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Our Leadership

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Zenon Gray

Chief Executive Officer

Zenon has held senior board level roles as CEO and Group CIO with 30  years experience across Capital Markets, Commodities, Retail Banking,  Food Retail, Logistics, Consulting and Software sectors.  Zenon has managed 1000's of resources in global multi-cultural teams driving major operational transformation, and mergers and acquisitions programmes.   Zenon founded the Nicer Group with Sterling to focus on people, their career aspirations, to empower individuals to maximise their true value and to fulfil their desired work and personal lifestyles.

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David Bainton

Chief Operating Officer

David has held senior roles in Human Resources and General Management and has over 25 years consulting experience in the Automotive, Energy, Financial Services, Leisure Retail, Logistics and Telecommunications sectors.  A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and a member of the British Institute of Psychology, his passion is maximising value by enabling individuals to achieve their full potential and overcome the apparent constraints in corporate life.

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Henri Perusset

Chief Commercial Officer

Henri has held senior managing director roles as Head of Business Development, COO, and Chief of Staff across all divisions of Financial Markets and Securities Services. Over a 30 year career at UBS and HSBC with postings in Asia and Continental Europe, Henri has mobilised and delivered high returns revenue growth initiatives and including Private Credit, Prime, Transaction Banking and Wealth strategies. He has led Fintech engagements, M&A. 

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Sterling Grychowski

Chief Product Officer

Sterling has used his experience of product management at tech start-ups and leading teams of software developers to help create Nicer technology solutions. Sterling believes that the current recruitment and career development landscapes are outdated and failing.  As Product Owner, Sterling and his team have developed solutions with the aim of modernising the existing recruitment model and creating a career development tool for our members to use to design their career path, and achieve their career goals. 

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Dr Guillermo G. Schiava D’Albano

Head of Data Science

Guilhermo is an internationally recognised leader in advanced data engineering within the Financial Services, Logistics and Retail sectors where huge data volumes drive complexity in design and place the most demanding expectations on technology solutions.  Guilhermo leads our data science capabilities. Guilhermo has worked with some of the largest organisations including Nordea, Barclays & Databricks.

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James Sperring

Chief Technology Officer

James has over 20 years senior development expertise developing commercial products in the insurance, logistics, financial services and retail sectors.  James has extensive expertise in data intensive analytical platforms and the application of new Agentic AI design concepts.  James has joined Nicer to accelerate the adoption of AI within our Talent Analytics platform.

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Maurice Mcdonald

Consulting Partner

Maurice has more than 25 years experience working across all sectors within financial services, but  primarily focused on the Banking and Wealth Management sector.  He has practical experience of supporting firms with implementing and embedding regulatory change (MiFID II, SM&CR and Consumer Duty) and more recently has been focused on supporting firms through the merger & acquisition process.

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Saeed Saddique

Legal Counsel

Saeed has over 15 years’ experience as a legal, commercial & contracts executive with both UK and International companies. He has extensive experience with national and global corporate businesses working with legal, procurement & finance teams.  He specialises in contract & vendor management, working with corporate clients, third party vendors in IT transformation for technology companies.   Saeed’s has advised many global organisations including the ECB, Equinix, Capita Group and CSC.

Exec advisors

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Anne Adams. PhD.

ACS

Anne has worked with many Fortune 50 companies and educational institutions both nationally and internationally for more than 30 years.  Anne's work has been with senior leaders and their teams from companies as varied as IBM, Mars, Heinz, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Procter & Gamble, Prudential UK, The  Hershey Company, EZ Communications, to government entities like the Pentagon and nonprofits, e.g. Institute of Noetic sciences (IONS), and schools throughout the United States and India.

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Lawrie Philpott

CEO - Phillpot Black

Lawrie Philpott, formally head of Coopers & Lybrand's UK Human Resource Advisory Group and Partner-in-Charge at PwC, is a human resource, change management and organisation consultant with over 25 years' experience in the UK and internationally in both the public and private sectors.  Lawrie leads his own consultancy organisation 'Philpott Black', that builds exceptional skills in business leaders and develop high performing leadership teams to deliver strategic business change.

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Danuta Gray

Chair - Direct Line Insurance Group

Danuta has over 30 years experience in leadership, sales, marketing, customer services and technology. Danuta has held numerous Executive, Non-Executive and Chair positions at industry leading organisations such as: CEO of Telefonica O2 Ireland for 9 years and acting as a Non-Executive Director at Michael Page, Paddy Power and Aer lingus. Danuta has been working as Chair of Direct Line Insurance Group for the last 4 years.  

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Peter Ward

Chairman - Telos Partners

Peter is a chartered accountant and was a partner with Deloitte and, through merger, Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) for 15 years. He was a member of the Tomorrow’s Company Inquiry, which inspired his move to consulting on the development of businesses and organisations to achieve long-term sustainable success. Peter works internationally with chief executives on the transformation of their businesses and their growth, both organically and through acquisition. 

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Rob Millar

Director - Devonshire & St Andrews

Rob has over 20 years' experience of working globally with major brands across multiple industries.   Rob is an internationally recognised thought leader in the discipline of customer-led change.   Rob has worked across Financial Services, TMT, Retail, Utilities, B2B, Logistics, Real Estate, Utilities and Events.  He has held senior MD and Partner roles in several leading international consulting organisations

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Emma Movitz

Senior People & Data Transformation Consultant

Emma is a senior executive leader with a solid operational experience from the world of Finance, both locally in Nordics and internationally. As a leader Emma has conducted many change management journeys, both strategic and with practical implications through regulatory change, technological innovations, merger and acquisitions, other investments and cost efficiency initiatives. Emma has a broad international and global network through work and studies in the Nordics, UK, Europe and India.​​​

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Simon Rayne

MD & Revenue Growth Specialist

Simon is a senior executive sales leader with a background in international positions covering networks, software, cloud and hardware sales aswell as CPG. He is an accredited coach, and is skilled in team development, C Level client relationships, customer success and operational excellence. Simon has a breadth of experience in Private Equity,  Public and Blue Chip organisations such as LEGO, Microsoft and Nokia.

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Barry Gould

CTO - Concord Resources Limited

​Barry has held various senior executive roles in technology, including over 26 years working in Investment banking, physical commodities and other areas of the financial services industry. He has worked for Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citibank and Noble Group and has also worked for the UK Government at the Home Office. Barry is currently Global Head of Technology at Concord Resources Limited. Barry has a very broad range of experience and skill sets together with a track record of building, implementing and remediating large complex technology solutions for many organisations. Barry is also involved with a number of UK Internet start-up companies and also works as a mentor for TechStars UK.

NicerExec Partners

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Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer

Over 25 years of broad senior leadership experience across a diverse set of sectors, Dr. Ruth is a leading autority at the crossroads of finance, technology, cybersecurity and regulation. A former Global MD at Citi, over the last 8 years Ruth combines roles as independent Non-Executive Director, Cybersecurity Executive, Author, Adviser to goverment, VC and Angel Investor , supporting banking, technology, FinTech and cybersecurity. She is a global keynote speaker, futurist and Visiting Professor at Bayes Business School.

​Sectors

  • Global Transaction Banking

  • European/Global Trade Bodies

  • Public Sector

  • FinTech

  • Academia

Leadership

  • Payments

  • Regulatory Strategy

  • Technology Strategy

  • Governance

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Anna Mitchell

Sectors​

  • Professional Services

  • Manufacturing & Distribution – Auto, Textiles, Pest Control

  • FMCG

  • Private Equity

Leadership​

  • C-Level Leadership 

  • Board Governance

  • Turnaround, Change Management, Organisational Design

  • ​Corporate Communications

  • Reputation and Risk Management

A commercial business leader with deep expertise in reputation, change, stakeholder and risk management and more than 20 years’ international experience at senior and executive level in public, privately held and PE-backed US and UK headquartered companies. Anna has experience in Managing Director/P&L roles, restructuring, building and managing teams across geographies and functions. Anna has advised companies in professional services, consumer goods, automotive, manufacturing, engineering and PE operations. 

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Dale Emmerson

Sectors​

  • Energy Trading

  • Oil & Gas

  • Renewable Energy

  • Commodities

Leadership​

  • Mergers, Acquisitions & Disposals

  • Trading CTRM & ETRM Solutions

  • Strategy and Transformation

  • ​Market Analysis 

A strategic partner who exemplifies professionalism, strategic insight, and business growth. Capable and adaptable with proven exposure to international consulting in the energy, financial and commodity markets. A former big-four consultant, able to engage with senior stakeholders in complex matrix organisations. Differentiators include exceptional presentation and communication skills, on-time delivery, and a focus on quality.

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Denise Obsajsnik

Sectors​

  • Commercial Banking

  • Private Markets

  • Asset Management

  • Social Impact and ClimateTech

Leadership​

  • Transformation

  • Sustainability

  • Governance

  • Leadership Development

Over 25 years extensive senior leadership experience across mutliple banking sectors.  Denise has led large scale complex transformation projects spanning many geographical regions.  In the past 5 years Denise has worked on enterprise initiatives financing sustainability initiatives.  A recognised leader in the ESG and its impact on banking and client businesses.  Denise has held at senior management positions with HSBC and Northern Trust in the past 10 years.​

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Peter Clitheroe

Sectors​

  • Information Technology

  • Professional Services 

  • Manufacturing & Retail

Leadership

  • People Leadership & People Development

  • Cultural Change Management 

  • Enterprise Software Sales

Peter's experience lies within the Technology sales arena having worked within Global Technology companies for over 16 years. Peter has broad sector knowledge gained across international markets with experience selling to Retail & Manufacturing, Banking & Finance, Telecommunications and Technology companies. Peter has an established career in Sales Management, Leadership and Sales Operations that focuses on market growth and development of sales teams. Currently undertaking his Doctoral Research into Unethical Sales Management within Enterprise Software Sales, Peter is well positioned to advise on how Organisational Culture has a direct effect on salesforce behaviour and company results. 

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Amit Dass

Sectors​

  • Private Equity

  • Fintech & RegTech

  • Media

Leadership

  • M&A and Pre/Post-Acquisition Integration​

  • Financial Turnaround & Restructuring

  • Strategy and Transformation

  • Commercial & Legal

Amit is a Partner with over 25 years' experience, with nearly 15 years as a CFO/COO for PE/VC Fintech firms servicing the financial services sector across asset management, capital markets and regulatory compliance. He has been involved in over 25 M&A transactions including 2 PE buy and build platforms and a MBO of a global financial media firm. Amit has significant turnaround expertise implementing financial and operational rigour. He has overseen several acquisition integration and change management programs realising planned synergies has instituted wide ranging governance programs. 

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Thomas Coles

Sectors​

  • Professional Services

  • Technology

  • Insurance and Wealth Management

  • Commodities

Leadership

  • Sales Transformation

  • Sales Due Diligence

  • Demand Generation

Public speaker and consultant generating £millions of revenue for clients specifically through referrals in any sector and more widely through B2B sales transformation. Particular expertise in the most complex B2B sales cycles, with additional applicability in SaaS and such like. 

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Crispin Proctor

Sectors​​

  • Retail Banking

  • Insurance 

  • Fintech

  • Retail

Leadership

  • Scaling IT Operations for Growth Businesses

  • Cybersecurity

  • Data Management 

  • Large Scale Data Solutions

Crispin Proctor is an accomplished senior technology leader with extensive experience of transforming businesses IT operations in financial service global businesses, fintech and retail.  His expertise focuses on scaling and building high-performing teams, building resilient technology infrastructures, driving data innovation and cybersecurity.

Passionate about delivering scalable and secure solutions, Crispin thrives in fast-paced, highly regulated environments, aligning technology strategy with business goals to create transformative value.

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Katy Maguire

Sectors​

  • Oil & Gas

  • Renewables

  • Information Technology

  • Professional Services

Leadership​

  • Leadership Development

  • Digital Strategy

  • Product Launch

  • Brand Event Management

An ex-serving officer in the military with over 25 years' experience, Katy has worked with a number of highly established and global organisations both in the UK and internationally such as Disney, Google, McLaren and Maersk. An expert in business development, transforming senior leadership teams, launching new brands into the market, and with extensive experience of physical and digital products.​

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Rob Millar

Sectors

  • Retail Banking

  • Commercial Banking

  • Global Logistics

Leadership​

  • Customer Experience Engineering

  • Culture Change

  • Strategic Transformation

Rob has over 20 years' experience of working globally with major brands across multiple industries.   Rob is an internationally recognised thought leader in the discipline of customer-led change.   Rob has worked across Financial Services, TMT, Retail, Utilities, B2B, Logistics, Real Estate, Utilities and Events.  He has held senior MD and Partner roles in several leading international consulting organisations.

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Zaid Hameed

Sectors​

  • Retail Banking

  • Insurance

  • Wealth Management

Leadership​

  • Information Technology 

  • Data management & Data Warehousing

  • Regulatory Compliance

  • Agile Software Development

Zaid has extensive experienced of technology change across Insurance and Retail Banking.  Zaid specialist in agile development and expert in testing strategies. Zaid began his consulting career at Accenture and has since built a reputation working with many leading financial services companies with an emphasis on data warehousing, data management and compliance programmes.

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Pooja Kaul

Sectors​

  • Retail Banking

  • Asset Management

  • Fintech

  • Professional Services & Consulting

Leadership

  • HR & People Transformation

  • Organisation Design & Operating Model Design

  • M&A (People, Culture & TUPE)

  • Behavioural Change & Culture Integration

A senior HR and Change leader with over 14 years’ international experience, with a track record of working with leading organisations across regulated, high-growth, and complex environments in the UK, Europe, and internationally. An expert in HR transformation, end-to-end M&A integration, embedding HR strategies, and designing operating models that drive organisational impact. C-suite partner to align leadership, organisation design, and reward strategies, delivering people solutions that balance regulatory compliance with cultural cohesion and business growth. Combines deep technical expertise with a pragmatic, results-driven approach to ensure timely delivery.

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Yvonne Anderson

Sectors​

  • Financial Services

  • Professional Services

  • Consulting

Leadership

  • Organisational Development

  • Leadership Development

  • Culture Transformation

Yvonne is a highly experienced Board level People and Organisational Development professional, Executive Coach and business owner. With a background in Financial Services, Investment Banking and Professional Services, she has both operational and strategic expertise and specialises in working in partnership with rapidly growing and/or transforming organisations.  Yvonne is able to evidence the significant difference that can be made to an organisation's efficiency and financial strength through a focus on well-executed People Strategy and  supporting Leadership Teams to grow and develop through culture transformation.

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Matt Parry-Hann

Sectors​

  • Retail Banking

  • SME Fintech and IT

  • Wealth Management

  • Commercial Banking

Leadership​

  • ​Cross Border M&A 

  • Investor and Exit Strategy for SME's

  • Fund Raising & Deal Execution

  • Corporate Restructuring

Extensive cross boarder M&A experience with one of the leading city legal firms.  A seasoned CEO and COO with complex transaction expertise to drive growth and diversification.  Focused on bringing the disciplines of general council expertise with practical board level experience to small and medium enterprises during funding and M&A transactions. 

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Frances Edwards

Sectors​

  • Investment Management

  • Asset Management

  • Fintech

Leadership​

  • Operations Leadership & Transformation

  • Product Structuring, Management & Distribution

  • Digital Assets

Ex-COO of Blackrock with extensive change management and operating experience at board level and front line to auditors, investment company boards and regulators.  Frances has recently been at the forefront advising new product / new market /new asset class  innovative businesses within the Fintech sector at the intersection of Traditional Finance DeFi.  Specialist in product structuring, management and distribution; exchange traded funds, mutual funds, structuted products and complex derivative instruments.

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Tom Fuller

Sectors​

  • Financial Services

  • Regulated Utilities

  • Payments - Fintech

  • Private Equity​​

Leadership​

  • Treasury Management

  • Risk Management

  • Debt Financing

  • Treasury System Implementation

Experience Head of Treasury working across multiple sectors in Financial Services with extensive knowledge of Payments Fintech.  In-depth knowledge of Money Markets, FX hedging, IR Swaps, hedging strategies, cashflow modelling.  Tom has implemented many of the leading treasury management systems and integrated into core finance operations.

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Toby Larkman

Sectors​

  • Wealth Management

  • Pensions Industry

  • Consulting & Professional Services​

Leadership​

  • Strategic Transformation

  • M&A and Post Acquisition Integration

  • Financial And Operational Restructuring

  • Commercial Strategy and Implementation

Toby is a highly skilled senior executive with extensive experience in commercial and operational executive positions. With a background in developing business strategy, delivering transformation and executing commercial deals, Toby specialises in bringing together diverse multi-functional and geographically remote teams to deliver results in high pressured situations.

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Rujuta Singh

Sectors​

  • Retail Banking

  • Insurance, Reinsurance

  • Private Equity

  • Technology & SaaS

Leadership​

  • AI Strategy & Innovation Labs

  • Organisational Agility

  • Change Management & Adoption

  • Post M&A Integration

Rujuta has led transformation programs across Fortune 500 companies for 22+ years, combining technical expertise with human-centered change management. Rujuta now specilaises in AI strategy and organizational agility helping organisations to quickly identify opportunities and move into practical pilots.

Rujuta has worked with organisations such as Renaissance Re guiding their post-M&A integration, Rujuta is a master facilitator who combines strategic transformation expertise with rapid innovation methodologies that help teams co-create solutions and ensure sustainable adoption.

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Mark Stanton-Bennett

Sectors​

  • Capital Markets

  • FinTech

  • Renewable Energy 

  • Digital Assets & Tokenisation

Leadership

  • Product Strategy & Commercial GTM

  • Strategic Foresight & Scenario Modelling

  • Data & AI Strategy

  • Technology & Innovation Strategy

Mark is a highly experienced and commercially successful product & technology leader.  Mark has extensive software engineering and commercial product management expertise in capital markets electronic trading and analytics at tier 1 investment banks, asset managers and inter-dealer brokers.  In the last 5 years Mark has been consulting in fractional CPO, CTO and strategic board advisory roles. Predominantly to venture backed scale businesses, venture capital funds and UK government.  Mark is leading Nicer's investment into Agent Based Modelling to drive strategic decision insight on operational resilience and the impact of adopting AI into organisations to complement human resource capabilities.

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Jonathan Lane

Sectors​

  • Oil & Gas

  • Renewable Energy

  • Commodities

  • Infrastructure

Leadership​

  • Mergers, Acquisitions & Disposals

  • Emerging Markets: Africa, Central & SE Asia

  • Capital Raising

  • Econometrics

Jonathan has over 15 years experience in project finance, direct private equity, private equity secondaries and M&A for listed corporates, private companies, investment funds and governments. Sector expertise includes natural resources, renewable energy and infrastructure. He has worked in both developed and emerging markets and is currently focused on projects in Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. A British Citizen, he is fluent in French with a working knowledge of Spanish and some Japanese..​​​​​

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Robert Cotton

Sectors

  • Professional ServicesOil & Gas

  • Information Technology

  • FMCG

  • Logistics

Leadership​

  • Information Technology & Digital Transformation

  • Commercial Strategy & Execution

  • Change Management & Turnaround

  • Leadership & People Development

A seasoned business leader with over 30 years’ experience working in the IT sector, running  product and services business across a range of industries and geographies. Bob has operated at executive level in the US, UK, Europe and India. He has a track record of achieving consistent profitability and sustained growth in the businesses he has led, with a focus on delivering differentiated customer value. He has decades of experience advising clients on how to transform their business by applying best practices and digital technology. He is passionate about supporting clients drive excellence across all elements of their business or organisation  – people, process and platforms.​​​​​

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John Fulton

Sectors​

  • Private Equity

  • Infrastructure & Energy 

  • Fintech

  • Emerging and Frontier Markets

Leadership​

  • Strategic Finance & Treasury

  • M&A and Pre/Post- Acquisition Integration

  • Debt & Equity Fund Raising

  • Financial Turnaround & Restructuring

  • Global Liquidity Management

John has held board-level and Group CFO/Group Treasurer roles for over 25 years, operating across emerging markets, private equity, financial services, and infrastructure. He has led high-impact finance and treasury transformations across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, with experience spanning insurtech scaleups, large LBOs, and distressed turnarounds. John’s has held executive leadership at Ashmore Energy, Agria Corporation, Coca-Cola HBC and Cadbury PLC He has delivered complex cross-border financings, bond issuances & restructuring, and structured capital solutions under pressure.

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