Gary Browning | Chief Executive

Gary Browning joined Penna in 2002 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2005. His earlier career included 12 years with the WPP Group where, from 1997 to 2002, he was Group Managing Director of BDG McColl Ltd, a brand communications consultancy employing 200 people. Gary sits on the Investor’s in People UK Human Capital Management standards group Board. He has run recruitment businesses and consults on a wide array of talent management issues, with particular interest areas in Engagement strategies, leadership development and HR Due Diligence. He coaches and mentors senior executives with a particular emphasis on improving performance and leadership competence.

Gary is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and qualified with KPMG having studied for his degree at Warwick University.

Bev White | Managing Director, HR Consulting

Bev joined Penna in 2002. In just eight years she led our Career Transition business into the number one position in the UK market place in the private sector. She has accountability for leading the continuous design, development and delivery of the Career Transition services. Bev was made Managing Director, HR Consulting in 2009, which encompasses Career Transition, Training and Development, Board and Executive Coaching and Performance and Change Consulting Solutions.

Bev’s earlier career included seven years as CIO of NtL and prior to that as Director I.T. for Schlumberger. Today, she is President of the UK Association of Career Firms and of the European Board for the Association of Career Firms. In her work, she is passionate about innovating to make sure that our services are relevant for our clients and add real value to their business.

Julie Towers | Managing Director, Recruitment Solutions

Julie joined Penna in 2011 to expand and enhance the resourcing offer to both the public and private sector. She is responsible for developing Penna’s business across Communications, Resourcing, Executive Search and Executive Interim. Prior to joining Penna, Julie was Chief Executive of Tribal Resourcing, a £60m turnover business offering integrated resourcing solutions. One of the fastest growing recruitment companies in the UK, Tribal won recruitment business of the year in 2010. Julie has been in HR, and specifically resourcing for over 25 years. During her career she has been employed by organisations such as Nottinghamshire County Council and the Riley Group, where she worked for 17 years, starting life as an Account Executive before becoming Managing Director of the Midlands region offering recruitment advertising, executive search and selection and education marketing to a wide range of private and public sector clients. For the last 2 years at Riley, following an acquisition by Euro RSCG, she led the search and selection consultancy and graduate recruitment business across Europe. Julie joined Tribal Group plc in 2002 and became Chief Executive of their Resourcing business in 2003.

David Firth | Finance Director

David Firth qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Thomson McLintock in 1985. He joined the Board of the Company in September 1999. Previously he was Finance Director of Parity Plc.

David Hunter | Director of Executive Search

David leads our Executive Search practice, having joined Penna in 2006, and he’s been successfully delivering executive search and selection solutions to the public and private sectors for 16 years. He has particular expertise in reaching out beyond the list of “usual suspects” to deliver fresh talent and leadership solutions for local and central government. His early career includes eight years in the Army and five years’ senior corporate recruitment with PwC’s executive search practice. He also spent two years with a not-for-profit boutique, delivering Chief Executives and Senior Management Teams for leading charities and professional bodies. An active figure in our work with key clients including Moorhouse Consulting, GE Aviation, DfT, HMRC, Unum and Nottingham University NHS Trust, David is qualified Level A and B in psychometric assessment with the British Psychological Society.

Declan Woods | Board and Executive Coaching Director

Declan leads Penna’s coaching practice and manages some of Penna’s largest client relationships. He is a board and executive coach and leadership developer who specialises in coaching high-achieving leaders. He coaches senior leaders across a range of sectors and is known by his clients as bringing clarity to complex organisational problems and helping them get ready for change. He specialises in coaching for change-readiness and helping leaders identify and leverage their core strengths to be even more successful. He is also UK Director of the Association for Coaching (AC) and an ExCo Member of the BPS’s Coaching Psychology Group and a thought leader in the coaching field and sought after for his work on professional coaching standards and accrediting Executive Coaches.

George Griffin | Management Coaching and Development Director

George leads Penna’s Leadership, Management and Career Development proposition across all sectors with a strong focus on interventions which provide solutions to organisational issues while enthusing and challenging leaders and managers.

After a successful career as an Army Officer, George joined Penna in 2005 as a Client Partner looking after Financial Services clients and responsible for business development, sales, delivery and project management across the entire suite of integrated HR services. During this time in the Army, George developed a specific interest in Leadership Development and Training. This interest was honed as a Client Partner which he now applies in a commercial setting for Penna.

George is an Honours Graduate of Liverpool University and a Graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. George has a passion for challenge. In 2008, he ran the 150-mile Marathon des Sables in Morocco and is currently planning to cross 1,000 miles of the Kalahari on foot in 2011.

Graham Weemes | Managed Recruitment and Assessment Director

With over 12 years’ experience within Resourcing, Graham has acquired an unrivalled insight into the delivery of complex recruitment projects for public and private-sector organisations. Whether the client requires onsite or offsite, volume, multiple specialist or single-role recruitment, Graham manages the operational infrastructure and relevant resources needed to produce results. His understanding of the main Recruitment Software providers also means that he can advise clients on the most effective recruitment workflows and best possible use of their system. By keeping abreast of all current technological developments, he ensures our clients are best placed to stay ahead in our increasingly competitive environment.

Gwyn Rogers | Talent and Assessment Director

Gwyn has worked in leadership assessment and development for more than 20 years and now leads our Assessment practice. He has an extensive track record of working with multinational businesses at board level to measure and develop leadership talent as part of significant change programmes. These have included mergers and acquisitions, brand changes and restructuring.

Over the years, Gwyn has undertaken leadership assessment and development projects across sectors including retail, engineering, financial services, manufacturing, utilities, FMCG, communications and leisure. This has seen him work with companies such as Marks and Spencer, Boots, Serco, Hyder Group, Courtaulds, William Hill, Masterfoods, Powergen and Sky. He has also been involved in the recruitment and ongoing coaching of CEOs and board members of several UK PLCs and FTSE organisations, and has a wide experience in Top Team development. Gwyn is a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Simon Drake | Executive Interim Director

Simon has worked in the executive resourcing and consulting sectors for over 15 years, working with Boards of FTSE 100 companies through to SMEs. He’s also managed assignments ranging from CEO level to Project Specialists. His executive interim management experience is backed by management experience at strategic level (LSE-listed consultancy), with a background in project management and consulting.