Our team
Suzie Walker - MD & Founder
"I passionately believe in supporting talented people to reach their full potential. My belief in limitless possibility ensures senior leadership roles are filled to deliver growth and to achieve positive change.
We all want to build a better world for our children and for all future generations. My personal goal is to ensure that all doors are open to both my son and daughter when they graduate, where their dreams are truly possible.”
Suzie established Suzie Walker Executive Search in 2009 – a firm that has supported more than 100 companies to build high performing leadership teams, ranging from tech scale-ups to FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and global private equity-backed brands. In addition, Suzie has successfully placed more than five hundred candidates in senior interim and permanent marketing, data, digital and tech roles.
Suzie’s professional background with Whitehead Mann (now part of Korn Ferry) saw her placing Board-level positions in FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and privately-owned companies within their Industry, Consumer Services and Retail Practice. She is now the proud MD & Founder of Suzie Walker Executive Search, working closely with The Pipeline, a leading diversity business. The Pipeline run exceptional leadership programmes for women and organisations to develop all their talent and to deliver better results.
On a day-to-day basis, you will find Suzie consulting with clients about exciting new role opportunities and overseeing the team. Suzie is a strong advocate for talented people, ensuring that opportunities and development are available for all.
Suzie works in both the London and Midlands offices and, outside of work, spends time with her sporty family and enjoys the great outdoors. In the winter you are likely to find Suzie cross country running and, in the summer, open-water swimming and paddleboarding. Suzie loves travelling and is looking forward to completing the “bucket list” of global adventures with her family.
Email suzie@swexecsearch.co.uk or connect with/send a message to Suzie on LinkedIn
Verona Dante - Executive Assistant
"I love diving into all aspects of a business, helping founders and their teams to achieve efficient and seamless systems and processes."
Verona has more than 20 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant to owners and founders of both large and start-up companies, worldwide. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Suzie Walker Executive Search, along with a Diploma in digital marketing - fuelling her passion for brand management, operations, and helping business to thrive.
Verona's extensive experience across all business areas has helped her to develop core skills in organisation and communication - her superpowers - which prove immensely valuable. Having run her own small business, she understands the challenges many owners face and enjoys helping them, and their teams, to implement efficient and seamless systems and processes.
Verona joined Suzie Walker Executive Search to ensure a positive journey for both the team and the clients and candidates they support.
Outside of work, Verona enjoys family time, long beach walks with her four dogs, and practising yoga.
Email verona@swexecsearch.co.uk and connect with/send a message to Verona on LinkedIn
Chloe Burrell - Senior Marketing and Administration Executive
“The ethos at Suzie Walker Executive Search makes it a wonderful place to work, building trusted relationships with clients, candidates and the team.”
Chloe spent 10 years in a marketing role with the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK) - the industry body for digital advertising - working alongside members, including advertisers, agencies, ad-tech companies, and media owners, to develop standards, best practices, and research.
Prior to this, Chloe gained experience in administrative and events roles, a degree in media production and a professional diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). A move from London to the South West saw her join a boutique recruitment agency, in a hands-on role, where she was able to gain valuable insight into building trusted relationships with clients and candidates – an ethos that Suzie Walker Executive Search nurtures.
Chloe joined Suzie Walker Executive Search to support Suzie, Jo, and the wider team.
Chloe lives in Bristol with her husband, daughter, and son, where she fends off daily requests for a pet dog. She enjoys being active outdoors and, equally, being cosy indoors with a good book.
Email chloe@swexecsearch.co.uk or connect with/send a message to Chloe on LinkedIn
Jeandre Kairuz - Marketing Executive
"Supporting candidates into their perfect-fit roles is what drives me – I like helping people to be their best.”
Jeandre is a recruiter and social media specialist with more than ten years’ experience in customer-facing roles and skilled at supporting people to be their very best. As a problem-solver and collaborative team member, Jeandre brings the skills needed for successful role placements to Suzie Walker Executive Search, along with a background that fuels her with a positive and personable approach.
As part of the candidate team here at Suzie Walker Executive Search, you will find Jeandre approaching candidates about live roles and working closely with our team of consultants. With a goal of finding the ideal candidates for our clients, Jeandre is driven to make every role placement a complete success.
Outside of work, Jeandre is a qualified make-up artist, content creator, and mother of two young children. When she's not making the most of family time, you'll find Jeandre getting creative with make-up artistry and her own social media platforms.
Email jeandre@swexecsearch.co.uk or follow the team on LinkedIn
Jade Dannheimer - Marketing Manager
"Here at Suzie Walker Executive Search, I'm inspired by the marketing candidates and clients we support and their own visions for growth."
Jade is a qualified, experienced and professional marketer, with a degree in business and a professional diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She spent more than 15 years working in-house, most recently as the Marketing Manager of a leading professional association - a role within their senior management team. Jade has also worked in marketing roles for a marketing agency, children's charity, and government department.
Jade works closely with Suzie and the team to ensure that the business strategy is supported by effective and integrated marketing activities.
Jade lives in Hampshire with her husband and young daughter. When she's not chauffeuring her daughter to playdates and parties, Jade likes to explore the local countryside and beaches with her family.
Email jade@swexecsearch.co.uk or connect with/send a message to Jade on LinkedIn
Asra Fakhri - Senior Recruitment Consultant
“By combining market analysis and networking, I enjoy matching the right candidates with the right roles, driving success for both clients and candidates.”
As part of the team, Asra connects senior-level talent with exciting role opportunities. With a background in HR and degree in Business Administration, Asra has honed her skills in candidate sourcing, interviewing, and talent acquisition.
Asra works alongside our consultants to identify top talent, reaching out to potential candidates for key positions, and is known for bringing a positive attitude and collaborative mindset to every project.
Outside of work, Asra is passionate about painting and often spends her free time exploring her creativity on canvas. She is also deeply committed to humanitarian projects, volunteering her time and resources to various charitable causes and community initiatives.
Email asra@swexecsearch.co.uk or connect with/send a message to Asra on LinkedIn
Liz Michell - Associate Director
“I am a naturally curious individual and working in executive search has given me the opportunity to meet and have conversations with a wide range of interesting individuals. I enjoy learning about different sectors and industries and finding the best candidates for the roles I work on.”
Liz has been an independent Research Consultant since 2011 and has worked with Suzie Walker Executive Search as an Associate Director since 2017. She has a wealth of diverse sector experience, encompassing digital, retail, luxury, consumer, and property. Liz started her career in the Marine Hull Department of Alexander Howden, a Lloyd’s broker in the City of London. She has worked in executive search for many years, initially at Knight Wendling, an international American/Swiss search consultancy, involved in recruiting Managing Directors and senior level roles across several sectors.
She joined The Firth Consultancy, a boutique search business, as Research Manager, managing major projects in the UK, Europe, USA, and Japan. Subsequently she moved to Hoggett Bowers, as Research Manager, responsible for the research function, where she recruited executives across multiple sectors including IT, pharmaceuticals, and retail. Liz joined Exley Hervey as Head of Research in 2005 and moved to Karen Harvey Consulting as Director, Global Research in 2008.
Liz lives on the south coast, in Hampshire, and has a passion for the outdoors. She also enjoys open-water swimming, cooking and theatre.
Email contact@swexecsearch.co.uk or follow the team on LinkedIn
Katherine Walker - Associate Executive Coach
“By working solely with our egoic frameworks, without paying attention to the deeper layers of the unconscious emotional brain (or limbic system), to search for and define our core purpose and life’s meaning, we can create more problems for ourselves.”
Katherine is a former Executive, specialising in Brand & Marcomms, leading large teams across several blue-chip organisations. She latterly held a C-suite tenure on the board of a Shell subsidiary, making her the youngest and most senior female Executive in the organisation.
Today, after a successful career transition to pursue her love of nurturing and developing top talent, as well as an Executive and Leadership Coach, Katherine is an accredited and practising Psychotherapist. When working together in a Coaching capacity, you will work chiefly with the more conscious and rational part of your brain known as the ego, to help you realise your full professional potential. Whether that be honing your interview technique, banishing imposter syndrome, developing your confidence, or defining your authentic signature leadership style.
As a multi-skilled practitioner, Katherine is adept at working with all the professional opportunities and challenges that come your way, by bringing in and acknowledging all the key parts of you that help you work and perform at your best and will tailor the approach to suit whatever it is you have to bring.
Katherine has a warm, creative, and direct style which she flexes according to your needs and will help you to be the best leader you can be.
On the domestic front, Katherine likes to switch gears with yoga, walking and Pilates, preferably as part of a trip to the nearest spa where the only appointment she has is with a good book. Activities which mostly balance out a passion (read: obsession) for great food and wine, which she indulges in with her partner and those closest to her.
Email contact@swexecsearch.co.uk or follow the team on LinkedIn
Sue Leeson - Associate Executive Coach
“I believe everyone can benefit from working with someone who can provide a good sounding board, establish a helpful thinking framework, and probe deeper with insightful questions. Being able to take that aerial view, to define outcomes truly wanted, and to work out how to achieve them with relative ease in a confidential and trusted place can be a game-changer.”
Over 25 years ago, Sue started in advertising. Working within a leading global agency, it was coaching that gave her the confidence to build an independent business unit for the group. From here, Sue continued her career as a senior leader within Sky TV and then as part of the senior leadership team within QVC Inc.
At key points, Sue was gifted a coach, and subsequently developed her interest in coaching as well as developing a coaching approach to her leadership.
In 2015, Sue left QVC Inc. to gain professional coaching qualifications through the prestigious Meyler Campbell organisation (amongst others) and set up her coaching practice where she coaches senior leaders across a wide variety of sectors and roles, with a FTSE 100 and FTSE 250. Whilst each client may face different challenges, all share a genuine desire to grow.
Sue’s coaching style is described as both supportive and challenging in equal measure. Committed to professional development Sue believes we never stop learning and there are always opportunities to move forward with positive affect.
Sue lives in London with her husband Tim, their teenage daughter, and a small menagerie of pets. She enjoys challenging reads, very basic cooking, and most things cinematic.
Email contact@swexecsearch.co.uk or follow the team on LinkedIn
Jenifer Richmond - Associate Executive Coach
“I fundamentally believe that 1:1 executive coaching is the most powerful of learning interventions. Holding a safe space where issues can be fully explored produces a richness and depth of insight that surprises my clients time and time again. Seeing them grow and succeed beyond their expectations is a joy to behold.”
As an experienced and qualified Executive Coach and Leadership Mentor, Jenifer uses her own executive experience to relate swiftly to the challenges faced by senior executives. She provides a confidential, challenging, and supportive environment to give them the time and space to identify and work on their key business and development goals.
Her key to success is building strong rapport and trust to enable deep exploration of the underlying challenges, enabling the executive’s full potential to be realised. She helps her clients to establish clarity and focus and supports them to connect real meaning and value to their goals in order to generate a strong commitment to change.
With 15 years HR experience at Director level in major organisations, Jenifer is a qualified NLP practitioner, certified SDI facilitator and qualified in occupational psychometrics. As an experienced facilitator of executive team development and business strategy development, she has managed major change programmes, culture change and led organisational re-design.
Jenifer believes passionately that there is potential in everyone. She has extensive experience and a rich source of models and exercises to draw on to support the deepening of self-awareness and the breakthrough of new insight to accelerate the change process.
A supportive trustee of her local hospice, Jenifer also spends time keeping fit (DanceFit a particular favourite), walking outdoors, and experiencing nature in all its glorious seasons.
Email contact@swexecsearch.co.uk or follow the team on LinkedIn