Perrett Laver is a market-leading executive search firm serving the schools and education sector globally. We believe in the power of education to transform lives and opportunities, and our work across this sector is driven by deep commitment to connecting our clients with truly exceptional leaders.
Our Schools and Education Organisations Practice is intentionally broad and we seek to serve the sector as a whole, utilising our knowledge, expertise and networks to add considerable value in a variety of contexts.
Our clients range from leading independent schools to high performing and aspirational academies, new and growing multi-academy trusts to international schools, global schools groups to national and international educational bodies of all types.
We established our Practice to respond to some of the challenges in the way the sector has traditionally appointed its leaders. We are intentionally different and we strive to add value in a number of different ways. A commitment to creative, rigorous research, compelling, nuanced advocacy, exceptional process and first-class candidate care are all hallmarks of Perrett Laver's approach.
Perrett Laver has deep experience of the UK independent education and has a strong reputation as a leading firm serving the sector. We have successfully advised a wide range of boarding, day, co-educational, single sex, urban and rural independent schools on Head and Principal appointments.
Perrett Laver's success rate in advising on such appointments is 100%. This distinguishes our firm in the market and we are proud of the positive impact the individuals we help to appoint are able to make in post. We track this through a systematic programme of client and candidate relationship management and are frequently asked by previous clients and placed candidates to advise on other posts. Every year, over 50% of our work is repeat business with longstanding partner clients.
Perrett Laver work extensively across the preparatory and pre-preparatory sectors and have advised many of the country's leading schools on Head appointments.
We have also developed a particular expertise in advising 'tied' prep schools on Head appointments. The context for such appointments and the skills and experiences required in these posts are often very different.
Over the last five years, we have become a leading firm serving the academy and state sectors. We have advised a large number of school trusts, and standalone academies and maintained schools on Head and Principal appointments. We are committed to working with organisations where exceptional leadership can have a truly transformative impact and we have advised academies and maintained schools on all stages of their school improvement journeys.
We are a leading firm serving Multi-Academy Trusts on CEO and central team appointments. We have advised a number of the UK’s largest MATs on CEOs and Education Directors, as well as a number of smaller, regional MATs on CEOs and other central team appointments.
Perrett Laver's work with both international schools and leading schools across the world is a significant part of our Practice. As a global firm, our clients are based all over the world and we are accustomed to attracting and managing diverse, international candidate fields.
As the international schools sector has expanded, we have developed particular expertise in advising UK independent schools on the appointments of Heads and other senior leaders for international franchises. Outside of the British curriculum sector, we partner with leading schools around the world on Head appointments.
In addition to our significant work advising on Head appointments, we also have a strong track record of supporting client schools with appointments to a wide range of other senior leadership posts.
We have particular expertise in handling Deputy Head searches and in many cases have supported our clients through significant senior leadership restructures. Alongside our Deputy Head work, we also have a strong track record in advising on the appointment of Bursars, Chief Operating Officers or equivalent. Our other areas of specialism lie in the appointment of HR Directors, Development Directors, Admissions and Marketing Directors and Safeguarding Directors for numerous schools.
Lucy Hayes is Partner & Global Head of the Schools Practice at Perrett Laver.
Lucy founded the Schools Practice for our firm over a decade ago and she now focussed on advising the best schools in the world on leadership transition. Her track record includes successful Head of School appointments in every major world region and she has supported pre-eminent schools in North America, the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia on the identification, assessment and selection of new leaders.
Lucy holds a BA (Hons) in Modern History from the University of Oxford.
Katie is a Partner and Head of UK Schools, and Educational Organisations Practice.
Her experience in senior level executive search spans leading UK independent schools, international schools and international schools groups, maintained schools, multi-academy trusts and national and international educational bodies.
Katie holds a BA in English Literature from Cardiff University. Prior to joining Perrett Laver she worked in fundraising and development for schools.
Antonia is a Senior Consultant in the Schools and Education Organisations Practice.
She leads on headship appointments to independent schools in the UK and has broad executive search experience spanning senior-level roles in independent, maintained and international education. Before joining Perrett Laver, Antonia spent nine years working on school appointments at another leading international executive search firm.
She holds an MA in German from the University of St Andrews and is an HMC Governor at Sutton Valence School.
t: +44 (0) 20 3928 7373
James is a Senior Consultant in Sydney working in the Schools and Education Organisations Practice.
James has an MBA with Excellence from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the UNSW Business School and undertook exchanges at the Moscow School of Management, SKOLKOVO, and Fudan University, Shanghai as part of his studies. James holds a BA in History from the University of Durham.
Prior to joining Perrett Laver, James worked in education for over 20 years where he held senior leadership positions in independent schools in Australia and the United Kingdom. James has also coached rugby at an elite level with the Scottish Rugby Union and Oxford University RFC.
t: +61 499 454 589
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.
Gordon is a Regional Managing Partner, Americas. He leads our Canadian operations and delivers senior-level searches across all of the sectors in which we operate. He began with the firm in our London office and subsequently opened the Vancouver office in 2013 and the Toronto office a few years later.
Gordon holds a B.A. in Classics and Anthropology from Alberta, an MPhil in Archaeology from Glasgow, a PhD (on the looting and illegal trading of antiquities) from Cambridge (Homerton College) and a Corporate Executive Certificate from the Alberta, School of Business. He held junior research positions at Texas (Institute of Classical Archaeology) and Westminster (ESRC Project on the UK’s Dealing in Cultural Objects Offences Act 2003) and he was Collections Management Advisor at Alberta (Museums and Collections Services). He was also an Associate Scholar on the Intellectual Property in Cultural Heritage Project and continues to write book reviews for a few academic journals. He also brings government experience from the UK (Parliamentary Ombudsman) and Canada (Government of Alberta), where he managed a socioeconomic program evaluation team and received a Premier’s Award for outstanding client services.
t: +1 604 358 7113