Sheffield Haworth Names New Head of Middle East and North Africa

February 9, 2021 – Global leadership advisory and executive search firm Sheffield Haworth has promoted Abhishek Vats to the role of managing director and head of the Middle East and North Africa region. Mr. Vats has been with Sheffield Haworth for over five years. Based in Dubai, he focuses on senior executive searches in partnership with a range of clients including institutional investors, pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, alternative investors, private equity, and real estate firms.

The firm praised the efforts made by Mr. Vats and the team over the last five years, including a challenging past year across the global economy. “We are pleased to be able to recognize the hard work Abhishek has contributed to Sheffield Haworth,” said Alex Cormack, group managing director and SEO for the region. “Abhishek will be responsible for continuing to lead the growth of the business in the region. We have strong foundations in the Middle East and are very much looking forward to building our existing relationships as well as expanding our footprint across new clients and lines of businesses.” “I am delighted to be leading Sheffield Haworth Middle East into this next chapter,” said Mr. Vats. “Although we have experienced challenging times recently, I am confident that as we move through 2021, the landscape will continue to improve.  I am looking forward to working with the team to bring new solutions to our clients and continuing to strengthen our relationships across the region.”

A Strong Position

Sheffield Haworth recently announced 18 other promotions across all levels and geographies of the firm. Among them, Andrew Thompson was named managing director within the asset management team in the U.S.

“We are extremely proud of what our team achieved in 2020,” said Mr. Cormack. “It was a difficult and turbulent time for many people both personally and professionally. We pulled together to support our clients, bringing us closer as a business.”

“We have begun 2021 in a strong position in line with our Vision 2025 growth plan,” he said. “Through hard work, persistence and collaboration across offices and practices around the world, I believe that we can take big strides towards achieving our goals.”

The Americas and Asia will be key growth areas for Sheffield Haworth across all practices and solutions, and particularly in the technology and professional services sector. “We are actively looking for new talent to join us on this exciting journey,” said the firm.

A Newly Created Role

In another move, in December, Sheffield Haworth added Georgina Harley, formerly a partner at Mercer Consulting, as a group managing director and head of new sectors and services. In the newly created role, Ms. Harley joined the executive management committee and is responsible for key growth areas including consulting and technology services, talent development and advisory, and interim and consultancy services.

“We are thrilled that Georgina will be joining the team at Sheffield Haworth,” said Tim Sheffield, the firm’s chairman. “After a challenging year, we are looking forward to developing new services with our clients and accelerating the growth of the business in line with our strategic goals. Our aim is to be the No. 1 challenger consultancy in people and transformational change.”

During her 19-year career with Mercer, a human resource consulting business, she held a number of management and leadership roles in Sydney and London, including P&L management of growth businesses, international expansion of products and services, led multiple acquisitions and integrations, and managed cross functional teams. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and statistics from Australia National University and an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with the high caliber team at Sheffield Haworth,” said Ms. Harley. “As its clients have evolved so too has Sheffield Haworth – the deep relationships they have fostered over the years have led to the development of these new services and expansion into rapidly growing sectors. It couldn’t be a better time to help boards and executive teams position themselves for success.”

Sheffield Haworth, founded in 1993, is a global executive search, talent advisory and interim consulting firm. The organization partners with clients around the world to provide tailored solutions for their business and talent needs at the senior management level. The firm has 10 offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. It serves clients in the financial services, business and professional services and technology industries.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media