Stork & May - Career Advisors to Business Leaders


Colin Grant-Wilson Colin Grant-Wilson is the firm's Managing Partner. He has worked at board level across a range of businesses and sectors and in several countries. His experience encompasses large complex organisations as well as business start-ups. Career Colin’s first job was an Economist in Zambia and he then moved to Coopers & Lybrand where he became a Senior Consultant working on economic studies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After completing his MBA, Colin joined the Bank of America and held a series of account management and credit roles culminating in managing the bank's branch in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1988 he returned to the UK and joined Korn/Ferry International becoming a Partner in executive search working in financial services, general business services and private equity. Colin subsequently left Korn/Ferry to become Chief Executive in the UK of LeasePlan Holdings, then part of ABN AMRO. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, he led a highly successful transformation of the business from market follower to a market leader. Colin went on to pursue several MBIs before moving back to executive search and rejoining Korn/Ferry. In 1999 Colin was asked to join KPMG to take charge of its then relatively small and reactive executive search and selection practice. As the first ever Partner with this remit, Colin successfully and substantially grew the business expanding into management assessment and interim management and extending the original private sector focus to also cover the public sector. He was additionally appointed an Executive Committee member of KPMG's People Services. Education/Interests BA (Hons) Economics from Coventry University, MA Economics from the University of Leicester and MBA from Cranfield University. Foreign travel and cultures are central interests. Colin has travelled extensively and perhaps not surprisingly is a member of The Travellers’ Club. Other interests include football and he is a member of Queen’s Park Rangers football club. ^ Back to top of page

John Stork John Stork is the Chairman of the firm. He has experience of most business sectors. He has managed and started successful consulting businesses around the world and keeps in close contact with executive search professionals in the UK, US and elsewhere. He is a former board member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants in the USA. Career John started in textile manufacturing, moving into market research and marketing. He joined the international advertising agency that became DMB&B (and is now Publicis) as a research executive and was appointed Group Research Director in 1966. He moved into international management in 1968 and was based in Zurich, Paris and London, with particular responsibility for the Colgate-Palmolive and BAT accounts worldwide. He founded John Stork International in 1974 doing multi-country consulting and executive search with a strong research ethos. When JSI was acquired by Korn/Ferry in 1988 it had become one of the leading international executive search firms with 8 offices in Europe and minority interests in the USA. John became Chief Executive/Chairman of Korn/Ferry in UK, Africa and Middle East and was also responsible for Korn/Ferry's International Search Group, advising global clients from New York, London and Geneva. John decided to leave executive search in 1992 and worked in strategy and organisation consulting as a partner in Cornmill Consulting. Stork & May evolved from Cornmill in 1995. Education/Interests BCom joint honours degree from Leeds University in textile technology, economics and management. FCIPD and FRSA by invitation. Once fluent in French, German and Russian. He has held non-executive director appointments in food manufacturing, building materials and a leading charity. Vice Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and a member of the Royal Lymington Y.C. and Royal Southern Y.C. He is also a member of the Reform Club. ^ Back to top of page

Sarah Kellett Sarah Kellett has held senior management roles in financial services and executive search. She has a broad understanding of a wide range of sectors through working with corporate clients across the business spectrum in the UK and globally. Career Sarah had a successful twenty year career in the City, spanning lending, corporate advisory, equities and general management. After working at the Bank of England, she moved to Schroders as a lending banker. From 1983, Sarah was a corporate finance advisor and a director in investment banking at NatWest. During this period, Sarah worked with a large number of Chairmen and Chief Executives building their businesses across a wide range of sectors, including retail, construction and marketing services. Between 1991 and 1995 she held general management roles, including two years as director of the investment bank's Chairman's and Chief Executive's Office. In 1995 Sarah joined GKR and as a Partner was a material contributor to the growth of the business and in particular the marked development of the Financial Services Practice. She led a broad range of financial services assignments, specialising in asset management, investment and wholesale banking and senior functional roles across the sector. In 2000, when GKR was acquired by Whitehead Mann, Sarah moved as a Partner with the now market-leading business and focused particularly on investment banking, private equity and real estate. Education/Interests Sarah graduated from Oxford University in Modern History and has an MSc in Business Studies (with Distinction) from London Business School. She is Financial Adviser to St Hugh's College, Oxford and has been a Governor of Taunton School. Her interests include her family and cooking. ^ Back to top of page

Michael Fletcher Mike Fletcher has excellent knowledge of several business sectors with a focus on financial services. He has worked at board level in corporate finance, retail financial services, media and property management. Career Mike's business career began in 1969 as a graduate trainee with ICI. In 1974, he moved to financial services, joining a private investment company – MIL Ltd – responsible primarily for projects/investments which were property and financial services based, leaving to found a successful tourist services business. In 1981 he returned to financial services, becoming Managing Director of Planned Savings Ltd. In 1986 he joined Johnson Fry Group plc as Marketing Director and, after spells as the Managing Director of the Corporate Finance and Financial Services divisions, was appointed Managing Director of the holding company. In 1992 he joined the board of Blenheim Group plc as Managing Director of the UK trade exhibitions, conferences and publishing business, but was invited back to Johnson Fry in 1994, again as Group Managing Director. In 1998, Mike joined PA Executive Search and by 1999 was running the UK offices. In 2000 Korn/Ferry bought PA’s recruitment business and Michael was appointed Head of the UK Financial Services practice of Futurestep, Korn/Ferry’s online recruitment business. Education/Interests Mike has a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Keele. He has held non-executive appointments in financial services and property companies and has been a Governor of Richmond Tertiary College. His main leisure interest is fly-fishing, for which he travels extensively. ^ Back to top of page

Graham Turton Graham Turton has worked at board level in a wide range of industry sectors with a particular focus on consumer goods and media, manufacturing and engineering, technology, and professional services. He has managed large consulting businesses and has served on the governing body of the Institute of Management Consultants. His experience includes start-ups and he has worked internationally, most recently with a private French group. Career Graham began his career at Monsanto in sales and marketing of chemicals and plastics across Europe. In 1974 he joined the marketing and strategic consulting practice at P-E International helping B2B clients grow their businesses. He went on to run the practice before taking responsibility for developing P-E’s activities as a whole throughout the Middle East. In 1985 Graham joined Price Waterhouse and founded their marketing consultancy business before going on to lead their consumer goods, retail, media and transportation practice in the UK. As a senior client partner he managed large, complex assignments and was involved in a number of turnaround situations. In 1999 Graham joined a private French management consultancy group to establish the business in the UK. This was achieved through the acquisition of two companies and organic growth. Working closely with the Chairman and CEO he integrated a further 6 acquisitions to establish a European business and put in place effective management controls and systems. He was involved in preparing the business for a successful trade sale. Education / Interests BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from UMIST. He attended the Senior Executive Programme at London Business School and is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants. Graham sails, plays (high handicap) golf, enjoys fly-fishing and collecting Scottish Contemporary Art. He is a member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. ^ Back to top of page

Patrick Daley Pat Daley has had a career in human resource management in industry and the City. Before joining Stork & May he ran his own consultancy practice advising clients in financial and professional services and in the technology sector. Career Pat's business career began in 1976 as a graduate trainee with the Gulf Oil Corporation. He moved to the City in 1980 joining Bank of America's human resources team and his first appointment as an HR director was with BZW, now Barclays Capital. Subsequently he was appointed the global HR director for Dresdner Kleinwort and for Allen & Overy LLP. He has always worked internationally. He has experience of employment law and regulation in most of the major jurisdictions in Europe, the US and Asia. He has served as a board director and in that capacity has advised on people issues at crucial times related to organisation integration, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and downsizing. As a consultant, Pat's work included career development in partnerships; the design of leadership seminars; facilitation for leadership teams; the design of selection and assessment processes; and coaching and advice to senior executives and HR directors. Education / Interests Pat has a first degree in Economics from Queen Mary College, London University, an MBA from Cranfield and a further degree in Organisational Psychology from INSEAD. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Pat plays golf, enjoys walking on the South Downs, is an occasional diver and a retired marathon runner. Film, theatre and family take up much of the rest of his time. ^ Back to top of page

John McCarthy John has held a variety of senior corporate and consulting roles living and working on three continents. He has experience across a wide range of sectors including FMCG, business services and technology. Career John’s early career was in the City including Charterhouse Plc and Goldman Sachs. He then moved to Geneva with Digital Equipment Corporation, before transferring with them to the US as Head of Global HR for their Personal Computer start–up business. John returned to the UK in 1996 to be Global Head of HR of United Distillers, part of Guinness Plc. Following the merger with Grand Met to form Diageo, John was appointed the Group HR Director of The Rank Group Plc (then a FTSE 100 company). After the successful restructuring of Rank was completed, John then moved to Mercer in a senior consulting and account management role where his global clients included industry leaders in the energy, logistics and defence sectors as well as domestic clients in pharmaceuticals and healthcare. He subsequently returned to a corporate role as Vice President of HR for Brambles Limited in Australia and immediately prior to joining Stork & May, John had been working as an independent management consultant in the engineering services sector. Education / Interests John graduated from Nottingham University with a BA (Hons) in Politics and has a post graduate diploma in Personnel Management. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management, a Member of the Institute of Business Consulting, and Fellow of the RSA. His interests include rugby and supporting his children’s variety of sporting activities and staying fit enough to keep up with them. ^ Back to top of page

Tony May Tony May is the firm's Non-Executive Vice-Chairman. He has international chief executive experience in consumer goods, direct marketing, electronics, engineering and industrial services. He has also specialized in HR and Board level facilitation. Career After working in production control at STC, Tony joined Mars Inc. in 1963 in manufacturing and personnel. He moved from confectionery to vending in 1968, and in 1975 was appointed Group Managing Director of the international Vending and Electronics Group where he built new businesses from scratch, such as Klix and Chefmaster in Germany. He left Mars in 1981 to be President of ARA Europe, primarily in vending and food services. In 1984, after a period in Russell Reynolds executive search, he joined the Hawley Group (now ADT) as Chief Executive of the Direct Marketing division and was subsequently involved in post-acquisition integration work across a range of Group businesses. He moved to Lintas Worldwide in 1987 as International HR Director for the advertising agency network, with responsibility for senior executives in 47 countries. Tony worked with John Stork in Cornmill Consulting from 1994. They subsequently developed Stork & May as a separate business specialising in career strategy. Education/Interests Graduated from Oxford University in Physics. MCIM, MCIPD and FRSA by invitation. He has also been a Non-Executive Director of a National Health Service Trust and chaired employment tribunals.
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