Sonia Hortop, BSc (Hons) MPA

Executive Director

Sonia holds a BSc from the University of Bath in International Management and Modern Languages and a MPA from the University of Southern Queensland. After working in HR and Economic Analysis Departments in large multinational companies in Paris, she spent several years in Australia as a business and strategic planning specialist in Chartered Accounting firms. Moving out of this sector, saw her working in a generalist executive search firm initially before she became one of the Founding Directors of ASI in 1999. Since then, she has led the strategic development of the company to establish ASI as the leading specialist search firm within the higher education sector in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Sonia.Hortop@academic-search.net 

Patrick Rooney, BA

General Manager - Operations

Patrick has a strong background in the higher education sector. His most recent position before joining ASI was at a public academic institution where he administered quality assurance policies and processes for undergraduate programmes. He is also a former President of the New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) and a former assistant to the New Zealand Minister of Youth Affairs, Women’s Affairs and Statistics. He has been a member of a University Council, the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit Board, the NZVCC Committee on University Academic Programmes and the University Sport New Zealand Board. Patrick has also travelled extensively and has spent three years working in education in South East Asia. He has a degree in Social Policy and is currently completing a Master of Arts.

Patrick.Rooney@academic-search.net

Paul Read, MBA dist, P.G.Dip. Mgmt.St

General Manager – Client Services

Paul is well known in both academic and corporate circles as one of the leading executive search professionals in the industry. Paul started with ASI at the end of 2002, having spent 8 years as Marketing Director in the university sector and the Fairfax Media Group. During his time at ASI, Paul worked successfully with a range of clients across Australia, Asia and the USA.
Paul left ASI in 2005 to become Chief Executive with Vital English Software prior to returning to recruitment as general manager of a leading multinational recruitment firm. He returned to ASI in November of 2008.

Paul has an International MBA and post-graduate Diploma in Management.  His specialised interests are strategic management, leadership and behavioural psychology. Paul regularly speaks at a range of recruitment industry conferences on recruitment leadership.

Paul.Read@academic-search.net

Elvira Bobekova, MA

Senior Consultant

Elvira spent four years as a senior educator at the Kyrgyz National University where she was responsible for tutoring, developing curriculum and research.

She was also a co-ordinator for Kyrgyz NGO, "CELF", where she was responsible for the implementation of various development projects. Elvira graduated with an MA from The University of Auckland and has been a past recipient of an Asian Development Bank scholarship.

She speaks three languages and has attended various international conferences in Australia, the US and Central Asia.

Elvira.Bobekova@academic-search.net

Iain Longden, BA HDE

Senior Consultant

Iain has been involved in education for almost 20 years, with over 15 years focusing on recruitment within the education sector. After qualifying as a Physical Education and Geography teacher, Iain spent the early part of his career teaching in London. After three years in the classroom, he joined one of the United Kingdom’s largest specialist education recruiters, focusing on the recruitment needs of local education authorities. Having completed five years in London, Iain was redeployed to Southampton where he was responsible for the company’s operations in the south of England. Early in 2009, in search of a more favourable lifestyle Iain emigrated with his young family and joined ASI as a Senior Consultant. Since joining ASI, he has been involved in a number of senior level searches in both Australia and New Zealand. His career in recruitment has seen Iain spend time in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and South Africa, where he has visited a number of universities and other tertiary institutions. This has enabled him to get a thorough understanding of different educational settings and different cultures. This global experience, Iain says, helps in understanding international candidates’ needs and expectations.
Iain.Longden@academic-search.net

Helen Dunlop, BA

Search Consultant

Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Helen studied at the University of British Columbia where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies and Art History in 2007. Since joining ASI Helen has been responsible for conducting research and carrying out searches for a range of senior level and professorial positions within various disciplines including Fine Arts, Law, Business Management and Medicine.

Helen.Dunlop@academic-search.net

Dhaya Haran, BApp Sc (NRM)

Senior Consultant

Dhaya has worked with a range of leading tertiary institutes over the last seven years, working on projects including international student recruitment, event management and marketing campaigns aimed at lifting the institutes’ profiles. Prior to joining ASI Dhaya was with the University of Auckland where he worked extensively to promote postgraduate study and research. Dhaya has travelled extensively and enjoys learning about different cultures, people and lifestyles. He is also involved in charity work for the local community. Dhaya studied Applied Science, majoring in Natural Resource Management and is currently studying part-time towards a postgraduate qualification in marketing and management.

Dhaya.Haran@academic-search.net

Heather Philp, BMS (Hons)

Research Manager Heather graduated with a Bachelor of Management Studies (Hons.) with a specialisation in International Management. She has experience at all levels of ASI’s research process, and has conducted research at both professorial and senior levels across a range of disciplines. During her six years at ASI, Heather has built on her significant public sector work experience and gained considerable experience around the challenges of identifying suitably qualified academics and leaders for universities around the world. As well as being an expert researcher, able to identify strong potential candidates in particularly difficult to fill positions, she has contributed extensively to the library of resources available to ASI’s research

Heather.Philp@academic-search.net

Angela Bennett

Accounts Administrator

Angela joined ASI in April 2005 as a part-time Administration Assistant, balancing work life with raising two young daughters.  She brought with her many years’ experience in PA roles including supporting Partners within two of the “Big 5” Accountancy firms, both in New Zealand and during the seven years she spent living and working in the UK. Shortly after joining ASI the opportunity arose for Angela to also take responsibility for the Accounts Administration, which, combined with providing support to ASI’s management team, has grown her role within ASI to a full-time one.

Angela.Bennett@academic-search.net

Leah Hidalgo, Bs DevCom

Administration Assistant Leah graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Development Communication.  Prior  to moving to New Zealand, she worked for a property development company in the Philippines where she managed the day to day operations of the Sales Administration section of the company and at the same time successfully established the company’s Customer Service Team. Over and above these responsibilities, she took the initiative to help the  Sales Team by selling some residential units herself.  She was  consistently awarded the recognition of being the “Top Seller" for 3 consecutive years.  The move to New Zealand opened new doors of opportunities.  Since joining ASI in early 2008, Leah has been responsible in helping with the Administration section of the company. She leads the production of reports making sure that ASI not only meets clients’ expectations, but also delivers an output which is truly world class.

Leah.Hidalgo@academic-search.net

Cherisse Tiu, BA

Search Assistant After living in three very different cities around the world, Cherisse decided that Sydney is home. Right after finishing a BA in Humanities with a specialization in Child Development Education, Cherisse worked with primary school children at the International School Manila before coming to ASI in 2007. As a Search Assistant, Cherisse not only enjoys the variety of tasks from Research to Marketing that her position offers, but she also loves working with people from different countries. She hopes to pursue her MA in either Asia-Pacific studies or Library Science in the near future.

Cherisse.Tiu@academic-search.net

Leyla Okyay, BAppSc (Human Biology)

Recruitment Researcher

Following the completion of a Bachelor in Applied Science (Human Biology) in 2007, Leyla joined ASI as a research assistant. During her time at ASI Leyla has conducted research across a wide range of disciplines including Science,  Medicine, Business, Education, Fine Arts and Engineering. Her particular strengths lie in identifying suitable candidates in medical and health science fields. Leyla is currently undertaking a Master of Osteopathy degree and holds great interest in manual therapy and chronic pain research. She is also a native German speaker.
Leyla.Okyay@academic-search.net