WE ARE AMS - Key Persons

Andrew Wayland

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Technology

Andrew joined AMS in 2015, and is responsible for the strategic direction of our Global Technology and Business Intelligence functions. As our Managing Director of Technology, he leads the charge on our Digital Transformation, Talent Analytics, Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence programmes. Andrew partners with our Talent Advisory Services and our solution architects to embed innovative technologies in client delivery. Before joining AMS, Andrew had a 22 year career in technology, including 12 years in the staffing industry as a CIO/CTO of FTSE and NASDAQ listed companies Michael Page and Hudson. Prior to that he worked at PwC rising to UK IT Director. Andrew is also a Chartered Accountant.

Chip Holmes

Job Titles:

Managing Director of Client Services in North America
Managing Director, Client Services
Resident of Tampa

Chip is a Managing Director of Client Services in North America, responsible for the overall leadership and management of global talent acquisition teams across the America's, EMEA, and APAC. Prior to AMS, Chip served as Interim President of PeopleScout RPO and MSP, and before that was an Executive Leader at PeopleScout and Randstad. In 2020 Chip was recognized as one of SIA's Staffing 100. Chip is a resident of Tampa, FL and is married with 3 grown children.

Christian Sadlier

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Digital & Technology

Clare Johnston

Job Titles:

CEO & Founder, the Up Group and Sector Managing Director, Digital & Technology

Clare is one of Europe's most seasoned talent advisers in digital, and has helped to build the senior management teams and Boards of many of Europe's most disruptive and transformational businesses. Clare has an extensive global network and founded the Digital Masters series of events, regularly bringing together Europe's most exciting investors, entrepreneurs as well as senior executives from high-growth start-ups through to listed global corporates. Having self-funded and grown The Up Group from the ground up, she secured investment from Livingbridge, a leading mid-market Private Equity firm, in 2016. Over four years with Livingbridge, Clare scaled the business and led the recent exit to AMS, who acquired the business in late 2020. Earlier in her career, Clare was a Management Consultant for Detica, an international technology consultancy, and was co-Managing Director of an executive search firm. She graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in Management Sciences from The University of Warwick.

David Ingleson

Job Titles:

Sector Managing Director, Energy, Engineering & Industrials

David joined AMS in 2014 and he has led many different client relationships during this time, most of which have been within the Energy, Engineering and Industrials Sector. A passionate advocate of sustainability and the decarbonisation of the global economy in general, David sees AMS as playing a critical enabling role for all of our clients - attracting the talent that is needed to enable a sustainable world. David has experience of taking accountability for the delivery of the majority of AMS RPO and advisory services, including both permanent and temporary hiring across global solutions, executive hiring, early talent and campus services, assessment & technology advisory services. Prior to joining AMS, David worked for 13 years in an in-house capacity, holding international talent acquisition leadership roles across many sectors. He holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and has completed the Business Sustainability Management course at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

David Leigh - CEO

Job Titles:

Chief Executive Officer

David is the Chief Executive Officer of AMS, leading the market in talent innovation, and keeping the company at the forefront of the next waves of talent transformation. Prior to joining us in 2019, David was CEO, and latterly Chair, of Study Group, one of the world's largest international education businesses, and, prior to that, CEO of SHL, the leading provider of talent assessment solutions. David is just the second CEO in the 20+ history of AMS, succeeding our founder Rosaleen Blair. While David has always worked in global or international organisations, he is a lifelong Londoner. He is married with two children, and is a Trustee of Action for ME.

Eric Haley

Job Titles:

Senior Managing Director, Head of North America for OMERS Private Equity

Eric Haley is Senior Managing Director, Head of North America for OMERS Private Equity and is based in New York. He joined OMERS in 2011 as a Managing Director and previously led the group's efforts on new investments in the business services sector for North America. Eric currently is on the boards of AMS, Community Veterinary Partners, EPIQ (formerly DTI), Inmar, Paradigm Outcomes and TurnPoint. Eric was previously at Tailwind Capital, Boston Ventures Management and Morgan Stanley. Over the course of his career, he has served on several private company boards. Eric received a BA from Bowdoin College, magna cum laude, in Mathematics/Economics, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Franck Cohen

Job Titles:

Enterprise Software Executive
Non Executive Director, Chairman of the Board for CYE

Franck Cohen is an innovative enterprise software executive with over 30 years of global experience. Franck currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for CYE, the leading cybersecurity optimization platform. He is also Board Advisor for Workday and a Strategic Advisor to UiPath. He previously served as, President of Digital Core and Industry Solutions and Chief Global Customer Officer for SAP. While at SAP, he was President of EMEA for seven years and led the Digital Core Lab which was responsible for developing all of the company's industry verticals. Franck started his career with the successful launch of an ERP reseller business in France and later joined Intentia, a Swedish ERP company. He studied mathematics and electronic engineering at Tel Aviv University.

Gordon Bull

Job Titles:

Group Managing Director, Legal & Risk

Gordon joined AMS in January 2021 and leads the Group's legal, compliance and risk functions. Gordon has over 20 years' experience in legal, compliance and risk management, initially in private practice as a company commercial solicitor, and since 2008, in a senior in-house capacity for several global organisations in various different sectors including telecoms and investment. The most recent of these was as Chief Legal Officer for the international education company, Study Group, where Gordon developed and delivered a number of key legal and compliance initiatives to drive and support the company's strategy for growth. He holds a Bachelor of Business and Law degree, a post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and has been admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales since 2000. Gordon lives on the coast in the South East of the UK with his wife, two children and Australian Labradoodle, and is a lifelong Brighton & Hove Albion football fan.

Gordon Stuart - CFO

Job Titles:

Chief Financial Officer

Helen Houghton

Job Titles:

Leader
Managing Director, Client Services UK & Ireland

With over 30 years' industry experience, Helen joined AMS over 20 years ago and has extensive experience of RPO and MSP solutions within multiple sectors. During her time at AMS she has held a variety of roles including Global Head of TA for AMS, Director for Global Contingent Workforce Solutions and currently serves as Managing Director for Client Services in the UK&I Region. Helen is a strong leader who is passionate about the people and clients she works with, the development of talent and relationships, and providing operational excellence and service evolution to clients, enabling their businesses to succeed through the delivery of innovative, value creating talent acquisition and management solutions. Helen lives in Belfast with her husband and 2 sons and is passionate about travel and exploring the great outdoors.

Jacqueline M. Welch

Job Titles:

Non Executive Director, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, the New York Times

Jacqueline M. Welch is the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for The New York Times. In this role she leads The Times's human resources department and oversees all aspects of talent acquisition, career development, organizational development, equitable compensation practices, performance enablement and diversity, equity and inclusion. Jacqueline joined The Times from Freddie Mac, where she was Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer. Prior to Freddie Mac, she worked for Turner Broadcasting System, WestRock, Accenture and Willis Towers Watson. Jacqueline earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Syracuse University and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from The New School's Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment.

Jamie Pirie - VP of Sales

ja..@weareams.com

Job Titles:

Head of Sales

Jeff Owen

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Contingent Operations

In Jeff's role as Managing Director of Contingent Operations, he currently leads a team of 300 colleagues delivering recruiting, sourcing and administration services to over 25 clients who have a contingent workforce. He is responsible for ensuring that these solutions have a focus on strong client and candidate engagement through having the right people and technology in place to deliver these solutions. Jeff has worked within our business for 21 years and has contributed in a number of roles over this period from holding key client relationships, to managing our UK Service Centre Network; however, at the core of all of them was his passion for delivering contingent labour solutions which led him to his current role. Prior to joining AMS, Jeff had planned a career in teaching; however, after starting an interim job for AMS was inspired by both the industry and the role he could play in contributing to the growth of the company and never left.

Jeff Vandiver

je..@weareams.com

Job Titles:

Head of Sales / Americas

Jim Sykes

Job Titles:

Global Managing Director, Operations

Jim is responsible for our talented staff, client relationships and delivery within our Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences sector and our Professional Services sector. He ensures that we delight clients and candidates through exquisite service while leading and developing AMS's own internal talent, which is firmly underpinned by our company values. Jim has 20 years' experience in talent acquisition and holds significant international experience having supported clients and managed teams on a global basis. Jim holds a Bachelors degree from Winchester University in the UK and served for almost a decade as a school governor in his local community. He has been with AMS for more than ten years and in his time with the company has led a number of our largest client solutions including HP, GE and Santander before moving to a sector leadership role in 2014 and into his current role in 2017. Coming to the company following five successful years with a global staffing provider where latterly he worked as part of their EMEA International Accounts team, Jim joined AMS to both broaden and deepen his expertise across the Talent agenda. He took on his role as an opportunity to work with some of the most inspiring clients possible and to work with and learn from the best talent in the industry within AMS.

Jo-Ann Feely

Job Titles:

Global Board Director for AMS
Global Managing Director, Innovation

With over 20 years' experience in talent acquisition and management, Jo-Ann is a global board director for AMS, with responsibility for the Investment Banking sector. Previously, she worked in the US and Europe as a corporate talent acquisition professional for Marchfirst (formerly Whittman-Hart) - a global branding, technology and strategy consulting firm. Jo-Ann is a passionate supporter of the global Irish business community and an advocate to ensure women fulfil their potential in their careers and broader lives. She is deeply involved in how organisations can increase competitive advantage and shareholder value through talent acquisition and management. As a board director, Jo-Ann is directly involved in the strategic planning and leadership of AMS to build and manage strategic relationships by sector with current and potential clients across the globe. Jo-Ann has been appointed Global Managing Director, Innovation, in a newly created executive role. Jo-Ann has been with AMS since 2001 and has worked in a variety of leadership positions, including establishing and leading the Investment Banking Sector for over 9 years.

Jonathan Kestenbaum

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Technology Strategy & Partnerships

Jonathan joined AMS in 2021 as the Managing Director of Technology Strategy & Partners. Prior to AMS Jonathan built and sold an HR technology company and started Talent Tech Labs the leading talent technology research firm. As a strategic advisor to talent acquisition leaders and CHRO's Jonathan has led the digital transformation for some of the worlds most sophisticated global organisations. Jonathan can be found at HR technology conferences all over North America and is a sought-after speaker and panelist sharing deep insights into the evolution of the Talent Acquisition ecosystem. Jonathan is a licensed attorney but is an entrepreneur at heart. In his free time, he teaches Entrepreneurship at NYU and spends time with his wife Lindsay and two young kids, Brody and Olivia. Born and raised in New York, Jonathan now lives in Demarest, New Jersey.

Jonathan Mussellwhite

Job Titles:

Senior Managing Director and Head of Europe, OMERS Private Equity

As Senior Managing Director and Head of Europe, Jonathan leads the OMERS European Private Equity team as they build out the strategy to grow their portfolio of high-quality assets across the U.K. and Continental Europe. Since joining OMERS in 2014, Jonathan has led the business in its investments in ERM, Trescal, International Schools Partnership and most recently in Network Plus and Bionic. He was also responsible for Hayfin prior to its successful exit in 2017. He is currently Chairman of the Supervisory board of Trescal and a non-executive director of International Schools Partnership. Before joining the OMERS, Jonathan was a founding partner of Cognetas LLP, a pan-European private equity firm where, from 2009, he co-led their London office. Jonathan has been an investor in the European private equity market for over 26 years. He began his career at Arthur Andersen. Jonathan has a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Accounting from Bristol University.

Judy Ellis

Job Titles:

SVP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory

Judy's 20-year career in DEI includes leading global training initiatives to upskill Hiring Managers and TA Team Members on inclusive hiring, unconscious bias and interviewing skills for companies including Delta and MUFG. She has developed programs to increase underrepresented early career hires and aligned corporate cultures to increase employee retention and engagement. Judy's expertise in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has been featured in Forbes and on numerous conference platforms.

Laurie Padua

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Advisory

Laurie's role is global and diverse in nature as Managing Director of Talent Advisory Services at AMS. With over 20 years' experience in talent acquisition across agency, in-house, RPO and consulting environments, Laurie leads a team of over 350 highly skilled subject matter experts delivering consulting, implementation and training solutions to over 100 multi-national organisations across more than 80 countries globally. Laurie holds a BS (Hons) in Economics. Prior to joining AMS, Laurie started her career in an Investment Banking agency experienced hire recruitment team. She worked on the Morgan Stanley campus team, at Origin HR, Deutsche Bank's onsite team and at Capital Consulting, where she was the head of Implementation and Service Excellence. Laurie ultimately founded Talent Collective, which became a part of AMS in 2014.

Liz Whittaker

Job Titles:

Financial Accounting & Operations Director

Liz has global responsibility for all operational aspects of the Group's finances including tax, treasury, employee payrolls, invoicing customers, cash collections, paying suppliers and the group's contractor population, statutory accounts and manages the group's relationships with lenders, banks, rating agencies & auditors. Liz studied modern languages at Oxford University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in London in 1991. Liz transferred with Price Waterhouse to their Singapore office where she worked for several years before moving to be Financial Controller of Raffles Hotel. On her return to the UK Liz was Finance Director for the trading division of the National Gallery prior to joining AMS in 1999.

Lynne Gardner

Job Titles:

Sector Managing Director, Banking & Financial Services Sector

Lynne has been with AMS for 18 years, many of which have been spent partnering with blue-chip clients across a range of sectors. In prior roles within AMS, Lynne led partner engagements with clients such as Vodafone, GE, Covidien and HSBC, supported the evolution of their regional and global RPO models. Lynne has a degree in Business Administration from Aston University. Before joining AMS Lynne spent 10 years in HR and consulting roles with BAA and Hay Management Consultants in a range of roles from business partner to reward and OD.

Madeleine Blackburn

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Commercial

Madeleine joined AMS in 2005 and assumed her current role in January 2015. Prior to this she led regional and global teams for clients such as Deloitte and Credit Suisse, including three years based in the US, as well as key internal projects including the opening of the Global Client Service Centre in Cleveland. Madeleine would use these three words to describe herself- analytical, perceptive, resourceful. With 18 years in the field of recruitment and talent management, Madeleine has led the first to second generation transformation of globally integrated resourcing solution for Credit Suisse and developed and delivered a training programme designed to enable senior AMS managers to optimise performance of their solutions. Madeleine has a degree in Chemistry from Christ Church, Oxford with a BPS Level A & B Qualified (psychometric testing). Madeleine started her career in legal publishing before moving into legal recruitment at Hudson and subsequently an in-house role as Recruitment Manager at a leading law firm, Clifford Chance. This involved overseeing fee- and non-fee-earning hiring in the UK and leading the graduate recruitment team. Madeleine joined AMS to gain broader industry and global experience and to work at the leading edge of global talent acquisition and management solutions.

Mark Jones - EVP

Job Titles:

Executive Vice President

Mary-Anne Russell

Job Titles:

Managing Director, Marketing and Sales Enablement

With over 20 years in marketing with a focus on high growth companies, Mary-Anne is the MD heading up the AMS Global Marketing and Sales Enablement functions. Previously she held similar positions at AlixPartners, Slaughter and May, Freshfields, Deloitte and Andersen. Her focus at AMS is on setting and delivering on the strategic agenda for marketing, brand position, bidding and client retention all with a global focus. She is on the Growth Leadership team and works closely with her colleagues to identify and deliver organic and inorganic growth for AMS. She is passionate about creating innovative and authentic environments for career growth and collaboration and is also heavily involved in AMS's diversity agenda both internally and externally.