What Do You Love About Your Role?
For me, it’s always about the people. I love helping exceptional leaders find the platform where they can do their best, most fulfilling work. Every search is a blend of strategy, psychology, and storytelling understanding what a business truly needs, what motivates an individual, and how the right partnership can create outsized impact.
I’m also endlessly curious, every new brief opens the door to new technologies, new models, and new ideas about how businesses and people grow.
What is the Landmark Placement for a Client?
A landmark placement to me isn’t defined by the title, but by the transformation it enables. It’s when for example the CTO rebuilds an engineering culture from the ground up, or when a Data & AI leader helps an organisation reinvent itself through intelligence and insight.
One of the most defining examples for me was leading the search for both the Chief Technology Officer at Checkout.com and we found such a great shortlist they also ended up hiring the SVP Engineering. Together, those hires helped shape the company’s technology organisation during a pivotal period of hypergrowth and since then, the business has scaled more than 200x, becoming one of Europe’s most valuable fintechs.
To me the real measure of success is when the leaders we place don’t just fill critical roles they become the cornerstone of a company’s next chapter.
What Does Success in Executive Search Look Like For You?
To me success in Executive Search is built on trust, transparency, and longevity. It’s when a client picks up the phone not just to start a search, but to discuss strategy, succession, or culture because they see you as part of their leadership ecosystem.
It’s also about being respected and trusted to do our job properly, to run a process with real diligence, depth, and precision, engaging all key stakeholders throughout every stage. When clients give us that level of trust, it allows us to do our best work: mapping the market comprehensively, assessing talent objectively, and ensuring every conversation adds value.
And on the other side, success is when candidates years later say that a conversation we had changed the course of their career or gave them the confidence to take the next leap. That’s when you know the work has truly made an impact.
What is the Greatest Opportunity of the Decade?
The convergence of AI and human leadership. The real opportunity lies in empowering leaders who can blend technical literacy with empathy, ethics, and creativity those who understand that technology should amplify, not diminish, what makes us human.
In executive search, AI is already transforming how we gather intelligence, assess talent, and understand potential but its real power is in enhancing, not replacing, human judgment. When combined with genuine relationship insight, AI enables us to build more inclusive, informed, and forward-looking leadership teams.
Ultimately, this convergence has the potential to bring us closer together by freeing people from the noise, bias, and inefficiency of traditional processes, and allowing us to focus on what really matters: connection, purpose, and shared progress.
What’s Your Favorite Quote?
“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally!”