Our Team

KelvinThompson.jpg Kelvin Thompson View profile

Kelvin Thompson

Founding Managing Partner

As the Founding Managing Partner of MontaRosa, Kelvin Thompson has set out to develop a firm that is a catalyst to redefining the search industry.

Disillusioned by the global generalist search ethic of simple fulfilment, his mission within MontaRosa is to work with organisations at an inflection point where the injection of the right human capital delivers long-term value and growth. Today he works with many of the world’s largest financial and technology institutions where innovation and creative solutions matter more than filling a job. He leads a tightly integrated and stealth team of people based in North America and Europe. He is also Managing Partner of MontaRosa GmbH and is responsible for the Swiss-based recruiting business of the MontaRosa Group.

Prior to founding MontaRosa, Kelvin was a Senior Partner for over eight years with the international executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. During his tenure there he was the Global Managing Partner for the Private Equity, Venture Capital & Alternative Financing Practice. He also held several leadership positions, including Global Head of the CIO/CTO Practice, Chief Innovation Leader, Chief Strategy & Development Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to that, Kelvin worked for Norman Broadbent International, where he was President of US Operations and Chair of its global New Media, Entertainment & Technology Practice.

Having worked as a leadership consultant on nearly every continent across the globe, Kelvin is a regular speaker and panel leader at international conferences and seminars on topics such as human capital, global growth and innovation and hiring of new thinkers. He has helped grow client companies by leading them through provocative and innovative strategising exercises.

Kelvin has more than 35 years of experience working for clients in Europe, the US and Asia. He has also held non-executive roles and served as an advisory member for both US and European firms.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree (Hons.) from London University.

JodiKaelle.jpg Jodi Kaelle View profile

Jodi Kaelle

Co-Founder and Global Managing Partner

Jodi is one of the Founders of MontaRosa and came from Heidrick & Struggles where she helped manage the global private equity, venture capital and alternative financing practice focused on driving revenue through global knowledge management and partner/client engagement.

In addition to managing global leadership projects, Jodi leads the firm with a focus on superlative client service and quality execution. 

She was also Associate Director of the San Francisco office for several years working with clients across the globe on hundreds of C-level searches. Her position as Managing Director at MontaRosa has been focused not only on driving stellar delivery for clients, but also building out the content behind the projects for its talent initiatives, thought leadership and metrics-based research programs. At MontaRosa, every client engagement is commenced with a deep understanding of qualitative and quantitative market drivers to get to the right leadership solution. Part of Jodi’s role is to identify proven transformational talent and the next generation of leaders around the globe with a particular emphasis on companies going through a major step-change or restructuring.


She is highly specialized in emerging markets, financial services and private equity.  Upon graduation from the University of the Pacific with a degree in international affairs and commerce, and a minor in French language, Jodi started her career as a research analyst at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. She worked with the Senior Economist focused on population, sustainability and emerging markets issues, which ultimately led to a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Cameroon. Upon her return to the U.S., Jodi worked for Montgomery Securities first in equity research and then on special projects for the CEO. Just prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Jodi spent time as a career counselor for MBAs going into private equity and venture capital at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Jodi is an active member in the community working with local public schools, homeless veterans and those who face food insecurity in the San Francisco Bay Area.   She is also a Board member for The Intuitive Writing Project.  

LouiseRosePhotography-GilesOrringe-2-HighRes.jpg Giles Orringe View profile

Giles Orringe

Managing Partner and Global Head of FinTech

Giles joined MontaRosa in 2020 in order to drive the build out of the FinTech executive search and advisory practice.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Giles spent the previous seven years working for two of the leading global executive search firms. Giles fundamentally believes that the FinTech ecosystem can be better served by the executive search and advisory community through the building of long-term, deep relationships and shared goals. 

Giles is based in London, but his role and outlook are international to match his clients' focuses. He brings considerable experience in leading integrated global offerings with the insight brought by many years in diverse and dynamic markets.

Giles previously co-led the global FinTech Practice, and London Financial Services team at Russell Reynolds. He was also a key member of the CIO/CTO, CISO and Data & Analytics Practices.

He specializes in leadership and succession planning across the five pillars of FinTech, to include IT and operations functions, market infrastructure platforms, private equity houses’ FinTech portfolio companies, data providers and software vendors, and emerging, disruptive FinTech platforms such as the challenger banks and alternative lending businesses. Giles advises clients on improving diversity in leadership teams and introducing game-changing talent into traditional financial services organizations. 

Giles is also a trusted advisor at the board level, with expertise appointing Non-Executive Directors with digital, FinTech, and tech and operations experiences.

Previously, Giles was a Partner and FinTech leader at a global executive search company, where he spent four years building its global FinTech practice. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 12 years at two boutique executive search firms in London and New York, where he served as Partner in both organizations.

Giles earned his BA in history from the University of Manchester.

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Deborah Exell

Partner, CEO Advisory, Leadership Assessment, and Coaching

Deborah Exell brings a superlative combination of practical business experience and academic rigour to MontaRosa’s network, honed by over two decades of working with the leadership teams of global companies in various stages and focusing on navigating unpredictable market conditions.

Deborah started her career in business and talent assessment in Europe and the US after studying politics, psychology and business behavioural science. She then spent a decade helping companies drive organizational change across functions including customer experience, innovation, revenue growth management and restructuring. (American Express, The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle). During the fallout from the global recession in 2008 Deborah successfully turned her attention to the financial institutions most impacted by the crisis, focusing on delivering transformation across their operations and reinvigorating their teams (Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Deutsche Bank).

As a consultant Deborah has supported leadership teams in emerging markets and global corporates driving business repositioning and digital transformation. (Fidelity International, Experian, Glencore). Partnering with private equity portfolio company management Deborah is also a specialist in unlocking potential ROI and driving change to meet aggressive growth targets.

Deborah now offers her blend of deep understanding of behavioural drivers and dispassionate decision-making analysis as a premier brand of leadership advisory counsel at MontaRosa: business transformation informed by performance psychology and organizational behaviour; individual and group leadership assessment; coaching and strategic advisory.

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Anthony Brown

Managing Director, Investment Banking - North America

Anthony joined MontaRosa in 2014 having spent the preceding 18 years at UBS Investment Bank.

During his time at UBS, Anthony spent 16 years as a Business Partner supporting the Investment Banking business as both Americas region head and subsequently as Global Head. As such he served on the Global Investment Banking Management Committee, the Investment Bank HREC and the Americas HREC. He was responsible for all aspects of personnel strategy including recruitment, compensation, and succession planning.

During his time at UBS, Anthony was also responsible for HR on a cross-Group basis for Latin America and served in an interim capacity as Global Head of HR for the Equities business.

Originally from Baltimore, Anthony graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Foreign Language & Literature. He is based in New York City.

LUTZ6000px_business.portrait4066-lowres[1].jpg Carolyn Lutz View profile

Carolyn Lutz

Managing Director

Carolyn joined MontaRosa in 2021 in order to help build and deliver excellence to the European private equity and venture capital executive search practice. She is also highly focused on bringing diverse talent to the boardrooms of Switzerland and other European countries.

Carolyn’s search work for the past years has consisted of C-level assignments for privately held companies, family offices, and private equity firms as well as their portfolio companies, across many industries and geographies.

Carolyn will be based primarily in Zurich, but throughout her 25+ years in executive search she has always maintained a pan-European outlook and network. Carolyn is truly multicultural, having grown up and lived in six countries on three continents. She is fluent in (Swiss-) German, French and English, and is working on her Italian. Previously Carolyn was Managing Partner at a global executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles, where she opened and ran the Geneva office when the firm was still a partnership.

Carolyn earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Vassar, then decided to gain leadership experience in the military. She served five years in the United States Marine Corps, earning the rank of Captain. Her favorite assignment was as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General of the First Marine Aircraft Wing, based in Okinawa. She left the Marines to join the Lauder Institute as a Fellow, resulting with an MBA from Wharton and an MA International Studies from UPenn. On graduation, Carolyn moved to Geneva to pursue a career in Marketing with Procter & Gamble. This was later followed by a move to Zurich as Head of International for a Swiss super-premium skincare and cosmetics company.

Carolyn is a long-standing member of the Geneva board of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and is on the board of the de Vigier Foundation, which awards promising Swiss-based startups with unrestricted cash prizes.

BUCKETT NEWLouiseRosePhotography-TomBuckett-8-Edited-LowRes-C[1].jpg Tom Buckett View profile

Tom Buckett

Managing Director, Asset Management

Tom brings deep expertise across private markets, real estate and asset management.

Tom will be based in London but work internationally, indeed many of the searches and clients he has worked with throughout his career have been in Europe and in North America, he is no stranger to cross border searches and the challenges that may arise.  Prior to joining MontaRosa, Tom was a Partner at Segalen + associés and was a Partner at Heidrick and Struggles where he led the Global Real Estate practice from London managing many of the firms' international clients and traveling extensively between London and New York. During the past eighteen years Tom’s experience has included a wide cross section of clients and he is active at the c-suite and Board level successfully helping to build diverse teams.

Prior to his search career, Tom started his professional life at ING-Barings and graduated with a BA in Philosophy from University of Nottingham.

 

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Anne Donnelly

Principal

Anne joined MontaRosa in 2010 following a thirteen year career with international executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles.

At Heidrick & Struggles, Anne was a senior associate in the global Chief Information Officer’s practice where she worked on global CIO/CTO and VP-level search assignments for a diverse range of clients in the consumer, retail and technology industries. Additional roles with Heidrick & Struggles included research leadership, internal training and development, and knowledge management positions working globally across practices.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Anne has enjoyed living in San Francisco for the past twenty years.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the National University of Ireland, County Kildare, Ireland.

MarisaPope.jpg Marisa Pope View profile

Marisa Pope

Principal & Chief Operating Officer, Europe

Marisa Pope is a Principal and the Chief Operating Officer, Europe at MontaRosa, with twenty years’ experience in Financial Services executive search.

Marisa Pope is a Principal and COO, Europe at MontaRosa who leads searches with clients going through exponential and/or transformational growth across the globe. She primarily spends her time building long-term relationships with exceptional talent on behalf of the firm, which continually adds to the broader global MontaRosa network. Based in our London office, Marisa also works closely with colleagues in Zurich, New York and San Francisco on projects for clients across the globe.

Having been in executive search for over 20 years, Marisa worked in the Financial Services practices of Heidrick & Struggles, Egon Zehnder and Sainty Hird before joining MontaRosa in 2012. Her expertise includes investment banking, capital markets, investment officers, strategy officers and other C- and board-level searches for corporate clients. Her wide range of assignments have also been with global banks, investment houses, broader financial institutions, hedge funds, private banks, private equity funds and asset managers.

Marisa has a degree in Hispanic Studies from the University of Bristol.

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Richard Prentice

Principal

Richard joined MontaRosa in 2022 to support the delivery and build out of the FinTech executive search and advisory practice.

Having spent the past six years as a Global “In House” Executive Search Director at the London Stock Exchange Group, BT, Expedia and Barclays Group, Richard is a firm believer in seeking out interchangeable executive leadership talent from diverse industry backgrounds, to bring fresh thinking, strategy, innovation and modern execution to FinTech organisations. Going against the grain of the antiquated black book methodology and re-cycled short lists, he is passionate about seeking out the non-obvious and harder to find diverse talent on a global basis. Richard is based in London but his role and outlook  are international to match his clients’ talent needs and ambitions.

 In his most recent role with the London Stock Exchange Group, Richard was directly working with the ExCo as an executive talent advisor, providing headhunting expertise for the C-level of Product, Technology, Digital, Data and Operations groups globally, whilst also supporting the merger of the Refinitiv and London Stock Exchange businesses. He brings significant insight and knowledge of both the client and consultancy side of executive search success. 

 Earlier in his career, Richard spent 10 years operating as an executive search advisor at previous boutique search firms with a specialist focus on C-level Technology, Product & FinTech leadership mandates globally.

 Richard is an active member of his community and coaches at the local kickboxing and self-defence club where he believes in helping the younger generation find empowerment, confidence and mental strength with exercise, mindfulness and self-control. 

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Caroline Bruno

Senior Director

Caroline joined MontaRosa in 2019 as a Senior Director and brings over 20 years’ experience executing senior level assignments for clients across Financial Services and an international network from a career spent in London, New York and Dublin.

At MontaRosa, Caroline delivers executive searches for Investment Banks, Private Wealth Management and Global Financial Services Clients. Her diverse expertise includes C-Suite and leadership roles across Relationship Management, Product and Investment Advisory, Portfolio Management and also, Origination, Sales and Governance functions.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Caroline worked for a leading Executive Search firm in Dublin delivering C-level mandates for Global Banks and Investment Managers across Ireland and the UK. Caroline was also responsible for advising UK clients on Ireland as a strategic European location to support their Brexit considerations, through a Talent lens.  

Caroline’s earlier career was spent at Barclays where she spent 14 years supporting the Private and Investment Banking business with their Talent Acquisition strategies. Her career with Barclays involved relocating to New York, London and Dublin as she delivered their global hiring requirements. She brings deep expertise at Board and ExCo level stakeholder engagement and candidate management, search mandate execution and delivery. Her last role at Barclays was leading the Executive Resourcing team for the UK business.

Caroline holds a BA (Hons) Degree in Public Relations from Bournemouth University and is based in Ireland.  She is also a Board Member of St. Andrew's College in Dublin, Ireland.

StaceyOyler.jpg Stacey Oyler View profile

Stacey Oyler

Senior Director

Stacey Oyler joined MontaRosa in 2014 having spent the last fourteen years in recruiting and consulting.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Stacey spent six years as a consultant advising candidates on application strategy for top tier MBA programs in the US and Europe. She personally helped hundreds of business school applicants gain admission to top programs. In addition to consulting, Stacey served as an industry expert and was featured in articles in Businessweek, and CNN Money.

Stacey’s earlier experience includes recruiting for McKinsey & Company. In her initial role at the firm, she pioneered McKinsey’s Tuck recruiting program, which resulted in the firm becoming Tuck’s top employer. She spent the latter part of her career at McKinsey leading recruiting efforts for the firm’s West Coast offices, hiring hundreds of candidates from MBA and other advanced degree programs as well as experienced hires for senior roles in the firm.

In addition to her recruiting experience, Stacey served on the admissions committee for Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo. 

She is an active member in the community, supporting local homeless and victims of domestic violence on their journey to self-reliance.

JacquieHarris.jpg Jacquie Harris View profile

Jacquie Harris

Senior Director

Jacquie joined MontaRosa in 2023, to work with clients and deliver senior executive search assignments in the Asset Management, Investment Banking and Capital Markets sectors across the globe.

Most recently, she was in a talent acquisition role with Goldman Sachs Asset Management, focusing on their Alternative Investment business.

Previously, Jacquie spent over a decade in executive search in the Asian and European financial markets. Her experience includes working for Heidrick & Struggles and a global boutique executive search firm, where she successfully conducted senior front office search assignments across Global Markets, Investment Banking and the Wealth & Asset Management sectors.

Jacquie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from York University.

LouiseRosePhotography-HollyWelstead-Screensize[83].jpg Holly Welstead View profile

Holly Welstead

Senior Director

Holly has joined MontaRosa to help lead advisory and execution for our Private Equity, FinTech and Technology clients with a focus on Go-To-Market and Board level searches on a global basis.

Holly joins from Renaissance Leadership where she worked with many of the leading Venture Capital and Private Equity firms across Europe to build out the leadership teams of their technology and digital portfolio companies. At Renaissance she worked functionally across the GTM, Board, Product & Tech and People practices, typically working with hyper-growth, disruptive companies in FinTech, SaaS, HealthTech, Data and Intelligence, Marketplaces, Ecommerce and TravelTech.

Holly has over 19 years’ experience in executive search, working both with tier-one search firms and market-leading boutiques. Prior to Renaissance, she was an Associate and Lead Researcher in the Technology, Entertainment and Communications practice at Odgers Berndtson, working on a range of global leadership positions both for the venture and private equity community and listed businesses.

She joined Odgers from Russell Reynolds Associates in London where she spent three years as a Researcher in the Global Consumer and Media practice. Holly started her career as one of the first employees of The Omerta Group, which is now one of London’s leading financial services executive search firms.

Holly holds a BA in French and Russian from Nottingham University and a MA in Translation from the University of Westminster.

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Elliesha Bucataru

Associate

Elliesha is an associate at MontaRosa supporting our clients in delivering mandates across Technology, FinTech, and Private Equity.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Elliesha was at True, a global executive search firm where she specialised in working with PE/VC portfolio companies on Technology, Product and Data leadership mandates and previously worked at boutique executive search firms where she collaborated with FTSE 100 clients on cross functional assignments, with a focus on Engineering, Technology Architecture and CIO/CTO roles.   

Elliesha is based in London and holds an LL.B. from the University of Nottingham. 

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Cristie Rodriguez

Global Head of Finance - US & International Operations

Cristie has previous accounting and finance experience in diverse industries and roles both in the private and nonprofit sector, ranging from Healthcare, Manufacturing, Fitness and Legal. Although her primary expertise is on business development and financial accounting, she has also held positions in marketing, human resources, and event planning.   

She holds two masters degrees from Hult International Business School in International Business and in Finance. During her studies she had the opportunity to live in London, Shanghai, and Dubai. This exposure has allowed her to gain understanding of different business practices, cultures, and languages. Her undergraduate degree is from Berkeley College where she was involved in student government and Model UN.  

Cristie is also very active in the community as she volunteers and helps others in the fitness industry through training and support. She is also a personal trainer and lives in Florida.

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Gabriella Kreutzelman

Global Head of Research

Gabriella received her bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Chinese and International Relations from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

While attending LMU, Gabriella worked as a research assistant for the chair of the economics department, in the field of experimental and behavioral economics. She studied abroad at the Beijing Center in China during the spring of 2019 and at the University of Gonzaga in Florence, Italy during the fall of 2017. She volunteers with emphasis on supporting the program: Service for Sight.

Gabriella is based in Denver, Colorado.  

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Judy Edrada

Executive Assistant and Business Administrator

Judy joined MontaRosa in 2016 having spent 15 years in executive search.

Prior to MontaRosa, Judy spent eight years at Spencer Stuart supporting assignments within Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Education, Nonprofit and Government practices. She began her search career at Heidrick & Struggles supporting a high-performing vice chairman assisting in placements of C-level executives at Silicon Valley technology companies. Judy graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Industrial Art and is conversational in Mandarin Chinese.

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Joanna Hart

Executive Assistant and Business Administrator, Europe

Jo joined MontaRosa in 2016 as the Executive Assistant and Business Administrator for Europe.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Jo spent ten years as Office Manager and Administrator for a London-based hedge fund and global alternative asset management firm, managing the day-to-day operational needs of the firm and providing assistance to the CEO.

Previously, Jo spent nearly five years at Merrill Lynch's London headquarters serving as the Business Co-ordinator for the Investment Banking division.  Jo moved into the financial sector from an intellectual property firm specialising in international trade mark law, where she supported the senior partner and oversaw facilities matters.

Jo is based in London, United Kingdom.

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Christina Cottingham

Executive Assistant

Christina Cottingham officially joined MontaRosa in 2015 as an Administrative Assistant, but has been affiliated with the firm since 2009.

She is based out of Charleston, SC. Prior to MontaRosa, Christina began her career in executive search in Charleston in 2005, serving as both an Administrative Assistant and Recruiter, primarily in the areas of Accounting and Administration. 


Previously, Christina worked for four years at City News Publishing, the company responsible for the publication Vital Speeches of the Day. The company was originally started in New York City in 1934 and relocated to Charleston, where Christina served as an Executive Assistant to the Editor.

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LINDSAY BARRY

Executive Assistant & Research Associate

Lindsay joined MontaRosa in 2019 after having spent 10 years in executive search.

Lindsay is an Executive Assistant & Research Associate, providing search support while also contributing to the Research team.

She started her career in Account Management working at two advertising agencies, working her way up from an internship to an Account Management role. She brought her project management skills to a global executive search firm where she worked in the Education, Nonprofit and Government practice, the boards practice and then supported an executive in a boutique search firm.

Lindsay graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Communications. She is a published children’s book author and community volunteer.

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Lucile Horcholle

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining MontaRosa in 2021, Lucile was an Executive Assistant at Segalen+associés in London for over four years responsible for search management.

Lucile has ten years’ experience working as an Executive Assistant spanning Paris and London, with her first experience in Executive Search being at The Inzito Partnership.

Lucile is a native French and is based in London, United Kingdom.

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Monika Black

Executive Assistant

Monika joined MontaRosa in 2022 and has over seven years’ experience coordinating all areas of search management.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Monika worked with a boutique search firm in London and, previously, spent six years as the Executive Assistant to the Co-Head of Insurance within Korn Ferry’s Financial Services Practice.

She has an accomplished early career working for several blue chip and renowned organisations within Investment Banking and also Private Equity, both in Sydney and London.

Monika grew up in Sydney, Australia and is now happily settled in the UK.

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Veronica Borghetti Smith

Executive Assistant

Prior to joining MontaRosa in 2022, Veronica was an Executive Assistant at Rhône Group in London.

Veronica has nine years’ experience working as an Executive Assistant, with most of which in Executive Search. She previously spent three years at Egon Zehnder in the Consumer practice and two years in a boutique search firm, MBS Group.

Veronica graduated from the University of Leeds with an M.A. in Chinese & Business. She is native Italian-Portuguese and is based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

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Laura Hartman

Executive Assistant

Laura Hartman officially joined MontaRosa in 2021 as an Executive Assistant but has been affiliated with the firm since 2019.

Laura is an experienced Document Specialist, former desktop publishing operator and technical author with more than 20 years’ experience of document production. She has worked across various industries, most recently in Legal at Essex Court Chambers, where she supported the editors of Arnould: Law of Marine Insurance and Average, Dicey, Morris & Collins on the Conflict of Laws, and spent 2013 to 2016 providing support to the Inquiry into CLICO and HCU for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Laura previously worked in Financial Services as a Desktop Publishing Operator for UBS, ABN AMRO & RBS, having begun her career as a Production Manager at Imparta, a professional business training company.

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Naomi Ofulue

Executive Assistant

Naomi joined MontaRosa in 2023 and has extensive experience working as an Executive Assistant within Executive Search.

Prior to joining MontaRosa, Naomi supported the Global Functions Practice at a global executive search firm and also worked at a boutique search firm where she supported the CFO & Audit Practice and the London office's Legal, Risk and Compliance Practice.