Management Team

• Mathew Gollop
• Herbie Ambrose
• Jason Armes
• James Purdie
• Ginko Gao
• Zakeera Vidler

Management Team

Mathew Gollop
Group Managing Director

With over 12 years experience in recruitment and executive search, Mathew joined ConnectedGroup in 2001 in Hong Kong and assumed control of the business in early 2002 through a management buy-out. Steering the business through the downturn of 2001-2003 he has driven strategic and operational development to achieve significant organic expansion of the business. Still maintaining a very hands-on approach, Mathew maintains a client facing role and has run searches in a broad range of industry sectors. He has also been instrumental to the ongoing evolution of ConnectedRPO, bringing a high-level tactical approach to client consulting. Herbie Ambrose
Regional Director, Middle East & Africa, ConnectedSearch

Possessing over a decade of experience in executive search, Herbie moved from the UK to the Middle East in 2002 where he has worked on numerous C-Level searches across a variety of industry verticals. As the driving force behind ConnectedGroup's Dubai office, covering the Middle East & Africa, Herbie built the operation from scratch to the 25+ staff that exist today and is the key strategic contact to our major clients across the region, and also helped to establish the Group's Board & Strategic Advisory services. Herbie is a former Army Officer and a graduate of the Royal Military Academy - Sandhurst. Jason Armes
Regional Director, Middle East, ConnectedSelection

After graduating in Economics from Nottingham Trent university, Jason began his career in recruitment with Hays PLC in 1995. Working from their Head Office in London within the construction and property brand, he developed strong client relationships with market leading companies utilizing selection and database methodologies. He moved into supply chain and logistics recruitment as a Regional Director in early 2001. He left Hays in 2004 and worked briefly in a more search driven recruitment environment covering design and build and commercial interiors in central London before being offered the opportunity to work internationally and launch the construction, property and legal brands for the Hays operation in Dubai in October 2005. He was made MD of the Hays Arabian Gulf business in 2007. Jason achieved the creation of the largest recruitment business in the Middle East, covering real estate, finance, investment banking, ICT, sales and marketing, legal, HR and all associated support functions. Jason joined ConnectedGroup in Sept 2009, to launch the selection business across the GCC from the Dubai office. James Purdie
Regional Director, South East Asia

Possessing over 15 years experience in recruitment and executive search, and 10 years operating at Director level, James has actively recruited in and managed teams across all the major operational and support specialisms within the banking and finance sector. Joining ConnectedGroup in Singapore in 2008 from one of London's most respected recruitment firms, he previously ran his own recruitment company who provided Pan-European recruitment solutions to the Investment Banking and Asset Management sector. He takes responsibility for the future growth and development of the South East Asian business.