Five years of Andrew Pretswell

This week Andrew Pretswell marks five years with WeConnect Energy. Andrew is a Senior Consultant in our executive search practice, where he works on C-suite, corporate and technical leadership searches for energy clients in the Gulf and the UK.

Five years is a long time in recruitment but our CEO Richard Madden is clear that the number on its own is not the point.

"I'm wary of celebrating tenure for its own sake. Plenty of people stay five years and coast. Andrew is the opposite. He's internally competitive, he holds himself to a high standard and he's ambitious in the right way, which is the way that makes the people around him better."

Two years in the UAE

Of Andrew's five years, two were spent living in the UAE. That was a deliberate choice. Executive search in the Gulf is built on relationships and on understanding how national energy companies actually make decisions, and that is hard to learn from an office in Scotland.

"You can read about Emiratisation and ICV and how the big national operators work," says Richard. "Andrew went and lived it. He built his relationships in person, over coffee and across the table, and he came back with a first-hand feel for what life and work are like for the leaders we place there. Clients notice that. So do candidates."

The timing of his anniversary is fitting. ADIPEC 2026 takes place in Abu Dhabi from 2 to 5 November, bringing the global energy industry together in the city where Andrew spent those two years.

What five years looks like

Andrew joined WeConnect Energy in 2021 and has grown into one of the most capable executive search consultants in the business. The searches he leads are the ones that matter most to our clients: leadership roles that shape how assets are run and how teams are built.

"He's got better every year," says Richard. "He's raising the bar and he's delivered on searches that genuinely mattered. Andrew is also one of the few people in the office you'll rarely catch without a bow tie, so the photo above is something of a collector's item. Thanks Andrew, for the hard work, the standards and the good humour. Here's to the next five."

WeConnect Energy's executive search practice works with national and international energy companies on C-suite, corporate and technical leadership appointments.

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