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Executive team
Toby Fowlston
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
After qualifying as a solicitor, Toby joined the business as a consultant in 1999 and has since held senior positions leading the Group’s recruitment operations in both the UK and Asia Pacific, the Group’s largest and most profitable region.
Having worked his way up from consultant to leading the Group’s London recruitment business, Toby transferred to Singapore, heading up operations in Singapore and South East Asia for five years before being promoted to CEO Asia Pacific, a role he held for two years. In early 2021, Toby moved back to London to work closely with the Group’s founder, Robert Walters, as CEO of Robert Walters and Walters People, two of the Group’s global recruitment brands. He assumed the role of Group CEO in April 2023.
Jonathan Solesbury
INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Jonathan joined the business as interim Chief Financial Officer in March 2026 and brings Board-level senior finance executive experience across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. Prior to Robert Walters, Jonathan spent over two decades serving in senior international roles at SABMiller plc, before CFO roles at C&C Group plc, Aryzta AG and Greencore Group plc – the latter two in an interim capacity. He brings extensive experience of transformational change programmes.
David Barr
CEO, OUTSOURCING
David has over 20 years’ experience with Robert Walters, having worked in both the recruitment and outsourcing areas of our business. He spent 11 years building our APAC outsourcing operations, going on to become Managing Director, responsible for growing the region’s outsourcing portfolio.
With a career spanning three continents, David has worked in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney. He previously held executive roles at Korn Ferry and Allegis, most recently as Allegis’s Executive Director APAC, responsible for their RPO and MSP operations and growth within the region. He rejoined Robert Walters in 2024 and leads our global outsourcing team as Chief Executive Officer – Outsourcing.
Andrew Powell
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
Andrew is responsible for driving growth across our specialist professional recruitment service line and commercial teams globally. Andrew brings with him a wealth of international business experience. Notably, this included six years at the now privately held, but previously FTSE 250, telecoms business - Colt Technology Services. Andrew held multiple roles at Colt, culminating in that of Group Chief Operating Officer.
He began his career in the military, serving for eleven years, including five in the UK Special Forces, before embarking on a successful business career. His private equity career started in 2014, alongside investor Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), where he was a portfolio CEO of an education business that supported disadvantaged people to secure employment through industry-accredited educational programmes and qualifications. This ignited Andrew’s passion for social purpose and through his business and charitable activities he has been instrumental in helping thousands of young people change their lives for the better, by shaping and providing routes into work for them.
Stephen Edwards
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Stephen was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Robert Walters in March 2026, responsible for placing customer experience and quality of service at the heart of the business through the delivery of world class operations. He leads the marketing, technology and transformation, data, customer experience and global business services teams, ensuring that Robert Walters builds a world-class global talent solutions brand, develops deep and meaningful relationships with clients and candidates, and harnesses the power of technology, data and automation to power human connections. Stephen’s career with Robert Walters has spanned over twenty years, which has seen him hold the role of Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, Chief Customer Officer and, prior to that, Chief Marketing Officer.
Before joining Robert Walters, Stephen spent seven years in various marketing management roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and is a Chartered Institute of Marketing mentor.
Indy Lachhar
CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
Indy was appointed Chief People Officer in June 2023 and leads the global HR team at Robert Walters.
After joining the business in 2016 as Head of People for our recruitment outsourcing business, Indy was appointed Group Talent Development Director for the wider Robert Walters business in 2017. In 2019, Indy re-located to Singapore to continue building our talent development offering and strengthening our leadership capability across APAC. In 2021, she was appointed Global Human Resources Director for our recruitment business, tasked with creating a global HR strategy that would drive an outstanding employee experience. An accredited Executive Coach, Indy has a wealth of experience across all areas of human resources gained across multiples industries including investment banking, engineering and professional services.
Richard Harris
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
Richard was appointed Chief Legal Officer of Robert Walters in 2016, overseeing global legal services. Prior to joining the business in 2011, he worked as a technology lawyer at a leading international law firm and then in-house within the internet and online gaming sectors.
Richard chaired the Raphael Rowe Foundation, improving prison conditions in developing countries, and served on the Representative Committee of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). He contributes regularly to legal publications and is a speaker on leadership and management issues as well as diversity and inclusion, particularly focusing on neurodiversity and mental health, driven by his own experience with dyslexia.
Sinead Hourigan
GLOBAL HEAD OF TALENT ADVISORY
Sinead Hourigan is the Global Head of Talent Advisory at Robert Walters, leading a high-performing global team delivering services across workforce transformation, leadership development, market intelligence, and future of work advisory. She previously led the Global Commercial function and founded the global CX function, driving initiatives to enhance client engagement and enterprise growth. Sinead commenced her career within the recruitment business and was the Managing Director of our Queensland recruitment business.
Sinead is a former Trustee of CEDA (Committee for Economic Development in Australia), past Council member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, and former President of the RCSA, the peak body for recruitment across ANZ.
Dominic Dow
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT OFFICER
Dominic is Chief Technology & Product Officer at Robert Walters, based in London. With over 25 years of experience in technology leadership, Dominic assumed his current role in 2024, taking full responsibility for the group’s global technology strategy and product innovation.
Prior to Robert Walters, Dominic held senior technology roles across a diverse range of industries, including Pearson PLC, Telefonica Global Technology, Colt Telecoms, Siemens IT Solutions and Services (BBC), and Atos Consulting. This breadth of experience has shaped his pragmatic and people-centric approach to digital transformation.