HR Director & Head of People Search.
For the businesses that are growing fastest.
Retained search for HR Directors, Heads of People and senior people leaders in FinTech, technology, financial services and iGaming. Companies where the people function has to be built, rebuilt or taken across borders, and where the person leading it will sit next to the founder or the CEO.
Brief a search HR PowerBreakfastWe've spent 25 years on the other side of the HR Director's desk
Every senior hire we've made was made with, or for, a Head of People. We know which HR leaders have built a function from three people to a hundred, which have taken a team through a licence, an acquisition or a relocation, and which have done it across Limassol, London, Dubai and elsewhere.
Emerald Zebra maintains one of the most credible HR and People leader talent pools in Cyprus and Dubai.
An HR Director who can run a trading floor's people function and one who can build a team for a deep-tech company from scratch are different people. We know both, by name.
People leadership and HR roles
We work on exclusive mandates for the senior people seats. HR generalists, coordinators and recruiters are recruited through our specialist recruitment services.
FX/CFD, payments and crypto
Regulated headcount, fit-and-proper and licensing requirements, high-volume multilingual hiring, retention in a market where every competitor is in the same vicinity.
Technology, AI and deep tech
Founder-led cultures, first people hire, engineering and research talent across borders, equity and reward for a venture-backed business, scaling from ten to a hundred without losing the company.
International groups and financial services
Multi-jurisdiction employment, work permits and relocation, integration after acquisition, board-level people reporting and succession.
iGaming
Operator and platform teams across Cyprus, Malta and beyond, 24/7 operations, rapid scaling and the licence conditions that touch hiring.
What we test before you meet anyone
Every shortlist is assessed on employment history and delivered work, not CV keywords. For people leadership that means five key questions, answered with evidence.
Have they built it?
A people function created or rebuilt: systems, policy, payroll, reward, performance, with a team hired to run it. Not inherited, built.
Have they scaled it?
Headcount doubled or trebled inside a defined period, and what happened to attrition, time to hire and culture while it did.
Have they crossed borders?
Cyprus, EU or UAE employment law, work permits, relocation, and at least one other jurisdiction run. Multi-entity, multi-language teams.
Can they sit with the founder or the board?
Reward and equity design, restructures, senior exits, board reporting, the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Judgement under pressure.
Will they stay?
Motivation, package expectations against the market, cultural fit.
People leaders we have placed
Head of HR, global FX broker, Limassol
Retained search for the people lead of a multi-jurisdiction regulated group. Market map across Cyprus and internationally.
Head of People and Operations, digital assets, Dubai
Combined people and operations leadership for a fast-growing platform, search run across the UAE, Cyprus and Europe.
Head of People, technology scale-up
First senior people hire for a founder-led business building engineering teams in several countries.
HR Director, financial services group
Confidential hire for an HR Director, run without the company name entering the market until final stage.
Retained, exclusive, research-led
Brief and scope
The role as it actually exists: who it reports to, what the function looks like today, what the business will look like in two years. We agree the target profile, package range.
Market map
Every relevant people leader in Cyprus and the target markets, in seat or movable, drawn from our talent pool, 25 years of relationships and direct research. You see the map.
Approach and assess
Direct, discreet approaches. Structured screenings.
Shortlist and close
five to eight people you would hire, with our assessment on each. Offer, package and relocation handled through to start date, with a replacement guarantee behind every appointment.
Tell us about the seat
Confidential from the first conversation. Share what you can and we'll come back within one working day with a view on the market and how we'd run it.
Email the Executive Recruiter