IVY ROCK PARTNERS - Key Persons


Abi Mustapha-Maduakor

Job Titles:
  • Board Advisor
  • Board Advisor, Chief Executive Officer of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association ( AVCA )
Abi is currently Chief Executive Officer of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) and Co-Founder and Director of Black Women in Leadership Network. We are privileged to have Abi as our Board Advisor; her entrepreneurial mindset, passion and insight into scaling and institutionalising small businesses is invaluable. As Co-Founder and Director of Black Women in Leadership Network, Abi will also be uniquely placed to advise on how Ivy Rock supports diversity and inclusion, both in partnership with our clients and internally as a company core value.

Ben Langlay-Smith

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Ben joined Ivy Rock in 2022 to spearhead our IT offering having spent ten years recruiting IT, digital & data professionals across the public and non-profit sectors as well as previous experience recruiting into the commercial sector. In the past 5 years, Ben has placed over 200 Technology professionals into Central and Local Government, the NHS, Universities, Not-for-Profits and Housing Associations.

Holly Arrowsmith

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director - Not - for - Profit
Holly has a decade's experience recruiting finance professionals to the Not-for-Profit and wider Charities sector. Having begun her career with a FTSE 250 recruitment specialist, Holly has recently joined the Ivy Rock Partners team to lead and develop their Not-for-Profit team further. Holly has experience recruiting both interim and permanent accountants for qualified to Executive level roles. Outside of work, Holly is passionate about mental health concerns. As well as being a certified mental health first aider, Holly volunteers for a mental health crisis line in her spare time. She is particularly passionate about partnering with Not-for-Profit organisations and prides herself on being able to recruit candidates with the right technical proficiency as well as softer skills for a positive cultural addition to any finance team.

Jake Morrow

Job Titles:
  • Principal Consultant
Jake joined us in 2022 having previously worked in the charity sector. Since joining the team, Jake has focussed on interim recruitment across the not-for-profit sector with a focus on arts & culture and charities, combining his professional experience with an interest in the arts following his degree in Classics from the University of Nottingham.

James Mitra

Job Titles:
  • Board Advisor
  • Board Advisor, Founder JBM Consulting Ltd
James founded JBM Consulting in 2012 and has grown the agency to be a market-leading search firm known for recruiting executive talent and future leaders into disruptive tech start-ups, FinTech and high growth consulting firms. James has not only managed to create a highly successful agency with a loyal client base, but has done so with integrity and a modern approach - we are very lucky to have James involved and he has been a kind and reliable source of support since launching Ivy Rock Partners.

Julie Gilbert

Job Titles:
  • Board Advisor
  • Board Advisor, Executive Director City Lit
Currently the Executive Director for City Lit, Julie's impressive career to date has seen her act on the School's Management Committee for London Business School and hold strategic HR roles in the commercial sector for both Chevron and Harrods. With expertise in organisational design, talent acquisition, employee relations, engagement, employment law and performance management, we are extremely fortunate to have Julie involved with Ivy Rock Partners and she will play a key role in our future.

Katharyn Natynczuk - COO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Operations
Katharyn joined Ivy Rock Partners in January 2020 as our Director of Operations, after working closely with Michael for several years. She is passionate about providing the highest standard of care and support to our candidates and clients. Get in touch if you need any help with timesheets or invoicing, or to discuss marketing and events.

Matt Horsman

Job Titles:
  • Consultant
Matt specialises in recruiting permanent finance professionals across the education sector. With a prior interest in finance dating back to his Economics & Finance degree, he has adopted an honest approach to recruitment since joining us in 2022. Working with a range of candidates at all stages of their career, Matt will always have the best interests of both clients and candidates at heart.

Michael Quest

Job Titles:
  • Director
Michael launched Ivy Rock Partners in 2019 and leads on both the Executive and Portfolio search. With over a decade of experience recruiting finance and executives, he has placed well over 300 professionals into roles in organisations with social purpose and has a great network.

Phil Southern

Job Titles:
  • Director - Education & Housing
Phil has spent ten years recruiting senior finance professionals across the education, and international development sectors. He has an extensive network of senior Executives across the multi academy trust sector, as well as higher education and independent schools. He has helped some of the largest and highest profile trusts in the UK centralise their finance functions, by recruiting key hires across finance and operations both in their centralised, and regional hubs. Please contact to discuss: interim or permanent finance/operational recruitment within the education sector, salary benchmarking and advice around centralising finance.

Will Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Director
With 17 years working in some of the top public sector recruitment consultancies in the UK, Will joined Ivy Rock Partners in 2022. Will has predominately supported organisations across Local and Central Government as well as Housing Associations. He has delivered numerous senior level recruitment projects and run large multi vacancy campaigns. As part of his commitment to developing talent in the sector he has run mentoring events and organised seminars focused on supporting under represented groups in the sector.