Hong Kong Team

Stephen McAlinden spent six years working with Emma Weir in executive search in London with responsibility for the US, Japanese, Asian and Emerging Markets equity and investment banking markets. He joined Emma in Hong Kong in 1993 and co-founded Eban in July 1995. Stephen manages the Hong Kong office, handling senior management assignments in the Asian financial services markets. His specialities include equities, investment banking, hedge funds, derivatives and fixed income. Stephen was voted Asia’s ‘Most Admired Individual Headhunter’ for Asia, ex-Japan by magazine in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Simon Waterson spent the first five years of his executive search career in a sales and marketing search firm in London. In 1992 he relocated to Hong Kong and joined a firm specialising in investment banking and securities search, and then set up his own executive search boutique in 1995. His firm was incorporated into a global group, and he continued to carry out assignments throughout Asia, within the investment banking arena. Simon joined Eban Hong Kong in March 2000. He focuses on equities, structured products/derivatives, fixed income and hedge funds.

Fiona Somerville has lived in both Hong Kong and Singapore, and has been based in the Asian markets since 1995. Working at Invesco, Jardine Fleming and Pictet, she specialised in fund management, broking and institutional marketing. Fiona graduated in geography from Oxford University and completed a Masters in Finance at London Business School in 1999. She joined Eban in 2001 and is responsible for asset management, private equity and real estate assignments in Hong Kong and the region.

Dionne Tai has worked with Emma Weir and Stephen McAlinden since 1994. Speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. Dionne is a founder member of the Eban team in Hong Kong and handles Greater China related assignments in equities, fixed income, investment banking and private equity for positions where Mandarin is a prerequisite.

Christopher Smailes joined Eban in February 2006 in London and relocated to Hong Kong in September 2008. He began his career at a global recruitment firm as a trainee consultant in 2002. He left in 2006 having been promoted to manage the team specialising within financial services recruitment and successfully completed mandates for US and European investment banks and asset management firms. Chris focuses on all equity markets. He has a degree in English Literature.

Linda Chang joined Eban in June 2006, Linda has been working in executive search since 2000 with a focus on Asia ex-Japan fixed income and derivatives. She began her career at Forstmann-Leff Associates Inc., New York where she worked in the Operations Department. She has also worked at Banque National de Paris, Gerard Klauer Mattison in New York and KPMG in Hong Kong. Holds a bachelor's degree in French from Queens College, City University of New York. Linda is an American national and is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, Shanghainese and French.