Points of Contact

Point of Contact – R&D, Technical Management, Life Sciences & High Value Manufacturing

Patrick Higgins, Principal Consultant specialising in R & D and technical management, with expertise in Research and Development, Intellectual Property, Managing the Innovation Process and Forming Strategic Partnerships and Alliances with blue-chip companies on an international level.

He has had a progressive career in executive management in a hi-tech environment in both the USA and UK, including 5 years as managing director of a R & D company and three years as GM of an engineering firm in the UK, and 15 years in the USA as Group VP of a $400m turnover company on the NYSE responsible for their Aerospace and Defence Electronics divisions.

Patrick has extensive international business experience in the Americas, Middle East, Europe, Africa and Australasia, including business development, high level contract negotiations and contract manufacture.

He has attended business school in the UK and USA and is also a graduate of RMA Sandhurst, after which he spent 11 years in the Army perfecting team building and leadership. He is an accomplished sailor, having completed 27,000 miles under sail during a circumnavigation.

Patrick is based in the Cambridge area and works extensively in the high technology/high value manufacturing and life sciences sectors across the UK and internationally.

For more information or to arrange a confidential discussion contact Patrick Higgins:

Point of Contact – Defence & Aerospace

Chris Boot is a Managing Consultant specialising in head-hunting senior executives in the Defence & Aerospace Sectors.

Chris started his career with British Airways and qualified in Aeronautical Engineering. In the early 1980's he fulfilled a number of challenging international roles with Smiths Aerospace, providing technical consultancy and training with governments and airlines throughout the Middle East and Scandinavia . This experience led to a two-year secondment to the Royal Navy, providing avionics technical support on Sea Harrier aircraft.

Building on his International technical experience in the defence sector, Chris further developed his personal and cultural skills during twenty years in increasingly senior management roles on behalf of International market-leading defence and aerospace firms, including Racal, Philips, Plessey and GEC Marconi.

Having gained a robust international background, Chris further honed his skills in commercial and general management including Group Managing Director of the Global Schunk Group of companies. He has since established CNA's Defence & Aerospace division and has established an enviable blue-chip client list which spans the UK, mainland Europe and the USA, handling assignments on a truly global basis, successfully securing placements up to, and including, Board level in general management, marketing, business development, sales, project and bid management, engineering, finance/tax and information management.

For more information or to arrange a confidential discussion contact Chris Boot: