Meet our U.S executive leadership team 

Group of people talking in an office

Meet our U.S executive leadership team 

Our leadership team across the U.S. are accomplished key experts in the recruitment industry. As well-known thought leaders in the field, they provide insight and advice into the U.S. job market, specializing in key industries and sectors such as technology, construction, property and facilities management, accounting and finance, and life sciences, to name only a few. 

Our leaders are available for interview by request

 

 

  • David Brown | Americas President, Chief Executive Officer USA

    David, a 21-year veteran of the staffing business, has been in charge of overseeing all US operations for Hays since 2018. Prior to leading Hays US, David held a number of positions in sales, sales management, and senior management. With his wife and three children, David resides in Atlanta and actively supports a number of regional non-profit organisations. 

    Connect with David.

  • Sue Hanlon | General Counsel

    Sue leads the Legal function for Hays’ North American operations. She has been a member of The Florida Bar for over 20 years and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida. Sue has over 15 years of staffing industry experience; prior to joining Hays U.S. in 2011, she worked for a large publicly traded staffing firm directing the client contracts and independent contractor subcontracting functions. Additionally, she has prior in-house legal experience with a small broker dealer specializing in fixed-income securities and investment banking and with a large publicly traded computer software and hardware distributor. Sue is a two-time graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Juris Doctor degree. She’s a Leadership Tampa Bay graduate and a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel

    Outside of work, Sue likes to travel, spend time with her family and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters, where she has been mentoring “Littles” for over 7 years. 

    Connect with Sue. 

  • Shaun Cheatham | Chief Commercial Officer

    Shaun is responsible for the creation and execution of sales strategies for Hays in the U.S.. Shaun is also charged with running the Major and National accounts organization for Hays U.S. With over 20 years of staffing industry experience, Shaun started his career with Hays in the Tampa office where he led the U.S. organization in sales six out of his ten years in production. Prior to Hays, Shaun worked at one of the largest staffing firms in the world where he held a number of sales and sales leadership positions. Shaun resides in the Tampa area with his wife and daughter. 

    Connect with Shaun. 

  • Aileen Gobes | Chief Financial Officer

    Aileen is responsible for the accounting and finance function for all Hays businesses in the U.S.. She has over 30 years of progressive experience in accounting and began her career working for regional accounting firms on audits, taxes, and accounting system implementations. For 15 years, she was an accounting leader for a large publicly traded staffing firm, serving in multiple roles including Controller and VP of Client Services. Aileen’s leadership experience includes acquisitions and divestitures, SEC reporting, ERP system implementation and upgrades and order to cash management.

    Aileen is a graduate from University of Florida and a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Florida, She resides in Tampa. 

    Connect with Aileen. 

  • Stephen Wilkes | Senior Vice President

    Stephen leads the Hays Delivery Centre which provides recruiting services for National Accounts and Regional/ Market support. Prior to joining Hays, Stephen was an independent consultant advising organizations on strategy, change, and operating models. He has more than 25 years of leadership and business experience across various industries, including IT, Aerospace & Defense, Utilities, and Business Process Outsourcing. Stephen has a passion for building high performing teams with a focus on delivery excellence. He leverages his broad experience in establishing global shared services centres to deliver efficient, effective, and economic sourcing and recruiting expertise, with an eye on enhancing the client and candidate experience with Hays. 

    Originally from the UK, Stephen moved to the United States at the end of 1999 and has settled, with his wife Sandra, on a small ranch in the rural area north of Dallas, Texas. Country life and horses are a big part of Stephen’s and Sandra’s lives and, at weekends, it would not be unusual to see him with a pitchfork in hand or riding around on his tractor! 

    Connect with Stephen. 

  • Alex Powell | Executive Vice President

    Alex is responsible for the Construction & Property, Engineering, HR, and Life Sciences business streams across the U.S.. With 20 years recruitment experience, Alex has managed businesses in the UK, New Zealand, Canada & the U.S. having helped set-up Hays in the latter two countries. During his career he has successfully led multi-discipline recruitment teams in multiple locations specifically setting up IT, Construction & Property, Accounting & Finance, and Engineering in the U.S. His experience covers temp & perm and utilizing both 360 & 180 recruitment models.

    Alex is a graduate of Anglia University (UK) with a BA (Hons) in Business, and since 2012 Alex has lived in New York City with his wife & daughter. 

    Connect with Alex. 

  • Louisa Benedicto | Senior Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Americas

    Louisa is Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), Corporate Social Responsibility, and Sustainability at Hays – covering the Americas region including Canada, the U.S., and Latin American Countries. She specializes in DE&I, enabling our clients to implement best practices that ensure everyone gets a fair opportunity in the recruitment process. Louisa spends her time partnering with clients to help them reach their ED&I goals, by ensuring they are familiar with current market trends, and techniques that will enable them to find the best talent. Louisa is also a graduate from the Inclusive Leadership program at Centennial College.

    Louisa began her career with Hays in the UK in 2002 and moved to Japan in 2008 to help lead an acquisition. She then moved to Canada in 2013 where she currently lives with her wife and two children. Additionally, Louisa is fluent in Spanish and Japanese, and was certified as a coach in 2016. As an expert in recruitment and hiring trends, Louisa has also been featured in a variety of publications including CBC’s On The Money, Huffington Post Canada, and the Canadian HR Reporter.

    Connect with Louisa. 

  • Jessica Smith | Senior Vice President People & Culture Americas

    Jessica has over 13 years of experience leading global teams across various human resource functions in tech companies like Amazon, AWS, & Meta. She has a BS in finance from Hampton University and a bilingual International MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

    At Hays, Jess is the Chief People Officer.

    Jess shares her birthplace with Elvis Presley: Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Sergio, and their two kids. Fitness is one of Jess’s passions. She is a cardio dance fitness instructor in her free time and enjoys writing her blog “Leadership Lessons from Normal Life” where she finds lessons from leaders in everyday events, such as concerts, ski trips, and kid soccer games.

    Connect with Jessica.

TALK TO HAYS FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP

For Job Seekers

As lifelong career partners, we’re with you every step of the way – whether you're seeking a job right now, or a career change.

Submit your resume

For Organizations

Let us know your hiring requirements and we'll work with you on the best recruitment solution for you.

Contact us