Welome to IGA Talent Solutions

Our team

Little things, big outcomes

Meet the team

James Caan CBE

Chairman

Peter Knowles

Managing Director

James Craven

Managing Director

Lana Furey

Head of Operations

Deepak Jalan

Chief Investment Officer

Cristina Burcus

Contractor Services, Switzerland

Jon Garrod

Head of Contingent Recruitment

Hayley Payne

Account Manager

Richard Foulds

Lead Recruiter

Danny Wright

Head of Change & Transformation

Laura Pearce

Senior Operations Executive

Stuart Brooke

Principal Consultant

Katie Thompson

Talent Sourcing Manager

Hannah Yates

Operations Executive

Oliver Clark

Consultant

Graham Butler

Business Unit Manager

Nitin Rao

Operations Assistant

Bradley Parker

Business Unit Manager

Garth Davson

Principal Consultant

Sam Harrison-Pope

Management Accountant

Duncan Southby

Head of Finance

Mark Stanton

Principal Consultant

Oliver Howley

Senior Account Manager

Simon Arthur

Head of Talent Acquisition

Olivia Cleeton

Account Manager

Martyn Cook

Credit Controller

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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.

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Peter Knowles

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.

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James Craven

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.

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Lana Furey

Head of Operations

With nearly 9 years of experience within the creative, digital & IT sectors specialising in supporting freelance contingent recruitment. Lana offers a variety of operational support for IGA Talent Solutions and is 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.

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Deepak Jalan

Chief Investment Officer

Deepak is the CIO of Hamilton Bradshaw, the PE house behind IGA Talent Solutions. Deepak plays a hands on role within IGA advising on all commercial agreement negotiations, transactions, financing, due diligence and legalities.
Deepak earned an MBA in Finance from the London Business School prior to joining James Caan CBE in 2004 and is now the Group's Chief Investment Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

A Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Management Accountant (ACMA) Deepak joined HB from Unilever, where he held a number of commercial accounting and finance roles.

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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.

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Jon Garrod

Head of Contingent Recruitment

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.

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Hayley Payne

Account Manager

Hayley has been in recruitment for 3 years, starting her career after graduating from University.

Hayley has spent her career working in the IT and Technology sector, sourcing the best talent in the market in line with client requirements. From this, she has gained valuable knowledge in key technologies in the market, using this to provide a quality service to candidates and clients alike.

Hayley has experience securing candidates new opportunities across the technology sector, with experience in; Infrastructure, Network & Security, Telecommunications and Cloud.

Outside of the office, Hayley loves holidays and socialising with friends and family.

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Richard Foulds

Lead Recruiter

Richard has worked in recruitment since 2005, and after taking a couple of years out to spend time with family and explore other projects, he joined IGA in 2018 to help build our insurance actuarial practice.

He has extensive experience placing candidates in the UK and international markets, from graduate to chief-actuary level, across the company, consultancy and speciality-reinsurance sectors. His relaxed nature and ability to work in partnership with his clients and candidates has helped him build an extensive global contact network.

Beyond of the office, Richard is a qualified maths teacher, an experienced property developer, and a keen sportsman.

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Danny Wright

Head of Change & Transformation

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.

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Laura Pearce

Senior Operations Executive

With over 5 years’ experience in operational support roles within the recruitment industry. Laura has valuable knowledge of the onboarding, compliance and contractor care processes that are needed to help support a growing contracts team.

Based in our Winnersh office location, Laura is passionate about ensuring candidates and clients have an exceptional experience through the onboarding process.

Outside of work, Laura enjoys exercise and catching up with her family and friends.

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Stuart Brooke

Principal Consultant

Stuart joined IGA with eight years’ experience in recruitment, beginning in the education sector, then moving across to financial and professional services, where he nows operates.

Before entering the recruitment world, Stuart spent six years in the British Army and completed tours of both Iraq and Afghanistan – an experience he credits for his can-do attitude and adaptability.

Today, he focuses on the contract market, always investing the time to build a deep understanding of candidates and organisations he works with, which means he can offer his clients access to the highest-calibre individuals in the market.

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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 inclusion and diversity, 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.

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Hannah Yates

Operations Executive

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.

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Oliver Clark

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.   

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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.

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Nitin Rao

Operations Assistant

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.

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Bradley Parker

Business Unit Manager

Brad has been in recruitment coming up to 7 years starting his career in finance recruitment. After understanding and following trends in the market, Brad took a jump into technology and has never looked back. His passion for technology across the board and experience in Development, Support, Cloud, cyber security and Data science allowed Brad to grow rapidly from a trainee consultant to a Senior Manager within 4 years. Brad has knowledge across the entire spectrum of technology and keen to bring passion and experience to a new Business Unit he will head up at IGA.

Brad has a passion for all sports but played Rugby for Surrey County at a young age, avid Golf player with a handicap of 3 and also international championships for Dance and gymnastics.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Mark Stanton

Principal Consultant

Mark has 6 years of recruitment experience across the UK & Ireland. He has specialised in Change & Transformation, as well as finance and IT. He takes pride in becoming a dependable recruitment partner for both clients and candidates, and always strives to provide a memorable service.

At IGA, Mark covers contract and permanent recruitment, as well as interim management and executive search positions, primarily across the Change & Transformation space. He has an in-depth understanding of the challenges in recruiting roles for both large or small scale transformation, and is always keen to learn more about an ever changing and exciting area. He works in our Cork office, covering roles across the UK & Ireland.

Outside of work, Mark plays rugby in Ireland for Midleton RFC, and has recently taken up golf.

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Oliver Howley

Senior Account 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.)

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Simon Arthur

Head of Talent Acquisition

Simon’s recruitment experience has seen him work for nine years within the pensions and investment space, developing relationships with a range of consultancies, asset managers and institutional investors before moving into the internal global executive search functions of EY where he spent four years, before his most recent global role with AstraZeneca.

For the past few years Simon has cultivated a portfolio career which has seen him develop his counselling and coaching practice, alongside his part time role as Head of Talent Acquisition for IGA.

Outside of work Simon enjoys spending time with his daughter, jogging, reading about history and politics and watching sport

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Olivia Cleeton

Account Manager

Olivia has been in recruitment for 5 years, starting her career straight from 6th form.

Olivia has experience in a vast range of sectors giving her a well-rounded group of skills and the ability to apply this knowledge to secure good candidates in any industry. She is a results driven Account Manager that thoroughly enjoys working closely with both Client and Candidate, always ensuring a smooth recruitment process.

Outside of the office, Olivia loves to socialise and travel. She has a passion for the arts with a background in dance and drama.

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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.

Meet Danny Wright, Head of Change & Transformation

Head of Change & Transformation

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.

 

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