Perrett Laver has the most successful international Higher Education practice in the world, working in more countries than any other firm and having deep expertise, connectivity and reach in every major higher education market.
Higher education transforms societies through its unparalleled ability to create opportunity for students and solve the burning questions of our time through its research and translation.
In every country where we operate, we support the full range of HEIs; ground-breaking technology and design institutions; exceptional high quality teaching oriented universities; world leading conservatoires and artistic centres; private providers focused on professional training and education; top research universities of the world; ambitious next-generations institutions rising rapidly through the league tables.
As universities continue to diverge between locally transformative, teaching led institutions and global research powerhouses, it will be through having the right leadership that institutions will be able to succeed in an immensely competitive world.
We have advised on over 200 Vice-Chancellor/President searches worldwide – including 3 of the current top 10 universities in the world, and 12 of the top 50. By region we have assisted with 24 Russell Group Vice-Chancellor appointments in the UK, two of the top five Asian universities, two of the last four Group of Eight Vice-Chancellor appointments in Australia and the most recent three U15 Presidents in Canada. We are the only firm that has advised upon top 30 Presidencies across North America, Europe and Asia.
Through our work over many years on prominent Presidential and Vice-Chancellor appointments we have developed extremely strong networks and deep relationships with candidates in all international markets.
Securing world-leading talent is a major strategic priority for every university. Such hires are core investments for an organisation and it is crucial that the strongest possible appointments are secured across teaching, research and revenue-raising activities. Yet competition for such exceptional talent is high, presenting a key challenge for the sector.
We have advised on the appointment of over 2,000 Senior Academics from Senior Management teams - Provosts, VP, Rectors, Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellors, Deans of Faculty, Heads of Schools and Directors of Institutes.
Our clients are located in 50 countries and have included over one half of the top 200 universities in the world.
We are the leading firm advising on professional service and administration roles for HEIs across all functions including fundraising, communications, finance, human resources, information, estates and operations.
Much of our work here is introducing candidates from other sectors to HEIs, bringing with them modern and innovative models of organisational and administration that help HEIS adapt to a highly marketised faster paced and digital environment.
Perrett Laver has also worked extensively with international HE bodies, the leading global charitable funders for research, national and governmental funding bodies, learned societies, policy organisations, and other leading bodies within the sector.
We also work on posts where higher education, and educational agendas more broadly, meet wider government policy and priorities, giving us a genuine breadth of experience and understanding of the wider strategic issues within and across the sector.
Our Global Chairs and Professors practice has developed a rigorous and robust methodology based on our proprietary analytics for identifying, engaging and securing exceptional research talent.
We support global research intensive and research ambitious universities in 38 different countries across six continents. Over half of those appointed through our processes relocate internationally to take on their new post. The global nature of our work is intrinsic to success.
Principally we work on the appointment of full, tenured Professors, many of which are to endowed or named Chairs. We work across the full ranges of disciplines and our specific methodology can be adapted to the particular nuances of each specialism, including, for example, attention to a need for clinical qualifications and expertise, industry engagement or practice-orientation.
We are frequently invited to support on roles which also include specific leadership responsibility, such as Research Centre or Institute directors.
Tom is a Partner.
His experience of senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive, Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in the Higher Education and Research and Global Non-Profit Practices.
Tom holds an MA(Hons) in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to joining Perrett Laver he worked for creative agencies in the communications industry for clients including Virgin, Premier Foods and major government accounts including the Department of Health.
Sinead is a Partner
Her experience of senior level executive search includes Senior Academic, Director, Chair and Professorial appointments globally across all disciplines in higher education and industry research and development.
Sinead holds an honours degree in Zoology from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD in Neuroscience from University College Cork. Before joining Perrett Laver, Sinead was a Research Fellow at Erasmus MC Rotterdam investigating the crosstalk between the brain and the immune system and its relevance to psychiatric disorders
t: +312 0240 4375
Sarah is a Partner.
Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive, Senior Academic and Administrative appointments across higher education and health and social care.
Sarah holds a BA (Hons) in English and Related Literature from the University of York. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, she worked for an HR consultancy in the account management function and also trained as a career coach.
Katharine is a Partner at Perrett Laver and co-lead of our Hong Kong operation.
Her experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research within Asia-Pacific.
Katharine has until recently been the Resident Director for the Alliance for Global Education in Beijing. A native of Kentucky, Katharine, has lived and worked in mainland China for many years, beginning with a study abroad experience in Beijing in 1992-93.
After graduating from Reed College (BA in Chinese Language & Literature; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) she spent a year in China as a Thomas J. Watson fellow and then completed her M.H.S. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2000 Katharine returned to China, where she has worked as epidemiologist on various public health projects, including projects focussing on AIDS/STD prevention and control, with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese government. She also received a fellowship from the Blakemore Foundation to study advanced Mandarin Chinese at Tsinghua University in 2008-09.
Simon Laver is one of Perrett Laver’s co-founders. His diverse experience in senior level executive search includes CEO and board-level appointments in higher education, international development, research life sciences and healthcare.
He holds a first class degree from the University of Oxford and an MBA from the London Business School (including a semester at the Tuck School, Dartmouth College). He is a member of the Advisory Council of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life at the University of Oxford. Throughout his working life he has been very active in the Global Development sector having been Chair and Trustee for a number of internationally leading INGOs.
Jill is a Partner and leads Perrett Laver’s office in Glasgow.
Her experience of senior level executive search includes advising on Chair, Trustee, Chief Executive and executive team searches across the Non Profit and Social sector and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in the Higher Education and Research and Global Non-Profit Practices.
Jill holds an MA in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. She has lived and worked in Japan and spent her early career in the UK charity sector. She is a trustee of Business Launchpad.
t: +44 (0) 141 468 8249
Kate is a Partner
Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive, Senior Academic and Administrative appointments globally within the Higher Education, Health and Social Care, and the Arts and Culture sector practices.
Kate began her career in the arts, working in communications roles, culminating as Head of Communications at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Kate has around 15 years’ experience of working in global higher education, both from within an institution and externally, as an advancement practitioner and an advisor to government, institutions and other stakeholders. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Kate was Executive Director for CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Europe. CASE is a global membership association with a focus on advocacy, training, research and data to support advancement – fundraising, marketing, communications, alumni relations. Kate worked closely with HEFCE, Universities UK and Arts & Business on sector-wide initiatives to build advancement capacity, including launching a fundraising graduate trainee programme. Kate holds a BA Hons in French with Spanish.
Bing is a Partner at Perrett Laver and is now leading Perrett Laver’s new Hong Kong office, opened in January 2015.
His experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research within Asia-Pacific.
A native of Beijing, Bing was most recently Director for China Programmes at the Alliance for Global Education, where he led the design of all Alliance for Global Education academic programmes in China, developed and maintained institutional relationships with more than 200 universities in both the U.S. and China and oversaw the Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an centers of operations. Bing has many years of experience at senior management in global higher education and prior to that has taught in China and in the US at Asian Studies Department at Vassar College and Williams College. He has been central in building scholarly exchanges and joint programmes between US and Chinese Universities and brings a deep understanding of Mainland China and Hong Kong higher education and research sectors.
Bing Han earned a BA in Electrical Engineering in 1996, a BA in International Business in 1997, and an MA in Communications Technology in 2000 from the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Beijing Institute of Microwave Metrology & Measurement respectively.
Graham is a Partner.
His experience of senior level executive search includes Chair and Professorial appointments for a range of global Higher Education institutions, Chief Executive and senior administrative appointments in RTOs and multiple research leadership appointments in research and innovation focused organisations.
Graham holds a first-class honours degree in Zoology and a PhD (on the genetics of brain development and dysfunction), both from Trinity College Dublin. Before joining Perrett Laver, Graham was a Research Fellow at Imperial College London, investigating the mechanisms of neural degeneration and repair.
Gordon is a Partner and leads Perrett Laver’s office in Vancouver.
His senior level executive search experiences includes Senior Academic, Chair and Professorial appointments globally in higher education and leadership posts in the cultural sector.
Gordon holds a BA in Classics and Anthropology from the University of Alberta, an MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Glasgow, a PhD (on the looting and illegal trading of antiquities) from the University of Cambridge (Homerton College) and Corporate Executive Education from the University of Alberta School of Business. He has held research positions at the University of Texas and the University of Westminster and was Collections Management Advisor at the University of Alberta. He also brings government experience from the UK and Canada, specifically with the Government of Alberta, where he managed a socio-economic evaluation team and received a Premier’s Award for outstanding client services. Gordon is an Associate Scholar on the Intellectual Property in Cultural Heritage Project.
t: +1 604 358 7113
Fiona is a Partner.
Her experience in senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments globally in higher education.
Fiona has spent the majority of her career in executive search, working with a variety of organisations in both the public and private sectors. For the last decade, she has focused on Higher Education, helping to establish the Practice for Heidrick and Struggles and more recently working at Odgers Berndtson. She holds a Joint BA (Hons) in History & American Studies from Keele University.
Erik is a Partner and leads Perrett Laver’s office in San Francisco.
His experience in senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research, Health and Social Care and Global Non-Profit Practices.
Erik holds BA in History from Menlo College in California, where he was class Valedictorian and an MSt in History from the University of Oxford. Before joining the firm, he held the position of Business Development Manager for the international political consulting firm Oxford Analytica.
Janelle is Managing Partner of our Australian operations and leads our office in Sydney.
Her senior level executive search experience includes Senior Academic and Administrative appointments globally in higher education and research and for organisations across the cultural and sports sector
She holds a Bachelor degree in Social Science and a Master degree in Marketing from The University of Newcastle, and a Master degree in Management from The Australian National University. Janelle has significant experience in strategic marketing and communications, student recruitment, relationship management, events, business development and international relations. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Janelle held senior management roles at the Australian National University and the University of Newcastle and is experienced in sports administration having held the position of General Manager for Netball Tasmania, and has also held senior marketing and communications positions in the mining and not-for-profit sectors. Janelle has travelled extensively, particularly across Asia.
t: +61 (0) 2 8354 4000
Birgit Brandt is Regional Head of Asia Pacific and leads Perrett Laver’s office in Singapore.
Her experience includes Chief Executive and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in Higher Education and Research, Schools and Global Non-Profit Practices with Asia-Pacific.
Birgit holds a PhD from the University of Warwick in Sociology and MAs in Race and Ethnic Studies and Political Science from Warwick and the Freie Universitat Berlin, respectively. Birgit began her career as a Research Fellow in Berlin moving to the University of Warwick to work in the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations and the Department of Politics and International Studies. She moved on to join a novel research grants programme that sought to support partnerships between UK universities and charities and was appointed Head of Grants at the Royal Society and Director of Programmes at the British Academy. She has travelled extensively, including six months in PRC learning Mandarin.
t: +61 (0) 2 8354 4000
Dan Perrett is one of Perrett Laver’s co-founders. His areas of expertise are senior level executive search, primarily CEO and Board-level appointments, in the education, healthcare, not for profit and private equity sectors.
He holds a first class honours degree and an MPhil in Economics and Politics of Development, both from the University of Cambridge, where he was a member of Jesus College. A Cambridge University rugby blue, Dan played first class rugby for a number of years and represented Cambridge, Oxbridge, Rosslyn Park and Surrey.
He is the Chair of the Governing Body of the Guildford High School for Girls and a former member of the Local Governing Body of Lambeth Academy; and an Ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK.
