Welome to IGA Talent Solutions
Our Team
Little things, big outcomes
Meet the team
James Caan CBE
Chairman
Former Dragons’ Den star, serial entrepreneur James Caan CBE plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategy of IGA Talent Solutions, in his role as Chairman of the Board.
James has been in recruitment for over 30 years and invests in recruitment companies of all sizes across various geographies and sectors. Alexander Mann, his first recruitment business, sold in 2013 for £260 million. His second recruitment venture, Humana International, grew to 140 offices across 30 countries. His third sale was a collection of six recruitment companies to Graphite Capital in 2014 for £100m.
Peter Knowles
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Peter has 15 years’ experience of providing permanent and contingent recruitment solutions globally. Peter co-founded IGA with James Caan CBE in 2018, growing the business to 23 employees in UKI and Switzerland.
He is a partner of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, a commentator for Recruitment International magazine, and an active voice on diversity and inclusion within the insurance sector.
Peter’s clients turn to him for guidance on strategic senior hires, contingent worker models, hiring processes and EVP.
James Craven
Co-Founder & Managing Director
James co-founded IGA Talent Solutions with Peter Knowles and James Caan CBE in 2018, aiming to bring a consultative and agile recruitment solution to the professional services market. Over the course of his recruitment career, James has represented some of the largest investment businesses in the UK and internationally, bringing new talent that enriches brands and positively impacts business performance.
At IGA, James oversees investment, pensions and employee benefits divisions, managing a team of consultants and researchers, and is responsible for the operational and financial management of the business. He is a regular market commentator on the importance of financial education for the younger generation.
Outside work, James enjoys the countryside, Japanese whisky and indulging his passion for future-classic cars.
Patrick Schulz
Co-Founder & Managing Director Switzerland
Patrick co-founded IGA Talent Solutions Switzerland with Peter Knowles and James Craven in 2023 to continue IGA's international expansion and the success story of the strong UK business with a Swiss entity and local presence.
With over 14 years' experience in recruitment of professionals and executives in technology, IT and finance within all major industries such as Banking & Finance, Insurance, IT Services, Engineering, MedTech and Pharma, Patrick has an in-depth Swiss market, industry, customer and candidate expertise. In addition, he has many years experience and a strong track record in building, growing and leading high performance teams.
In his spare time, Patrick can be found riding his motorbike around Lake Zurich, when he is not busy keeping his two little minipigs entertained.
Lana Furey
Associate Director
With 10 years of experience within the creative, digital & IT sectors specialising in supporting freelance contingent recruitment. Lana manages the Operations team at IGA and offers a variety of operational support for the business which includes being responsible for ensuring compliance regulations and employment law standards are adhered to.
Alongside this, she manages our outsourced payroll partner and is involved in the Temporary pay & bill process where she provides contractor support for our consultants and interims. Lana is heavily involved in improving current operational processes and therefore manages all system implementation projects to ensure we are improving through innovation - this in turn leads to delivering a healthier standard of customer service.
When taking a break from work, Lana enjoys to travel and experience new cultures, she is also a keen skier and has skied since childhood.
Danny Wright
Associate Director
At IGA, Danny offers his clients tailored recruitment services ranging from contract staff and outsourcing to permanent recruitment, interim management and executive search.
He works in close partnership with his clients, taking the time to grasp their unique business needs so he can always source and supply the best talent available. His focus on sector-specific talent pools has enabled him to become an expert in his market, with a deep-rooted understanding of the needs and requirements of clients and candidates alike.
Katie Thompson
Talent Sourcing Manager
With 19 years’ experience in customer service and in-house recruitment roles across financial services, Katie is passionate about creating an excellent client and candidate experience throughout the recruitment journey.
With a keen focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I), Katie enjoys building strong business relationships to truly understand client needs and deliver effective talent solutions. She is tenacious in sourcing high-quality candidates matching them closely with organisational values and culture enabling clients to truly meet their business aspirations.
In her spare time Katie loves to be outdoors, frequently travelling around in her campervan on various hiking and open water swimming adventures. She also enjoys live music and craft beer.
Jon Garrod
Associate Director
Jon has spent his career to date in Contract & Interim professional-services recruitment, and prides himself on providing a world-class service to contractors and clients.
His committed approach sees him embed himself in the businesses he works with in order to fully understand their cultures, enabling him to tailor talent solutions to suit their specific needs. He joined IGA in March 2019 to develop the global Contract & Interim offering. Today, Jon leads a highly successful team, having completed mandates across eight countries.
In his spare time, he is a keen sportsman, having played competitive rugby for 20+ years – including a semi-pro season in the Portuguese Premier League.
Hannah Yates
Operations Manager
As well as providing support to IGA’s directors, Hannah is responsible for ensuring a smooth onboarding for contractor placements in the UK and Europe, making sure all candidates are compliant with GDPR rules.
Since joining the team, Hannah has helped develop the IGA brand in the UK and internationally, as well as leading the organisation of charity events and panel discussions on topics including diversity and inclusion, career returners and managing career breaks.
In her spare time, Hannah enjoys hiking and cooking exotic dishes picked up on her travels.
Oliver Clark
Senior Consultant
Oliver specialises in placing mid-senior level candidates, across the UK and international investment markets. His clients are a mixture of consulting firms, asset managers, PE houses, pension funds, and infrastructure boutiques, often on mandates with an ESG leaning.
Clients come to Oliver for his service-centric approach, market knowledge and detail orientated style, ensuring deeply understands their requirements from both a skill-set and cultural perspective. Before joining IGA, Oliver specialised in the Sustainability sector for an international Executive Search firm, placing candidates in over 8 countries.
In his spare time he enjoys watching and playing a number of sports, especially cricket. He also loves travelling the world, taking in different cultures, as well as socialising with friends and family.
Nitin Rao
Operations Executive
Nitin provides day-to-day support to the IGA team. He manages the CRM system and its data to help maximise and support sales and recruitment effectiveness. Nitin helps manage the onboarding and contractor process for all of our clients delivering a helpful and supportive service.
He has a positive and practical attitude, with good attention to detail and works well in the IGA team.
Graham Butler
Business Unit Manager
Graham has worked in recruitment for nearly 12 years, having started in HR recruitment Graham then moved to the actuarial market and has over 9 years experience in both the Life and General insurance markets placing contractors and permanent actuaries.
Graham has most recently been working with consultancies and industry leading clients in supporting them with regulatory projects such as Solvency II and IFRS17. Graham has built a long lasting relationship with many of the top companies which he has assisted in both the UK and further afield supporting business with all levels of recruitment from graduate to senior hires.
Outside of Work Graham is an avid football fan following his beloved Tottenham.
Garth Davson
Principal Consultant
With nearly 5 years’ experience working in the change and transformation space, Garth offers his clients specialised recruitment services that help them to find the best talent, which will positively impact their business performance. At IGA, Garth covers contract and permanent recruitment, interim management and executive search positions.
Garth likes to work closely with his clients to get an in-depth understanding on their unique business needs. His committed approach helps him to build long term relationships with both candidates and clients, which he can then tailor talent accordingly to suit specific needs.
Outside work, you’ll find Garth playing some kind of sport with cricket, tennis or golf at the top of his list. Garth enjoys the outdoors having grown up in northern South Africa and loves a wildlife story or two.
Vishal Patel
Senior Talent Sourcing Manager
Vishal has been working in Business Change & Transformation recruitment for nearly 6 years. His main areas of expertise are within the Life Sciences and FMCG sectors. Vishal has a deep knowledge of the Change arena having supported recruitment activity on some of the largest Transformations in the world for companies such as GSK, BAT & Diageo.
In Vishal's spare time he enjoys spending time with his children, Hamish & Nina. He is a keen cook and was a semi-finalist on BBC’s Master Chef 2007! He also enjoys watching the Formula One and playing tennis.
Cristina Burcus
Contractor Services, Switzerland
Cristina is based in IGA’s Geneva Office and provides contractor support and salary hosting for IGA’s local and international candidate base.
IGA holds a SECO license for all cantons within Switzerland and is an established recruiter within the Swiss contract market.
Oliver Howley
Talent Sourcing Manager
Oliver has spent the last seven years delivering Recruiting and Executive Search services for customers in Professional & Financial Services, and Medical Tech.
He has fulfilled hiring projects in over 15 countries with clients of varying sizes, organizational structures and cultures: from the PE-funded tech spin-out through to the multi-billion-dollar-turnover global consulting giant. Oliver adapts his methodology to integrate with the processes of his customers, resulting in an effective yet sensitive and understanding level of service.
Oliver has supported clients in Actuarial, Accounting, Audit, Tax, Legal, Research, Engineering, Product Development, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Commercial, Product Management, Projects & Program Management.
Outside of work, Oliver enjoys exploring the outdoors with his relentless Jack Russell Terrier, Ruby. He is a ‘football nerd’ and has a season ticket with Sheffield United (for his sins.)
Jack Rodnight
Consultant
Jack is a young professional broadening his skills in the recruiting world which started off over a year ago in executive search recruitment. Jack is working within the Change and Transformation side of IGA’s business, looking to provide a high calibre search for his clients.
His keys skills and attributes are those on a personal level. Jack enjoys getting to know the details of the business to allow for the most personalised approach to his work.
Outside of work, Jack enjoys a number of different sports with Cricket, Football and Golf being his favourites. He’s also an avid follower of Liverpool FC which could ruffle some feathers with his heavily southern accent.
Sam Harrison-Pope
Management Accountant
Sam is a CIMA Chartered Management Accountant with a background in property, facilities management, and hotels.
Outside of work, Sam is an avid film fan with a passion for black and white cinema from Hollywood’s Golden Age. He’s also a vegan and a food enthusiast, and enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife and their Labrador dog.
Duncan Southby
Head of Finance
Duncan is the Head of Finance for Ignata Group, responsible for the design, management and implementation of the financial strategy for IGA Talent Solutions. Prior to joining the Group, Duncan spent 3 years managing the finance function for a high-growth, PE backed business in the healthcare sector. ACA qualified, Duncan cut his teeth at KPMG, training as an auditor before moving to transaction services in 2015. Duncan has a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Nottingham and a Master Degree in Chemistry from the University of York.
Outside of work, Duncan is a proud father to two small boys and enjoys a bit of amateur DIY.
Jana Weis
Consultant
With more than 4 years of in-depth customer service experience in both the B2C and B2B segments, it is my passionate mission to provide outstanding service and inspire our valued clients and talented candidates alike. Thanks to my in-depth knowledge of the Swiss market, I have a keen sense of the local conditions and values. This expertise enables me to continuously develop tailor-made solutions for our demanding Swiss clients.
The task of building long-lasting and sustainable client relationships is particularly close to my heart. My open and communicative personality supports me in this to a great extent. My commitment and willingness to go the famous "extra mile" have helped me achieve outstanding results time and again.
Away from the office, I find joy in spending time in nature or sitting down at the piano and pursuing my passion for music.
Martyn Cook
Credit Controller
Martyn is responsible for the credit management function of the business from invoicing to collection.
Prior to joining the Group, Martyn has spent over 40 years in Finance and Credit Management working in International Banking as well as the Construction, Leisure, Agriculture, Textile, Utility Infrastructure and Vehicle Manufacturing sectors mainly for national and multinational “blue chip” companies.
In his spare time, Martyn exercises daily, listens to rock & progressive music, enjoys reading, and restoring old sports cars. The car he would most like to acquire is a Jensen Healey.