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1603 Nam Wo Hong Building 148 Wing Lok Street Sheung Wan Hong Kong Island

Our Team

Alan Francis

Director

Alan has deep experience within both the corporate world and SME environments, having started his career as a management consultant with KPMG before working for boutique firms involved in Executive Search and Expert Network consultancy across Asia-Pacific. 

He has a passion for all areas of the construction & real estate value chain, having worked with clients on both the investments side (e.g. brokerage, private equity, asset management) as well as construction (e.g. architecture, engineering, design).

An active entrepreneur, Alan co-founded a creative arts business, Musing Music, as well as angel investment firm Tyros which invests in early-stage startup ventures. Lastly, he co-founded Eurasian Society, a community group that aims to promote & improve the lives of Eurasians through awareness, education & opportunity.

By night and on weekends he devotes his time to music, with a career highlight of being on the same bill as Alicia Keys on New Year’s Eve 2017 in Singapore.

Mark Francis

Director

Born and brought up in Hong Kong, Mark Francis has worked within the executive search industry in Asia-Pacific since early 2007, focusing on financial services positions, primarily on the buy side, from mid-senior level.

In 2012 he founded Silverstrand Executive Search, as a boutique financial services headhunting company, working with both buy and sell-side clients across the region. It was Winner of The Best Newcomer at the 2016 Recruitment International Asia Awards.

He then co-founded Cleverly Search in early 2017 to provide recruitment services to the engineering, construction, project management and architecture industry, noting a gap of service in the market. Cleverly follows similar principals and applies a retained search approach while offering contingent recruiting pricing.

Also a participant in Season 1 of The Social Movement a docu-series being shown on Amazon Prime.  In his spare time Mark enjoys walking his dog and the occasional game of rugby.

Monica Brennand

Director of Operations

Monica is a well-seasoned recruiter having worked in the industry since 2006 in a variety of specialist areas and different sectors in Hong Kong and the broader Asian region. Her experience has taken her through all phases of the recruitment cycle from client engagement, sourcing, offer negotiations, placements and on boarding as well as both client and candidate follow ups.

She grew up in Hong Kong and was educated in Glasgow, she holds a degree in Psychology. Monica joined the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 2010 and has had involvement in psychometric testing of senior executives.

In 2017 she co-founded Cleverly Search with the aim of creating a boutique recruitment firm specialising in mid to high level professionals within the construction sector. In Monica’s role as Director of Operations she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business including Finance, HR, Legal, Resourcing and Client liaison.

Monica is a mum of three, enjoys travelling, outdoor activities and the occasional glass of wine.