Michelle Bedford-Shaw

Michelle Bedford-Shaw is a Partner at Jack Hammer Global, with 12.5 years at the firm and 20 years’ total experience in multi-industry executive search. She leads the Retail/Consumer Goods & Industrials practice, covering energy, industrial and manufacturing, and natural resources, and has placed C-suite and executive-level candidates across public-listed companies and start-ups alike.

Her sector expertise spans retail and consumer goods, ICT and technology, industrial and manufacturing, automotive, resources and energy, and fintech, with search experience reaching across most of the African continent – from South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and the DRC, through East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda), to West and Central Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon) and North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia). Prior to Jack Hammer, she was one of the first five employees at Earthstream, helping take the business through global expansion, and also worked at Communicate (part of the Adcorp Group).

Michelle holds a Law degree and is a genuine life-long learner – equally comfortable discussing underground mining techniques, data science and AI, or the latest shifts in consumer behaviour. She’s a regular panelist and speaker, having appeared at the WiMSA Symposium, the Future HR Summit, and the World Executive Search Conference.