Roopa
Sharma
CEO & Managing Partner
Roopa is interested in everything that is challenging to the mind, innovative and requires strong initiative to fly!
With over 18 years in specialized hiring, Roopa brings a wealth of experience from esteemed global firms like Korn Ferry, Futurestep, and Accord Group. Before Grok, she led leadership hiring at Maxlife Insurance, overseeing CXO and board-level recruitment. Additionally, she was the TA SPOC for Digital CoE & QSEI hub requirements.
A strong believer of experience being the greatest teacher, human behaviour intrigues her, human potential, more so.
As CEO of Grok Search, Roopa is committed to fostering meaningful partnerships and connecting organizations with top-tier talent aligned with their goals. Executive search nonpareil!
Amit
Sharma
Business Development Director
Amit is an experienced commercial leader who understands the agility of start-ups and executional excellence of scaled-up organizations with equal ease.
MDI Gurgaon alumnus Amit brings more than two decades of experience with conglomerates like PepsiCo, and Tata Consumer Products and start-ups by renowned Multinational PE firms.
At heart, a people person, Amit has mentored and led teams with his deep sense of understanding not only the business but also the people he is dealing with, as clients, colleagues & teams.
With his industry expertise, he understands an organization’s business challenges, to help clients build teams & capabilities for sustainable long-term impact.
Vandana
Saharan
Consulting Partner
Vandana Saharan is a forward-thinking professional holding a postgraduate degree in Management, embodying the spirit of a lifelong learner with a profound sense of responsibility. Drawing from a rich tapestry of experiences, she has seamlessly navigated roles ranging from telemarketing in the hospitality industry to serving as a director in a media startup and later as a customer care head in a health tech startup. However, it was in the recruitment industry that Vandana discovered her true passion, dedicating the past four years, since 2020, to this dynamic field.
In her journey within the recruitment landscape, Vandana has made a mark by successfully placing candidates across diverse domains such as Technical, Digital, Sales/ Marketing and Finance. Her service portfolio ranges across varied industries like BFSI, PHL and Industrial.
Vandana brings to the table a unique blend of discipline, dedication, and an unwavering desire to scale new heights. Her commitment to excellence is evident in her track record of connecting top-tier talent with leading companies, reflecting not only her professional prowess but also her deep understanding of the intricacies of the recruitment landscape.
Sophie
Morris
Learning & Development Manager
Sophie is a dedicated learning and development professional with a rich history of contributions in this field. As the International Learning & Development Manager for Grok Search and Recruitment Entrepreneur, she is responsible for conceiving and developing Grok Search’s L&D strategy.
In her prior role, Sophie led the build-out of the global L&D function, creating and implementing L&D strategies across multiple offices within EMEA, APAC and the USA. She established consistent global solutions and partnered with key stakeholders, including board-level executives, to implement tailored learning and people initiatives. Sophie also significantly selected and implemented learning technology and ran a Leadership Development Program with 80 leaders across 4 businesses.
Her earlier experience as a Learning and Development Business Partner at Reed Talent Solutions further enriched her L&D expertise, involving training needs assessments, designing bespoke training, and mentorship. Sophie's diverse career journey reflects her profound impact on the learning and development landscape and her commitment to driving excellence in talent development.
Richard
Pucci
International Operations Director
Richard has over 20 years of recruitment experience starting as a recruitment consultant, before heading into the management of major accounts. At Single Resource he was brought into the business to focus on all the failing accounts. He had successful outcomes by not only converting them to functioning accounts for the client but also profitable for Single Resource.
Moving to Reed Professional Services Richard managed the most profitable account - the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporate). In addition to saving our client over £50M in recruitment expenditure in the first 5 years, the account was also high performing with a reduction from 140 suppliers to 25 while improving the delivery to the business, through better process in delivery and a skilled team. The BBC account was the highest contributing profit to the Reed Group at the time.
Richard then became Operations Director Reed Professional Services and as such was responsible for implementing CRM systems, ATS and Project Finance systems. In addition, Richard took responsibility for governance and audit compliance with projects involving IR35 tax compliance (UK tax regulation).
At Manners Maclean Group Richard was responsible for implementing the full operations function, changing their approach to project-based recruitment with great success, leading to a 100% increase in revenues, whilst also implementing a new CRM/ATS enabling the business to become much more data-focused on their delivery.
Richard is now the International Operations Director for Recruitment Entrepreneur and supports Grok Search with all operational activity.
Kathy
Walker
Head of Marketing
Kathy has been in the recruitment industry for over 20 years, 15 of which she has specialised in recruitment marketing for global recruitment businesses. She has extensive experience in developing and implementing strategic marketing initiatives to support business growth and enhance brand reputation.
Kathy began her career at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, one of the UK’s trade bodies for the recruitment industry. She then joined the ITHR Group, one of the UK's leading, independent specialist recruitment agencies and software consultancies where she was responsible for all marketing and communications activity for the eight specialist brands within the Group.
In 2015, Kathy joined McGregor Boyall a global recruitment consultancy, specialising in Financial Services, Commerce & Industry and the Public Sector, to establish and grow their Marketing Team and oversee all marketing and communications activities for the UK and International Offices. She developed a social media strategy that saw McGregor Boyall grow it’s LinkedIn Follower base from c.23,000 to c.175,000 and be ranked as a Top 10 Most Socially Engaged Staffing Agency by LinkedIn 3 years running.
In 2021 she joined i-Pharm Consulting, a global recruitment consultancy providing Talent Solutions to the global Life Sciences sector, as Global Marketing Director. Kathy was responsible for the global marketing strategy to support the overall business objectives, drive revenue, and support growth.
Now part of the global team at Recruitment Entrepreneur Kathy supports Grok Search with their Marketing Strategy.
Kathy has a joint honours degree in Business and Marketing and the CPD-accredited Marketing Week Mini MBA in Marketing.
James
Caan CBE
Board of Directors
Often recognised outside the industry for his appearance in the BBC’s Dragon’s Den series, James Caan CBE has been in recruitment for over 30 years and invests and supports recruitment companies of all sizes across various geographies and sectors.
Alexander Mann, his first recruitment business, sold in 2013 for $350 million. His second recruitment venture, Humana International, grew to 140 offices across 30 countries. His third sale was a collection of six recruitment companies to Graphite Capital in 2014 for $150m.
James takes an active role in contributing towards the strategy of Grok Search, working closely with Roopa Sharma to support the business’ exciting growth plans and vision.
Annil
Chandel
Board of Directors
Annil began his career as a graduate trainee at Computer Futures, progressing to become the London Contracts Manager and managing a team of 40 recruiters while specializing in SAP.
He was then headhunted by a boutique SAP recruitment company to launch in Houston, Texas and later in Dubai. Annil later joined Best People to launch their global ERP practice and eventually started his own recruitment company which he sold in 2009.
He then returned to SThree to launch their India business and later joined K2 Partnering as part of the SLT, where he launched India and helped scale their EMEAPAC business
Nitin
Bhatia
Board of Directors
Nitin is a versatile professional with expertise in various industries such as Online Advertising Recruitment, Internet, and D2C industry. He is known for his exceptional leadership skills, operational efficiency, and ability to build high-performing teams. Nitin is proficient in sales, business development, account management, P&L, operations management, and team building. He is a master of innovation and has a unique combination of attention to detail and drive for innovation, which has resulted in his recognition in the industry.
Nitin has held significant positions such as Associate Vice President at Info Edge India Ltd and Co-founder at Kiami Software Private Ltd. He has completed an Advanced Program for Marketing Professionals from the Indian Institute of Management.
Rajeev
Senta
Board of Directors
Rajeev Senta, a visionary leader based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, serves as the Managing Director at TEKWISSEN®, a global workforce solutions provider.
With over 14 years of dedicated leadership, Rajeev has played a pivotal role in steering TEKWISSEN's success across the United States, India, UK, Canada, and Australia. A specialist in engagement and practice management, quick project sourcing, and productivity improvement, Rajeev has established a Total Talent Management Model, ensuring success in today's talent-driven market.
His extensive experience includes roles at Artech Information Systems, Horizon, and Radiant Systems Inc.
Rajeev holds an MBA from Bangalore University and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Madras.