www.talonboardadvisory.com

An Introduction to Talon Board Advisory

About Us

Background 

The strategic vision upon which Talon Board Advisory was founded is to offer quality consulting

support services in areas widely acknowledged as critical to the success of most companies

and investors in the highly competitive and ever changing oil and gas sector.

We specialise in the attraction and retention of top class individuals at board, executive and

managerial level, and the delivery of bespoke business consulting projects associated with

investment, divestment, growth and leadership.

Talon Board Advisory is a specialist boutique consulting practice that excels in securing

exceptional leadership talent and the delivery of associated Boardroom Consulting Services - for

clients in the Energy and Natural Resources sectors.

We differentiate through three decades of honing our expertise and knowledge but also through

our pedigree, aptitude and applied judgment in delivering Executive Search assignments and

bespoke investigative consulting projects to aid decision making in and around the boardroom.

Our highly experienced Partners have worked within oilfield services and hence relate

instinctively to the challenges facing our clients.

As an independent firm we offer personal attention and flexibility of approach with all

assignments led and executed by a Partner.

About Us

Partners

Les Park heads up our Board Advisory capability, focusing on leading the delivery of C-Suite

appointments and Boardroom Consulting projects. Les built a highly-respected international Oil & Gas

executive search business with offices in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and has been at the

forefront of Oil & Gas Executive Search and Boardroom Consulting services for almost 30 years. 

Les also served 5 years as Non-Executive Chairman of an oilfield engineering and project management

company; and he is a former member of the Industrial Tribunal Board of Scotland.

Dave Allan heads up Talon’s Executive Search practice, he has 15 years in retained

Executive Search and 20 years in the Oil and Gas industry. 

Dave spent his first 6 years in Executive Search working closely with Les Park, he then

accepted the challenge of building an Oil & Gas Executive Search practice on behalf of

another firm, latterly becoming Managing Director of the Energy practice, prior to

joining forces with Les again at Talon. 

Executive Search Expertise

Talon’s executive search offering is specifically focussed on appointing key

executives and industry specialists across the full spectrum of the life cycle

of an oil and gas play.

We are particularly strong in assignments defined as C class such as CEO,

COO & CFO roles. We also excel in Board appointments of a General

Management nature and in addressing senior functional management

appointments at both business support and operational delivery levels. Our track record speaks for itself, our Partners have been instrumental in building the talent and

leadership teams of many of the leading companies in the international oil and gas sector.

Our clients span the supply chain from E&P businesses to companies operating in the oilfield

services, equipment, technology, contracting and consulting sectors. Businesses with an

engineering or technical offering feature heavily in our portfolio of clients as do operators of

offshore assets such as rigs, vessels and ships.

Investors and private equity players also draw upon our services and capabilities in pre and post

deal situations from candid people due diligence services covering public domain and non-public

domain information to assessing and strengthening management teams.

Board Advisory

Expertise In developing the close client relationships built through working with

Shareholders, Boards, Leadership Teams and Investors via our core service

offering of Executive Search, Talon Board Advisory can bring to the table a

further differentiator in the form of significant expertise and a proven track

record in delivering a Boardroom and Advisory Services capability that

extends well beyond the boundaries of most Executive Search firms. Talon’s capability in and around the boardroom is underpinned and enhanced beyond our

Executive team via our ability to call upon the expertise, wisdom and objectivity of our Advisory

Board members, all of whom are recognised oil and gas industry leaders who can bring to bear

perspective and insight to the most challenging of issues encountered by Boards be they of an

internal or external nature.Talon Board Advisory provides informed counsel and executes discreet consulting projects

across a range of business critical areas. We have a track record in delivering a range of

projects within the contexts of:  • Mergers and Acquisitions

• Leadership Evaluation

• Board Governance

• Due Diligence

• Performance and

Reward

• Competitor Profiling

• Market Entry

• Employer Positioning

• Outsourced Recruitment

Management

Service Delivery Model

• The approach we adopt is to work in close partnership with clients on a retained basis,

effectively functioning as an extension of the client organisation. To justify this privileged

relationship we work hard to develop a real understanding of our client's business. We

understand the competitive structure of the market sectors in which they operate, we

develop an understanding of the particular products, services and technologies and

importantly, we endeavour to respect the uniquely different cultures that prevail within each

organisation.

• Given the nature of our work we also appreciate the need for absolute confidentiality and the

highest ethical standards. Our established client base is testimony to the fact that we

practice what we preach in this regard.

• Our service delivery model is founded upon rigour in our due diligence and research

programmes. We have invested in not only our in house data management and systems but

in a dedicated staff resource with the ongoing remit to build market intelligence on

companies and people populating the oil and gas sector.

• All research is fully bespoke with detailed research conducted on every assignment. Our

databases and networks underpin our research capability, however they are no substitute for

real time research, validation and verification.

Market Understanding

• To operate successfully as a professional advisor in and around the boardroom within the

Energy and Natural Resources markets requires specialist knowledge and understanding of

not only people, but companies, competitor positioning, cultural dynamics and prevailing

business dynamics – Talon Board Advisory is built upon these foundations.

• Our heritage is built on serving the oil & gas industry. With over three decades of experience

in the business of engaging with talent in the sector our Partners immediately resonate with

the challenges our clients face and offer objective and candid counsel in the context of the

realities of the external market.

• The Companies, Investors and Advisors we serve respect our in–depth understanding and

value our knowledge and ability to instinctively relate to broader business issues, global

market challenges and industry-specific dynamics impacting on business performance.

• Our depth of market understanding of both the people and the companies populating the

business environments in which we operate mitigates the many risks clients face in making

critical appointments and in implementing boardroom decisions which will ultimately shape

the future wellbeing of their organisations.

International Reach

• The competition for leadership talent with an international perspective is intensifying as the

global demand for energy and natural resources drives companies and corporations to new

frontiers.

• Be it recruiting in Alberta, in Western Australia, in Sakhalin Island or Brazil, we relate

instinctively to the geo-political dynamics of global business, tailoring our consulting approach

to the specific country or region and niche sector of the market.

• We are attuned to the sensitivities associated with stereotyping and cultural diversity. We

recognise that differing leadership qualities, business protocols and mindsets are essential to

enable companies both large and small to prosper in international markets.

• Our international perspective and reach offers our clients the means to identify and secure not

only traditional expatriate leaders but, increasingly, indigenous talent.

Value Proposition

• No stone should be left unturned in the pursuit of elusive leadership talent in markets where

skill shortages are endemic. Our success is based on many attributes beyond the rigours of

our Executive Search process.

• We deliver on our promises by adopting a candid approach, offering a reality check from the

very outset of an opportunity to work with a client. Our ethos is to only undertake

assignments where we can add tangible value.

• We offer both clients and candidates personal attention, sound advice and years of wisdom

and experience. Our exceptionally high level of repeat business is the most obvious

testament to our track record of success.

• Our prowess and experience in interviewing is underpinned by our intrinsic understanding of

the values and critical success factors required to attract and land talented executives. Our

proficiency in influencing already successful executives to make a career move is without

doubt an art we have truly mastered.

• We also appreciate the need for absolute confidentiality, trust and integrity, with off limits

practiced, not just preached. Commercially our consulting arrangements are competitive

and levied against agreed performance milestones tailored to the precise scope of work and

the unique requirements of each client.

Testimonials

“We retained Les Park to find an exceptional Group CEO and CFO for a major investment we made in oil and gas services - difficult and challenging assignments.  Not only did he deliver, he managed us, the complexities of the situation in relation to confidentiality and our uncooperative schedules to ensure we got the candidates we wanted over the line. All in all a great experience.”

Chief Investment OfficerMajor Institutional Investor

“These guys will rigorously challenge your thinking and approach to hiring key executives.  They offer an unrivalled external perspective, insightful advice and candid counsel. They are true advisory partners in Executive Search and it is a pleasure to consider Talon as an extension of our organisation.”

Senior Vice PresidentWorld leader in Subsea Contracting

Aberdeen Office

Talon House46 Carden PlaceAberdeenAB10 1UP

Contact

Key Contacts

Les ParkManaging Partner

Dave AllanPartner

Tel: 0044 1224 633 802Email: info@talonboardadvisory.comWeb: www.talonboardadvisory.com

Email: lp@talonboardadvisory.com

Email: da@talonboardadvisory.com