Who We Are

Andrew Staite
Managing Director

Andrew has more than thirteen years’ experience in executive search and selection. He spent ten years with Morgan & Banks/Hudson, resigning his position of Managing Director to found SHK. Andrew commenced his career as a lawyer.

At SHK Andrew recruits senior executive level assignments (CEO, Executive Director and GM). He maintains a long held executive search and selection specialisation in the fields of communication, corporate affairs and human resources.

Andrew holds Arts and Law degrees from the University of Melbourne, supported by post-graduate study within the University of Melbourne Masters of Commerce (HR) programme. 



Luke Henningsen
Director

Luke has consulted in executive search since 1996. His career was developed initially as a lawyer and subsequently within banking. Prior to founding SHK, Luke was Executive GM A/NZ for Chandler Macleod Ltd. He also established the Melbourne office of boutique Investment Banking search firm, Jon Michel Executive Search.

At SHK Luke recruits senior executive assignments in Financial Services specifically, and across a wide range of other industry sectors for Venture Capital/Private Equity funded businesses. In addition to CEO, COO, Executive Director and GM level positions, Luke has a strong track record in executing search assignments for senior technical specialists and difficult to find experts.

Luke holds Commerce and Law degrees from the University of Melbourne, supported by post-graduate study within the Macquarie University Masters of Applied Finance and the Melbourne Business School MBA programmes. Luke is a member of the Australian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. 



Dalia Klein
Director

Dalia has thirteen years' experience in executive search and selection including eleven years with Morgan & Banks/Hudson. Before entering recruitment, Dalia worked as a Chartered Accountant for Grant Thornton. Prior to founding SHK, Dalia was Senior Manager of Hudson’s Marketing & Communication practice.

At SHK Dalia recruits senior and executive level roles typically general manager, director and business management levels. She maintains a long held executive search and selection specialisation in marketing, product, strategy, communication and sales. Her experience spans multiple industry sectors.

Dalia holds a Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia and completed a post graduate Professional Year program with the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants.



Justin Bender
Director

Justin has over twenty years’ finance and accounting experience. In 2006, Justin was appointed Chief Financial Officer with a leading Australian law firm. Prior to this, he was employed as Financial Controller (Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia) for the global, high value management-consulting firm, A. T. Kearney. At that time, he lead international finance teams covering six countries across Asia Pacific.

Justin has been involved as a focus session leader for the Chartered Accountants Program and has held volunteer finance roles in the not-for-profit sector before settling in Melbourne.

Justin is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Newcastle.



Ann Baldwin
Director (Sydney)

Ann has more than ten years' experience in the executive search & selection and contracting markets. She has consulted in Sydney and the UK, specialising in Accounting & Finance, Human Resources & CEO/COO/Executive Director Appointments - Ann’s extensive recruitment experience also includes project managing and recruiting teams for projects and national team expansions.

Prior to joining SHK, Ann was the Sales & Service Director for one of the world’s largest recruitment & consulting firms. Ann led the A/NZ sales & account management team responsible for assisting key clients in the development of their recruitment strategy and partnering with them to assess, develop and implement their desired recruitment model/solution.

Ann provides her clients with specialist knowledge and expertise on key issues around the attraction and retention of talent . She has established a strong reputation for building long term strategic partnerships with her clients and for her commitment to delivering an outcome driven, truly consultative service.

Ann holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from the UK.



Nik Ruparel
Director (Sydney)

Nik has more than eight years’ experience in the executive search and selection. He developed his career at Michael Page International and Hudson and has consulted in both Sydney and London. He specialises in the fields of marketing, sales and communication across a variety of industry sectors.

Nik commenced his career as an Auditor for a leading UK firm before moving into business consultancy, where he consulted to a number of FTSE 100 companies.

Nik graduated with a Business degree from Southampton Solent University in the UK.



Alan Simpson
Head of Outplacement

Alan is one of Australia’s leading experts in career transition and outplacement with over seventeen years experience in the field.

Prior to joining SHK, he managed Australia’s largest outplacement consultancy and during this time directed many of the Country’s largest restructuring and downsizing projects. He is also highly skilled at program delivery and has successfully assisted over one thousand executives with their career transitions.

Alan’s early career was with Shell where he held various senior petrochemical marketing roles. He then moved to Human Resources where he was the Director of HR for a major US graphics company.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts [honours] from Monash University and has a wide variety of interests including; classic cars, wine, antiquarian books, travel and military history.



Tim Morden
Head of Accounting & Finance

Tim has over five years’ executive recruitment experience, specialising in the disciplines of accounting and finance. Prior to the founding of SHK, Tim was employed by one of the world’s largest executive recruitment firms where he won numerous awards for high performance and service delivery.

Tim has fostered strong industry networks and excellent working relationships with clients and candidates alike. He has a proven record of successful delivery in the Accounting & Finance discipline, both for executive permanent positions, and interim management solutions.

With a well-deserved reputation as one of the industry’s most successful consultants, Tim leads SHK’s Accounting & Finance practice.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne.



Katrina Andrew (nee Hall)
Principal Consultant

Katrina has over six years’ recruitment experience and joined SHK in October 2008.  Prior to SHK, Katrina was with one of the world’s largest executive recruitment firms, where she was consistently renowned as the Sales & Marketing Practice’s top performer. Katrina specialises in senior search and selection recruitment assignments for a broad range of marketing and communication roles in the financial, professional and broader services sectors. She is highly regarded for her ability to understand her clients’ businesses and culture and for the quality of the outcomes she achieves. Katrina also has experience in executive contracting and interim management recruitment.

Prior to her career in recruitment, Katrina had just under ten years’ corporate experience. She worked in financial services at both ANZ (Stockbroking) and NAB (Financial Planning, where she was consistently ranked in top five Australia wide). In addition, Katrina spent time early in her career in IT sales with Hewlett Packard. She has also worked agency-side in marketing.

Katrina holds a Bachelor of Business, Economics & Finance with a major in Marketing and a Diploma in Financial Planning (DFP 1-8).



Rachel Ashton
Principal Consultant

Rachel is a highly experienced recruiter within the healthcare space specialising specifically in sales and marketing.

Rachel commenced her recruitment career at Manpower in England over 9 years ago before moving to Australia in 2005 to join Hudson Global Resources as a Senior Consultant for their healthcare sales and marketing team, recruiting roles ranging from GP/Hospital Sales Representatives and Product Managers to Department Heads and Senior Management. Rachel has successfully engaged in national team builds for the launch of new products as well as delivering individual tailored solutions at a high success rate.

Now at SHK, Rachel continues to specialise in the healthcare sales and marketing field.

Rachel is a highly regarded recruiter with a reputation for high ethics and excellent follow up. She has won numerous awards for high performance and delivers a passionate service along with a deep understanding of therapeutics and the healthcare industry to her clients and candidates.

Complementing Rachel’s experience in healthcare recruitment is her degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Brighton in the UK.



Antoinette Attard
Principal Consultant

Antoinette has more than six years’ experience in executive recruitment having consulted in Australia and New Zealand, in the accounting and finance disciplines. Prior to SHK Antoinette held a management role within an Australian listed recruitment business where she became well recognised across the commerce and industry sectors with a specialisation in contracting.

Previous to recruitment, Antoinette had five years corporate experience in Accounting, Project Management – Business Process Re-engineering within the Australian Legal sector.

Antoinette holds a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Human Resources, Employment Law and Business Practices.



Helen Cassidy
Principal Consultant

Helen has a strong track record recruiting within the financial services sector in Australia and the UK with a particular focus on the placement of Superannuation and Insurance professionals over the past 4 years.  Working with a range of SME and bluechip organisations, she is well networked within the Melbourne market and well known for providing considered consulting advice to her candidates and presenting outstanding talent to her clients.

Helen graduated with a BA Hons degree (Marketing major) from Strathclyde University in Scotland.



Tracey Curro
Principal Consultant

Tracey, a former 60 Minutes Reporter and Al Gore Climate Change Ambassador, has over twenty years’ experience in the media and communication industries. Prior to joining SHK, Tracey was Head of Communication for Sustainability Victoria.

At SHK Tracey conducts assignments in corporate and public affairs, government relations, internal communication, digital/online communication and sustainability. Tracey’s network spans multiple sectors including banking and finance, sustainability and environment, automotive, health, government and media.

Tracey holds a Bachelor of Business (Communication) from the Queensland University of Technology. She is a graduate of the Institute of Strategic Leadership, New Zealand.



Eliza Grant
Principal Consultant

Eliza has more than six years' executive recruitment experience specialising in the disciplines of marketing, communication and sales. Prior to the founding of SHK. Eliza was employed by one of Australia's largest executive recruitment firms where she became recognised as a leading Consultant across the financial services and consumer sectors; with a specialisation in contract recruitment.

Eliza prides herself on her high level communication and believes her strong relationships with candidates, accompanied by her deep understanding of her client base, are the key factors in running a successful recruitment process.

Prior to recruitment, Eliza was in the profession of marketing and communication, working with both publicly listed and private firms. Eliza's industry experience has equipped her with a sound knowledge and understanding of the field in which she now consults.

Eliza holds a double degree in Business (Marketing Major) and Communication (Public Relations Major) from Monash University.



Virginia Henningsen (nee Keeghan)
Senior Psychologist

Virginia is a registered psychologist who has worked as an assessment and development based psychologist within organisational settings in Melbourne and Sydney for over 10 years.

Before SHK, she was a senior psychologist for PDI, a leading global organisational psychology firm, where she gained broad industry experience managing assessment and development programs for small emerging enterprises to the top 100 Australian companies and Fortune 500 Global corporations in finance, banking, manufacturing, advertising, education, utilities, FMCG, automotive, professional services, retail, IT & T and health.

Earlier in her career, Virginia worked as a Human Resources Manager and was an Executive Recruitment Consultant for 4 years.

Virginia holds a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology, both gained from La Trobe University, Melbourne. She is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and is registered as a full psychologist with the Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria.



Samantha Hogan
Principal Consultant

Samantha is a seasoned specialist in executive property recruitment. Prior to joining SHK, Samantha worked for Judd Farris for six years, advancing to the position of Director in their UK business, based in London.

At SHK Samantha recruits senior executive level professionals across all areas of Property & Real Estate.

Samantha holds a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Human Resources & International Business from Queensland University of Technology.



Tim Hutchinson
Principal Consultant

Tim Hutchinson has 13 years’ experience in Accounting & Finance recruitment, initially in London in operational and senior leadership roles and latterly in Australia. Tim relocated to Sydney three years ago and has conducted search assignments for clients across Commerce & Industry and Financial Services. Tim also has strong networks in advisory and consulting clients across Australia.

At SHK, Tim specialises in Permanent and Interim Accounting & Finance positions and C-Level roles. He has conducted searches for SMEs through to ASX 100 clients and is well networked. Tim will typically tailor a solution to the requirements of his client whilst advising on the best approach based on practical experience of his markets.



Tom Jeffs
Principal Consultant

Tom commenced his executive recruitment career at Harrison Willis in London before joining Michael Page in 1999. Tom moved with Michael Page to Melbourne in 2001. In total he spent eight years with Michael Page International, managing teams and conducting executive search and selection assignments in the Technology field, predominantly in the Banking & Finance sector.

At SHK Tom specialises in the placement of senior delivery/consulting or operational management roles with a heavy Business/Technology & Transformation bias. His practice encompasses search assignments for Heads of Business, Practice Leads, and Programme Management, Senior Project Management and senior change/transformation roles for some of the largest corporates in Australia.

Tom graduated from the University of London with a Psychology degree.



Jonathan Klotz
Principal Consultant

Jonathan developed a robust search and selection practice in Accounting & Finance at Talent2 before joining SHK.

At SHK, Jonathan leads mid and senior management appointments in all areas of Accounting & Finance including Chief Financial Officers (Divisional), financial controllers, commercial business partners, group accountants/analysts and specialist roles in tax, treasury, audit and pricing. Additionally, Jonathan has developed a complementary practice in group strategy and consulting.

Jonathan has seven years' experience in Executive Recruitment and Search. Prior to entering the recruitment industry Jonathan worked for several years in Commercial Management and Consulting – with a boutique management consultancy and a major multinational. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.



Aaron Mathieson
Principal Consultant

A qualified lawyer, Aaron has more than nine years’ executive search experience in the legal sector. Prior to joining SHK, Aaron was Associate Director of Dean & Ling. His legal recruitment experience had been earlier honed with Mahlab.

At SHK Aaron specialises in the search and selection of Lawyers and Partners into law firms as well as legal counsel and compliance professionals into Australian banks, superannuation funds and fund managers.

Aaron holds Law and Commerce degrees from Deakin University, majoring in management and marketing.



James McCoy
Principal Consultant

James has over ten years’ experience in executive search and selection, commencing his career in 1999 with one of the UK’s leading IT recruitment organisations. Prior to joining SHK James held a management role where he was responsible for leading a team of IT consultants and executing senior IT appointments across multiple industry sectors.

At SHK James specialises in the sourcing and selection of interim and permanent IT professionals. James employs proactive sourcing strategies to secure experienced IT professionals for CIO, General Management and senior programme/project/change/transformation roles.



Rob Meek
Principal Consultant

Rob has more than four years’ recruitment experience specialising in senior sales and sales management positions. Supported by his ability to source premium talent through search & selection, are his strong industry networks and corporate knowledge across a variety of markets. Rob has recruited senior sales roles including General Managers, National Sales Managers, State Managers and National Business Development Managers.

Prior to joining SHK, Rob worked with a boutique sales recruitment firm where he managed a small team and was consistently heralded as a top performer in Melbourne for the last three years.

Prior to recruitment, Rob had a successful sales and marketing career in Melbourne and the UK.



Tony Megally
Principal Consultant

Tony has consulted in the Consumer, Business & Corporate Banking markets since 1999. He partners closely with Major Local Banks, Multinational & Boutique firms and has strong capabilities recruiting a wide scope of senior roles across operations, credit, risk & compliance, relationship banking and project management.

Tony is renowned for delivering an exceptional level of service and is committed to forming and maintaining long term business relationships.

Tony joined SHK in November 2007 and previously managed the Melbourne Financial Services & Banking practice for one of Australia’s largest publicly listed recruitment firms where he was consistently recognised for top performance and service excellence.

Prior to his recruitment career, Tony gained over eight years’ Banking experience at both the Bank of Melbourne and ANZ.



Tracy Melonie
Team Leader

Tracy has over twelve years' experience in executive search and selection, specialising in the recruitment of sales and marketing professionals within the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices markets. Her strong networks and depth of experience ensures she provides a proactive approach to sourcing talent for the Healthcare sector.

Tracy has experience in recruiting positions at all levels from Specialist Sales Representatives & Product/Sales Managers to Senior Divisional Directors, General Managers and CEO’s. She has successfully conducted large national recruitment campaigns and led sales force team builds for new product launches.

Prior to SHK, Tracy worked for one of the largest global recruitment organisations managing the Healthcare sales and marketing team in NSW. Tracy was a consistent high performer and the recipient of numerous awards. Tracy is renowned across the Healthcare industry for her expertise, passion and commitment to delivering the right outcomes for her candidates and clients.



Laura Nord-Thomson
Principal Consultant, Outplacement

Laura has more than twelve years’ experience in human resource consulting and management in Australia and the UK. Laura has held senior leadership roles with two major global recruitment services groups, with responsibility for account management, operations and business management. As senior client partner in London with a national Human Resource Management consultancy, Laura delivered major client projects spanning the employment lifecycle from talent acquisition, management and development through to career transition.

Laura’s industry experience, spans both in-house and consulting roles in a wide variety of sectors, across all business functions from middle manager to executive level. Specialist expertise includes career coaching, executive recruitment and talent management strategy. Laura has worked with a wide variety of clients and candidates with a particular emphasis on middle management and senior executives. She is an experienced coach and mentor and has enjoyed success in transforming people’s careers.

Laura holds post graduate qualifications in Human Resources and Management and originally qualified as a General Nurse.



Steve Watton
Principal Consultant

Steve has more than seven years’ executive recruitment experience, specialising in human resources across both public and private sectors. He commenced his recruitment career in London at one of the UK’s most successful companies then joined one of the world’s largest executive recruitment firms when he moved to Melbourne in 2005.

Steve has developed a strong reputation in the Melbourne HR community through a combination of high-level service delivery, industry knowledge and a wide network across all sectors.

At SHK, Steve recruits executive permanent and interim roles.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Management (Human Resources) from The Queen’s University of Belfast.



Kath Shaw
Operations Manager

Kath has over fourteen years’ experience in senior professional, corporate sponsorship and operational capacities. Prior to the founding of SHK, Kath’s employers included one of the world’s largest investment banks, a State Government ministry and a leading international executive recruitment firm.

Most recently, she has been lauded for her role in managing the judging process for two of Australia’s most highly regarded business awards programs.



Ivana Calautti
Office Manager (Sydney)

Ivana has more than nine years’ experience in the areas of customer service, retail management and senior professional support. Prior to joining SHK, Ivana’s employers included an international lifestyle brand and more recently an international executive recruitment firm.

Ivana holds a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing & Human Resource Management from Queensland University of Technology.



Clare Dufty
Senior Research and Administration Coordinator

Clare joined SHK in 2007 and has more than five years’ experience in administrative roles.  She moved to Melbourne from Perth where she worked with an engineering firm.

Clare provides outstanding professional support including conducting research to assist SHK's recruitment consultants in various search assignments.  She also manages the day to day requirements for our numerous contractors.  Clare brings energy, passion and enthusiasm to her role.



Kate Maher
Research and Administration Coordinator

Kate has more than four years' experience in administrative roles.  She recently relocated from Perth where she supported a senior executive recruitment team.  Prior to this she held support and event management roles in the media industry.

Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies from Murdoch University in Western Australia.