Introducing The Octavius Recruitment Team

Natalie Basiratpour 

“If you have to really push hard to convince a candidate to take a job. You haven’t found the right candidate.”

‘‘Always a pleasure working with Natalie although I sometimes wonder if she is working too hard!

Octavius is our recruiter of choice and the only one through which we have sourced multiple candidates. Candidates proposed are invariably well suited to the role and it is obvious that thought has been taken before showing them to me….something that is not always the case with other firms I have used in the past.

No particular improvements I can suggest but when we require another hire we will undoubtedly be keen to use your services again.’’

Chief Investment Officer / Hedge Fund

Bio:

Natalie has been in the industry for over 15 years, in that time she has developed a reputation as an industry expert for hires across the research and investment space, partnering with firms globally on Buy & Sell Side Research, Economics, Hedge Fund and Asset Management recruiting.

Natalie is a Law Graduate from Kent University, she is also is a diehard Liverpool fan, petrol head and furry animal lover. She once hung up her party stilettos in favour of clean eating and gym life and now combines the two.

Natalie has worked on many high profile projects including:

• Developing Asset Management investment teams - Long only & Long short Equity and Credit

• Establishing and improving Quantitative platforms

• Movement of funds into new markets/strategies

• Research/Portfolio Management positions with Fundamental (Equity and Credit), Macro & Quantitative Hedge Funds

• Senior hires across Economics and Strategy both Buy and Sell Side

• Research, production and design of indices and areas linked with this space

Natalie has also acted as an industry speaker and panel expert for improving diversity and inclusion within the investment and quantitative arena. 

Some of her recent 2023/24 placements include: 

• Chief UK Economist – Sell side

• Systematic Equity Futures Portfolio manager – Hedge fund

• Consumer L/S Equity Analyst – Market Neutral Hedge Fund

• Senior/Head of ESG and sustainability – Emerging Markets Hedge Fund

• US Economist- Sell Side Firm

• Head of Equity Quant Research (Quantamental) – Hedge Fund

• Chemicals L/S Equity Analyst – Market Neutral Hedge Fund

• Long Short Equity PM – Global Cyclicals – Market Neutral Hedge Fund

• Systematic Futures Portfolio manager – Commodities

• Emerging Market Global Macro Strategist – Hedge Fund

• Economic Research Director – Buy side

• Energy Transition analyst – Long only equity fund

• Emerging Market EquityPM – Long only Asset Management

• Quant Researcher – Trading analytics – Hedge Fund

• Head of Equity Portfolio Management

• ESG and Stewardship analyst – Asset Management

Arti Kashyap-Aynsley

“Prioritising the Health & Wellbeing of your people, isn't a cost to productivity, it is an investment that provides infinite returns.”

Arti is an award winning Wellbeing Leader that is recognised globally as a thought leader and catalyst in the Workplace Wellbeing and Inclusion sphere's. In this context she continues to be sought after as an industry speaker and a panel expert. Some of the most recent and upcoming conferences she has / will be participating in include - The Reward and Benefits Association Conference, MAD World Summit, Wellbeing @ Work Event Series. She has also delivered keynote presentations across a multitude of professional services firms.

Bio:

Arti Kashyap-Aynsley started her career by qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, whilst also embarking on a 15 year journey in the Professional Services Sector.

She has worked between all of audit, tax and advisory services, spending the largest chunk of her time in the world of Management Consulting, where she focused on large scale Finance Transformation programmes that had her looking at strategy, learning and development, stakeholder and change management, technology implementations, process improvement, executive coaching and other things alike.

Working and travelling the globe opened Arti's eyes up to the impacts of what our working lives can have on our overall wellbeing, along with the truth behind not being able to easily compartmentalise the lives we live between home and work.

With the experience she gained in her career, she decided to pivot a few years ago into the world of wellbeing, where she first worked with Deloitte in Consulting in the UK, to design, develop and deliver on a comprehensive wellbeing strategy that was linked to the overall business focus.

By being able to create positive shifts and change in the business, Arti was inspired to continue to grow in this area and is now leading the Ocado Group Globally from a wellbeing standpoint.

Outside of her day to day working life Arti continues to emulate a life committed to the wellbeing agenda as she is also a qualified executive & life coach and personal trainer, as well as an Advisor to organisations such as Mind and HR Grapevine on topics surrounding the Responsible Business Agenda.

Katie Curtis 

“The harder you work, the luckier you get”

"Katie was extremely helpful. My experience dealing with Katie was very pleasant and positive, helping me to remain patient and motivated throughout the two months interview process."

Bio:

Katie has been with Octavius for over 5 years, during that time her role has focussed on a range of different political advisory clients in the private and multilateral arena. She has worked on different roles within the political advisory space including; policy advisors, ESG analysts, legal advisors, and communications experts. 

Katie is our resident Maria Von Trapp, a mum of 3 and fanatical horse rider. When she’s not on Pony Club duties she is training for a White Collar Boxing event for The Lily Foundation which is a charity set up by her sister-in-law in memory of Katie’s niece Lily. 

Katie's 2023/24 Mandates: 

• Senior Policy Analyst with one of our key private sector clients 

• Senior US Policy Analyst with one of our Multilateral clients 

• Communications Advisor Political Risk 

• International Law Advisor 

• Head of Research Climate Change ESG 

Areas of specialism: 

• Mid-senior level appointments primarily within: 

• Political Risk 

• Antitrust & Competition 

• Country Assessments 

• Economic Impact, forecasting, and other modelling 

• Financial Institution Regulation & Governance 

• Public Affairs & Government Relations 

• Public Policy Advisory 

• Regulatory & Policy Reform 

• Strategic Planning 

• Capital Markets 

• Transactional and country due diligence 

• Counter-terrorism 

• Security intelligence 

• Security consultancy 

• Corporate development 

Alexandra Clarkson

Bio:

Alexandra began her career with the Octavius Group in 2021 just after she had finished her A-levels. Alex is the operations manager based in our London Office. Alex is integral to the day to day running of the ship and she is responsible for our internal recruitment function.

Outside of the office, Alex is a keen dancer (ballet, tap, commercial, modern) and went viral on TikTok, with over 500,000 views! 

RJ Jayaratne

Bio:

RJ is the head of our renewables arm, his recruitment experience within the field spans over 14 years working with a number of clients within the renewable energy industry globally.

Known for his sheer size and strength, RJ is warmly referred to as our ‘hulk’, in addition to recruitment, RJ has taken part on a number of charity events including a white collar boxing event in aid of The Lily Foundation. RJ is also an Arsenal fan, but no one really cares about that.

James Bennett

"James was extremely helpful. My experience dealing with James was very pleasant and positive, helping me to remain patient and motivated throughout the interview process."

Bio:

James is a welcome addition to the Octavius Finance team, having previous experience in the private equity recruitment space.

James now builds on his experience in private markets, working within our Fundamental Equity and Credit practice to serve our firmly established business consulting with leading public equity concerns.

An avid proponent of the printed press, James was delighted to learn that all the major newspapers of record are provided free in the Lobby each morning. Should you find James hard to reach on the phone you will find him most lunchtimes in the local Wetherspoons at table 108 tucking into the Gourmet meal of the day over that weeks FT.

James‘ 2023/24 Mandates:

• Growth Equity VP, Software Subsector - New York

• Long Short Equity Analyst (Consumer), $8bn Hedge Fund - New York

• Portfolio Manager (Capital Goods), Market Neutral Hedge Fund - London

• M&A Associate, Boutique Investment Bank, Metals & Mining - London

• M&A Analyst, Boutique Investment Bank, Industrials - London

• Secondaries & Co-Investment Associate, GP led – London

Areas Of Specialism:

• Asset Management

• Hedge Funds (Fundamental Equity & Credit Strategies)

• Middle-Market Private Equity (Venture, Growth, Buyout)

• Investment Banking M&A

Tatiana Leonova

Bio:

Tatiana has recently wrapped up her Bachelor’s Degree in business at Birkbeck, University of London, and has spent the last three years diving into the world of sales and customer service as a Business Development Executive. It's been a wild ride for her, learning how to connect with people and help businesses grow.

When she’s not in work mode, you can find her shredding the slopes on a snowboard or hopping on a plane to explore new destinations.

She once took a shot at The X Factor and made it all the way to the third stage!

We’re super excited for Tatiana to bring her energy and skills to the team at Octavius Finance. We can't wait to see what we’ll accomplish together!