Profile of the Directors

Mark Jackson
Managing Director

• Joined Jared James in 1997 having previously been Head of a Credit business for both Investment Grade and Emerging Market Product at a highly respected executive search company.

• Prior to a move into Executive Search, Mark enjoyed a successful 20 year career in the International Capital Markets which included senior roles at a number of highly respected Global Banks.

• Over the course of a 30 year career in the Financial Markets, Mark has worked in London, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

James Bell

• James joined a major European Bank having completed a Bachelor Degree in International Business with languages at University. James focus was trading Euro Sterling Fixed Income products and supporting the distribution arm of the bank. In 1997 James made the decision to move to the ‘Buyside’ joining a top tier global Fund Manager within the offshore funds distribution business focussing on Germany and France.

• James moved into the world of Executive Search and joined Jared James Associates in 1998 where he worked within the Global Markets division.

• In 2000 James was recruited by an Executive Search firm in Hong Kong to setup and develop their Fixed Income and Global Markets business, following the Asian crisis. In the spring of 2003, James moved to Singapore to setup the executive search business for a boutique recruitment firm with offices in Sydney, Dubai, and Hong Kong where he oversaw a regional network of offices

• In 2006, James returned to London where he rejoined Jared James as a Director, looking after their Asia-Pacific business.

Paul Brown

• Paul has over 20 years experience in the London Financial Markets,with a career of over 15 yrs in Investment Banking.He has worked for UBS and ING the latter as Managing Director and Head of Credit Sales based in London.
• Paul moved into Executive Search in 2004 joining Jared James as a Director with responsibility for the firms activities in the Credit and Rates Markets.

Jonathan Head

• Mr Jonathan Head is a Director at Jared James Associates. He has over ten year’s executive search experience and is responsible for assignments in the
Investment Banking and Private Equity sectors.

• Primarily, these would be for M&A, Corporate Finance and Leveraged Finance teams and for Buy-Out Funds.
A number of these being “Infrastructure” or “Real Estate” related. He has an extensive knowledge of cross-border searches, particularly within the principal and growing economies of Western and Eastern Europe and has taken an active interest in the PFI / PPP market.

• Jonathan has particular experience facilitating financial institutions expansion into new product or geographical markets.

Simon Barker

• Simon joined Jared James in 2007 as a Director to head the credit and rates area after 10 years experience in Executive Search focusing on front office fixed income.

• Previously Simon graduated from Bristol University with a degree in Physics and worked for a major global consulting firm.

Alexandra Pereyra

• Alexandra joined Jared James Associates in 2008 as a consultant for the credit and rates team.

• Overall Alexandra has six years experience of working within Financial Services Executive Search. She spent four years working as a specialist FI researcher for some of the well-known search companies in London. She has gathered experience in roles such as structurers, market making traders, prop traders, salespersons, solutions marketers, analysts and strategists across fixed income, as well as looking at the hedge fund and asset management community.

• Alexandra is also a native Spanish speaker originating from South America and she will help build the Emerging Markets business within the Credit & Rates practice.

Mark Holbrook

• Mark is a Director at Jared James Associates working in the area of Insurance-Linked Securities.

• Mark focuses upon the growing convergence between insurance and pensions industries and the financial markets. He has expertise in all aspects of general insurance-linked securities, including catastrophe bonds, “sidecars” and industry-linked warranties. He also covers life insurance securitisation, including embedded value, mortality and longevity risk product areas.

Mark recruits for both “buy” and “sell” organisations, including Asset and Liability Management and Securitisation platforms at investment banks, LDI operations at asset managers, pension and risk consultancies and specialist funds.

• Mark has worked in the recruitment industry for twelve years. After graduating from Sheffield and Exeter universities, he joined a leading law firm but decided against a legal career. He worked for a network recruitment company, then a leading independent banking recruiter and in executive search from 2004. In addition to his specialisation in ILS, he is highly experienced in senior legal, executions and finance searches for other global markets businesses.

Shellina Jaffer

• Shellina joined Jared James in 2000 to set-up and manage the equity derivative products practice having completed her MBA specializing in Human Resources from the Cass Business School, London. The coverage extends globally across all revenue and non-revenue generating front office areas within equity derivatives, including sales, trading, research/strategy, quantitative analytics and product development. Her assignments range from VP level through to Senior Managing Director. Previously, she was employed by another boutique also in the equity derivatives sector.

• Prior to moving into Executive Search, Shellina worked as Pharmacy Recruitment Manager for a blue chip retail firm and as a Search and Placement Manager for PHD’s and Masters’ students including MBA‘s at the Cass Business School, London.

• Shellina began her career in pharmacy after completing her BPharm degree from The School of Pharmacy, Univeristy of London
• Shellina is supported by a dedicated Researcher / Junior Consultant.

Shani Shamah

• Shani joined Jared James Associates as a Director mid 2006 and focuses on treasury products including foreign exchange, currency options, commodities and the spectrum of short-term money markets instruments. The coverage extends globally across all revenue and non-revenue generating areas with specialization in trading, sales, structuring, research/strategy and eCommerce.

• Shani has over 26 years experience in the City with various top and second tier international financial institutions, mostly in foreign exchange and currency options. However, she is also a specialist in the business development of eCommerce offerings (both institutional and retail) and a generalist in various other financial products.

• In 2003, Shani had her first book ‘A foreign Exchange Primer’ published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, which was followed in 2004 by ‘A Currency Options Primer’, also published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Her first book has just been published in Chinese. Shani is currently writing/contributing four chapters for a series of finance volumes for Yale School of Management, to be published late 2007/early 2008.

Clare Grenfell

• Clare has 25 years’ experience in the City, most of it gained on the fixed income trading floors of major banks, starting at Morgan Stanley. She has deep and extensive personal knowledge and experience of origination, syndication and trading, having been head of syndicate for six years at BZW and head of new issues for three years at Sakura. She moved into the executive search business in 1999.

• Clare joined Jared James Associates in 2006 as a Director to concentrate on the fixed income business, with a particular interest and emphasis on the UK and Sterling markets.

• She has carried out many successful searches and placements (most notable amongst which was an entire 9-man Gilt-Edged Market-Making team) in trading, sales, origination and syndication.