1. www.talonboardadvisory.com
An Introduction toTalon Board Advisory

2. About Us

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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 Officer
Major 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 President
World leader in Subsea Contracting

13. Aberdeen Office
Talon House
46 Carden Place
Aberdeen
AB10 1UP
Contact
Key Contacts
Les Park
Managing Partner
Dave Allan
Partner
Tel: 0044 1224 633 802
Email: info@talonboardadvisory.com
Web: www.talonboardadvisory.com
Email: lp@talonboardadvisory.com
Email: da@talonboardadvisory.com