My background
For 14 years I've worked in search and recruitment, and for much of that time I've specialised in something quite specific: helping mission-driven founders in complex, emerging fields appoint the people who make or break their progress. I founded Anthology in 2019 to do that properly — bringing the rigour of executive search to start-ups and scale-ups building genuinely new things, through an evidence-backed methodology rather than gut feel and luck.
Much of my work has been at the frontier of science and technology led innovation, across fields like agritech, biotech, nature-tech, regenerative agriculture, natural capital and the circular economy. These are worlds where the science is hard, the commercial models are still being written, and the roles you're hiring for often didn't exist a year or two ago. That's exactly the terrain I love: convoluted, high-stakes briefs where the real challenge is first working out what you truly need — and then finding someone who can genuinely deliver it.
Why Northern innovation, and why now
Being based in the Sheffield area, and I've had a front-row seat as the North's innovation clusters — Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and beyond — have taken off. University spin-outs, deep-tech scale-ups and science-led ventures are tackling some of the hardest, most important problems out there, right on my doorstep.
I've spent years helping innovators in nascent, complex areas hire well across a range of locations.... now I want to bring that experience directly to the founders and leaders on my own doorstep who are building the North's future. I understand both the science and tech worlds you operate in and the very human challenge of building a team around a bold mission.
How I work
Every business I work with is building something different, so I never start with a template. I start by understanding what you're trying to achieve, what kind of person will genuinely thrive in your culture, and what a great appointment needs to look like — then I do the rigorous, evidence-led work to make it happen. I'd rather help you appoint one person who transforms your trajectory than ten who simply fill seats.
A bit about me
The mission-led thread runs through everything I do. I'm a member of the Nature Tech Collective, and Anthology is a 1% for the Planet business.
1% for the Planet
A percentage of revenue supports environmental causes.
Nature Tech Collective
Member of a community accelerating nature-tech.