HKA appoints Partner and Chief Growth Officer for EMEA region
Stuart Ells began his career at Ernst & Young and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
Stuart Ells has joined HKA as Partner and Chief Growth Officer for the EMEA region, the firm has announced. In his role, Ells is tasked with accelerating and supporting the growth agenda for the EMEA region, and will work with the EMEA Leadership Team to identify and source growth opportunities, including securing individual senior talent, and team lift outs, as well as M&A opportunities that will help the firm on its growth journey, the firm said.
Ells will report directly to Amanda Clack, Partner and Regional Chief Executive Officer EMEA at HKA.
According to HKA, Ells has over 30 years of corporate experience in the professional services, and media and entertainment sectors. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer at Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA), where he was responsible for all operational planning, running and reporting of the business globally. During his time with FRA, he successfully recruited a number of senior fee earning individuals, grew the Partner base by over 25%, and opened international offices in the Middle East and Asia.
“We are excited to welcome Stuart to the EMEA leadership team, and look forward to working with him to expand our presence across EMEA. His impressive track record in propelling growth in professional services firms aligns perfectly with achieving HKA’s vision for the future in EMEA,” stated Clack.
Ahead of working with FRA, Ells was MD & Chief Administrative Officer for Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) Europe & Middle East, where he was responsible for the management, effectiveness and efficiency of the corporate support functions in the EMEA region. His role included future proofing the support structure to make it scalable to support the very significant growth of A&M in the EMEA region in recent years. Prior to his CAO role, he had led A&M’s European Media & Entertainment Corporate Performance Improvement business, during which time he had served as Interim COO of the Global English division of Pearson Plc.
“I am thrilled to be joining HKA at this exciting time in its growth journey. I am looking forward to working with so many expert colleagues to achieve our ambitious growth plans,” stated Ells.
