Team
Our Consultants work with a fully resourced Team of Associates and Researchers in each of our global locations.
Our Consultants work with a fully resourced Team of Associates and Researchers in each of our global locations.
Email:
Paul.Chrispin@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447826866415
Paul is the Founder and Managing Partner of Principal Search. Based in London, he is responsible for managing longstanding core client relationships, executing senior mandates and overseeing the business globally.
During his 20 year career as a leading search professional, Paul has developed successful partnerships with many international clients and completed high profile projects with Investment Banks, Physical Trade Houses, Oil Majors, Utilities and Commodity Hedge Funds. Projects include the strategic hiring of Global and Regional Heads of trading businesses, establishing and staffing start up trading operations, expanding businesses into new markets and upgrading teams. Paul has been responsible for some of the biggest moves in the commodity markets and has unparalleled experience in this sector.
Prior to his time in executive search, Paul gained first-hand experience of the commodity markets by working as a Physical Commodities Trader for 5 years, covering the base metals markets globally and trading FX. He had previously qualified as a Solicitor with Clyde and Co, a leading commodities and shipping litigation firm, where he gained his initial exposure to the commodities world.
Paul holds a Joint Honours degree LLB in Law and Business Studies from the University of Birmingham, completed his Post Graduate Legal Studies at University of Law, Chester and speaks fluent French.
Email:
Chris.Neidow@principalsearch.com
Tel: +19178620027
Chris Neidow is the Managing Partner, Head of Americas, for Principal Search. Based in New York, Chris is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the franchise across the Americas. Most recently Head of J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Energy Sales franchise, he calls upon his significant market knowledge and industry contacts in the commodity markets to advise and execute searches for Principal Search’s core clients.
Chris brings twenty-three years of experience building businesses, servicing clients, and managing risks while working in some of the world’s leading financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and Bankers Trust. Over the last seventeen years of his career, Chris built and led successful commodity franchises in the Americas and Asia.
Chris leverages his expertise in commodity derivatives, physical commodities, and commodity structured finance across energy, metals, agriculture, softs, and renewables for Principal’s clients. In particular, he structured and executed multi-decade natural gas supply deals and refinery intermediations under which his team handled the crude supply and product offtake. His roles placed him in the heart of the commodity landscape and allowed him to develop relationships within Trade Houses, Majors, Producers, Midstream, Refiners, Utilities, Transportation Companies, Growers, Industrials, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity Firms.
Prior to his focus in commodities, Chris spent time in interest rate derivatives, defined benefit swaps and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. He holds a BA in International Business from Franklin and Marshall College and a MBA in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Email:
Mike.Chilman@principalandpartners.sg
Tel: +447554553781
Mike is the Managing Partner of Principal and Partners, Head of Asia and co-founded Principal Search in 1997. Based between Singapore and London, he is responsible for developing and maintaining the Asia time zone business, specifically across trading, origination and analytics, dovetailing this far eastern intelligence into the UK and US businesses to produce a truly global talent mapping and tracking capability. He is also responsible for all aspects of the firm’s strategic development and expansion.
Prior to this, Mike worked in investment banking, specialising in global equities, fixed income, commodities and currency arbitrage. He started his career in UK retail banking where he joined straight from college on a graduate rotation program.
Email:
Jonathan.Scott@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447384548309
Jonathan is a Managing Partner at Principal Search and is responsible for the commercial division globally, cultivating key client relationships, including personally executing senior mandates across EMEA, North America, APAC and LATAM.
Having spent >20 years in executive search, Jonathan operates specifically in the global energy and chemicals markets. His focus is on sourcing executive and senior commercial leaders as well as business critical, senior operational leads across mid to downstream in oil & gas companies, petrochemicals / speciality chemicals and renewable energy. Jonathan also works in directly related fields including commodity trading, technology, infrastructure, shipping / logistics, private equity and consulting sectors.
Jonathan previously worked for the Italian Oil Super Major, ENI, running international, regional and local projects across 26 operating countries and as Managing Director for a leading, international procurement services and logistics business, supplying EMEA, Eurasia and LATAM energy sectors with a wide range of products, technology and services.
Jonathan is a former board member of the SPE, a current member of the Energy Institute and a Non-Executive Director for a Houston based iBPMs Technology Company, supplying the oil & gas sector with a market-changing digital operations platform
Email:
Scott.Reid@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447551563382
Scott is a Managing Partner at Principal Search and is responsible for the group’s Metal, Mineral and Bulk Commodity practice.
With over 15 years’ experience in Executive Search, Scott started his recruitment career within Financial Services for a large US Executive Search firm. He then went on to spend 14 years with a global boutique specialising in Commodities, as a Partner based in London.
Scott has an unrivalled network in the global Metals and Minerals community and has experience business developing and fulfilling the hiring and talent advisory needs for a wide range of clients, including Trading Companies, Miners, Industrial Manufactures, FTSE 100 Companies, Shipping Companies, Funds and Financial Institutions.
Scott holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Sheffield Hallam University.
Email:
Gurjot.Kaur@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447917823518
Gurjot is a multilingual Senior Consultant working within the Energy and Commodities practice at Principal Search, responsible for originating and executing senior searches across all front office and c-suite functions including trading, origination, analytics, operations and commodity linked financing, across Europe, Russia, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.
In addition to this, Gurjot also provides strategic advice around competitor compensation, build outs, diversity and market developments for a client base that includes Trade Houses, Hedge Funds, Oil Majors, Banks, Utilities and Shipping Conglomerates. Her focus is across both physical and financial commodity markets, spanning oil & refined products, LNG, natural gas, UK & Continental European power & emissions, coal, metals, freight and agricultural commodities.
Gurjot holds a BA in Drama Performance from Queen Mary University and speaks fluent English, Punjabi, Hindhi and Urdu.
Email:
Constanse.Bowes-Lyon@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447501081428
Constanse is a multilingual Senior Consultant within the Energy and Commodities team responsible for building and managing key client relationships as well as originating and executing global searches across all c-suite, front office and infrastructure functions.
Over the years she has built strong client relationships by strategically partnering with Renewables / Alternative Energy Companies, International Banks, Trade Houses and leading Energy Companies including Oil Majors, Refiners, Hedge Funds, Utilities, Logistic Service Providers and Shipping Conglomerates, to expand their global businesses. Constanse provides bespoke consulting services including key market moves, diversity and compensation surveys (structuring and restructuring compensation schemes including LTIPs) as well as strategic advice on potential business build outs, market developments and key market talent. She is also a Non-Executive Director of Den Norske Klub.
Previously, Constanse worked for an energy and commodities specialist boutique search firm predominantly working for one large Trade House. She started her career working within Political Affairs (Security and Defence) at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington DC.
Constanse holds an MA in International Relations from King’s College London and a BA in Anthropology with a minor in foreign policy and journalism from University of Bergen / American University, Washington DC. She speaks native level Norwegian, English, Danish and Swedish.
Email:
Ben.Max@principalsearch.com
Tel: +13472542807
Ben Max joined Principal Search in 2020 as a Senior Consultant in the New York office. Ben brings 20+ years of search experience serving investment banks, hedge funds and mutual funds ranging in size from start-ups to leading global firms. He has recruited senior management and individual contributors across research, sales, trading and portfolio management in asset classes including: equities, commodities and energy. Prior to joining Principal Search, Ben was a partner and co-founder of Management and Capital Partners where for 19 years he helped build a leading firm specialized in recruiting equity investment professionals on both the buy and sell-sides.
In addition to his work in the investments business, Ben has conducted multiple search assignments for corporate clients targeting Wall Street professionals for Investor Relations and Finance roles. The increased demand for elite financial analytical skills, industry knowledge and the ability to communicate effectively with shareholders has led corporate America to seek a more expansive and diverse talent pool. Ben has a demonstrable track record of identifying, assessing and recruiting candidates who have the skill set and personality to successfully transition from Wall Street to industry.
Ben is a graduate of Ithaca College where he received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing.
Email:
Kevin.Hazell@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447586640701
Kevin Hazell is a Senior Consultant working within the Energy and Commodities practice at Principal Search. Based in London, Kevin is responsible for supporting our core clients and developing new relationships by providing strategic advice and guidance on aligning talent needs with client strategies and plans and in response to the ever-changing commodity markets. Most recently, Kevin was a Partner at consulting firm Energex Partners, where he worked with Corporates, Funds and Sovereign clients to grow and develop energy businesses and to build commodity trading expertise. Combining this consulting experience and a depth of industry knowledge Kevin will advise on and execute searches for Principal Search’s clients.
Kevin brings over thirty years of industry experience leading and building commodity trading businesses while working at major organisations, including twenty-four years at BP, where he held senior leadership roles across their Integrated Supply and Trading business in Europe and the US, and led the supply trading activity in Russia for TNK-BP
Kevin leverages his expertise in commodity markets, strategy development and execution, physical trading and origination across Oil, Natural Gas and Gas Liquids for our clients. His roles at BP, Gazprom Marketing & Trading and Reliance Industries placed him at the centre of the commodity marketplace and allowed him to develop relationships with the Energy Majors, National Energy Companies, Trade Houses, Refiners and Midstream and Logistics Companies.
Email:
Peter.Yang@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447827989568
Peter is a bilingual Consultant working within the Energy and Commodities practice at Principal Search. He has a global geographic focus, however his particular strengths lie in the EMEA and APAC markets. Peter’s clients include Investment Banks, Oil Majors / Refiners, Smelters, Trading Houses, Utilities and Global Corporates and his track record consists of placing senior professionals across commodity trading, sales, origination, c-suite, structuring, fundamental and quantitative analytics, commodity linked financing, operations, risk, legal and compliance.
Peter holds an MSc in Risk and Stochastics from London School of Economics and Political Science and a BSc in Mathematics, Statistics and Optimisation from Imperial Colleague London. Peter speaks fluent Mandarin and English.
Email:
Hamish.Allan@principalsearch.com
Tel: +19172080419
Hamish is a Consultant within the Principal Search Energy & Commodity team in the Americas. With experience across a broad array of commodities, and a particular expertise in power, hydrocarbons, metals and carbon, Hamish has been central to the development of commodity franchises across North America and Australia.
Hamish brings over two decades of physical and derivative commodity expertise. Holding positions with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Duke Energy International and Bankers Trust spanning finance, risk, trading, structuring and sales which, together, provides Hamish a unique perspective on an organizations’ resourcing requirements. With over a decade working in North America, Hamish has built relationships across Trade Houses, Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, Upstream, Midstream, Transportation, and numerous Industrials sectors, and now brings this experience to Principal Search’s clients.
Commencing his career as a Chartered Accountant, Hamish holds a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University.
Email:
Kaye.Lee@principalandpartners.sg
Tel: +6591114814
Kaye is a multilingual Consultant working within the Energy and Commodities practice in the APAC market of Principal and Partners. She has over 10 year of global recruiting experience including managing stakeholder relationships, executing global searches across various levels and functions, providing strategic market insights around competitors, compensation, talent market, diversity, and recruiting process. Kaye has partnered with clients and built her network in industries such as Oil Majors, Investment Banks, Aerospace Engineering, and Technology – working with them to reach top talents from the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
Kaye holds a BSc in Psychology from Saint Louis University. She speaks English, Mandarin, and Filipino.
Email:
Lewis.Ward@principalsearch.com
Tel: +447826866422
Lewis is a Consultant at Principal Search based in our London office. He has partnered with some of our key fund and investor backed clients and has been responsible for placing business heads, individual revenue generators and entire teams across trading, research and analytics – covering both fundamental and quantitative disciplines. Markets covered include oil and refined products, natural gas, power, carbon, weather, agriculture, bulks and precious metals. Lewis has also delivered retained competitor analysis and intelligence projects to assist and direct clients in their growth and hiring strategy through entrance into new markets and geographies as well as benchmarking and upgrading of existing platforms.
Previously, Lewis worked for an executive search boutique, focused on non-executive and executive appointments for private equity portfolio companies.
Prior to that, Lewis worked at a global executive search firm, focused on trading, origination, structuring, technology, principal investing, research and analytics across the US, Europe and Asia for hedge fund and trade house clients within the energy and commodities space.
Lewis holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Sussex.