Who we are
reputation and relationships.
THE STARFISH TEAM
Juliet Taylor
Chief Executive
Graham Goodwin
Chair
Katy Giddens
Director
Catherine Kift
Director
Penny Ransley
Director
Rob Stirk
Finance Director
Juliet Brown
Partner
Luke Judd
Partner
Parna Taylor
Principal
Rebecca O’Connor
Principal
Lorraine Payne
Consultant
Liz Barclay
Advisory Associate
Zoe Thompson
Research Associate
Charlotte Basran
Assessment Associate
Clair Clarke
Office Manager
Sarah Smithson-Ellis
Executive Assistant
Katherine Rake
Advisor
Esther Foreman
Advisor
Justine Powell
Advisor
Toni Anderson
Project Manager
Joëlle Prins
Project Manager
Joe Green
Project Manager
Alex Frith
Project Manager
Beth Grady
Project Manager
Kate Pearlman-Shaw
OUR ADVISORY GROUP
LIZ BARCLAY
Liz is a Radio and TV Broadcaster and Producer; writer and author. She is a passionate people person and works with Boards and CEOs on improving governance, trust and culture, diversity, customer understanding and engagement, and employee engagement – raising the bar across the charity, public and private sectors. She coaches in communication and presentation skills and chairs national and international conferences. Liz is Chair of the Money Advice Liaison Group and the Fair by Design Campaign to tackle the poverty premium; non-executive Director of the Lending Standards Board; member of the Fundraising Regulator Standards Board, The Equity Release Council Standards Board and the Ofgem Consumer Progress Panel; a Financial Inclusion Commissioner, Ambassador for the Money Advice Trust and IPSE the organisation for freelancers and the self-employed.
Katherine Rake
From her days as an academic, through her spell in government, to being a charity Chief Executive, to setting up a national statutory body and being a Trustee, governor and advisor, Katherine has always been focused on social purpose. As Founder and Director of Lucent she works with public bodies, charities and foundations who want their good intent to translate into real change in the world around them. She supports boards and senior teams to see clearly, make connections and drive change. This work helps provide new insight and connections that build confidence and equip people with the tools and skills they need to tackle old issues in new ways.
Esther Foreman
Esther has spent 20 years working in the not for profit, social enterprise and business sectors, running award winning campaigns, supporting enterprise and building teams. She founded the Social Change Agency in 2013 with a desire to combine organising, technology, communications and social enterprise to create a leading non sector-specific agency to improve movement building across the world. In 1995, she was the youngest person in the UK to be diagnosed with MS and continues to champion for better services and research for the MS community. Esther is a 2011 Clore Social Fellow; 2012 Winston Churchill Fellow, and 2013 School for Social Entrepreneurs Fellow and was recently placed in the Top Women in Social Enterprise. She is a former trustee of Genesis Housing Association and The National MS Society, and currently serves on the Board of The House of St Barnabas.
Justine Powell
Justine brings extensive commercial experience and a passion to promote women to senior level and board positions. She is currently working with a talented team to build the digital newswire Huxley Hub, investigating and reporting on climate change news and crimes. Prior to founding Huxley Hub, Justine worked at the crossroads of media and technology for 25 years at a number of big media and telecoms organisations, including the BBC, CNBC, Hutchison Whampoa and Handelsblatt Media Group. She was a Trustee and Non-Executive Director of MedicAlert, a social enterprise, for six years and holds an MA from University College London (UCL), BA from the University of Bristol and was a scholarship student on the Advanced Management Programme at Oxford University’s Said Business School.
Wondering how we chose our name?
The starfish is a symbol of guidance, vigilance, inspiration, brilliance and intuition. For millennia it has represented safe travel over troubled waters, friendship to the impoverished and those in need, and been guardian to troubled seafarers. Through its powers of regeneration, the starfish is also an emblem of strength and longevity. In a social and leadership context, the starfish helps us think about the power of renewal through organisational change and shifting thought and attitudes.
Join our team
Starfish is a modern, forward-looking employer that invests in its team and is dedicated to becoming an employer of choice. Our clients rightly expect the highest standards of service from us and we are a professional, achievement-driven and engaged team. We offer an exceptional range of benefits as well as the chance to work with lovely people who are amongst the best in the industry.
To find out more please contact katy.giddens@starfishsearch.com
