Our Team
Yevgeny Merkel, Partner
Yevgeny is a Founding Partner of Excelion Partners International and works for clients across the industrial, consumer, life sciences and private equity sectors. He has more than ten years of experience in executive search, management assessment and strategy consulting, first with McKinsey & Company in Vienna and later at Egon Zehnder International in Moscow, Vienna and London.
Previously, Yevgeny served as General Manager of a German construction company in Russia, where he successfully built the business from scratch in the late 1990’s.
Yevgeny received a BA in International Relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and MBA from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and the University of South Carolina. He also studied Corporate Finance, Private Equity and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Yevgeny is a dual Russian and German national. He is fluent in Russian, German and English.
Daniel Hall, Partner
Dan is a Founding Partner of Excelion Partners International and specialises in executive search and management assessment across the industrial, consumer and life sciences sectors. He brings more than eight years of international executive search and management assessment experience, first with the AESC in New York and Brussels and later at Neumann International in Vienna and London.
Previously, Dan served as European Sales and Marketing Director of an industrial and trading group active in Russia, where he worked from Hamburg.
Dan received a BA in Political Science and German Literature from the University of Vermont and MBA from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and the University of South Carolina, where he studied as a Darla Moore fellow. Dan is a dual US and German national. He speaks fluent English and German.
Evgeny Rarov, Consultant
Evgeny is a Consultant in the Moscow office of Excelion Partners International. He has over ten years of strategic marketing experience from leading international companies, such as Dupont, Novartis and Unilever, in Russia.
Previously, Evgeny was a Summer Associate at McKinsey & Company in Moscow and worked as an Internal Auditor at Remploy Plc in the UK.
Evgeny received a BA in World Economics and Trade from the Moscow State University of Commerce and a BA in Engineering from the Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloys. He holds an MBA from IESE Business School / University of Navarra and a MA in International Political Economy from the Central European University. Evgeny is fluent in Russian and English.
Alla Dynko, Research Associate
Alla is a Research Associate in the Moscow office of Excelion Partners International. She has more than five years of research experience in executive search and private wealth management.
Before Excelion, Alla was a Research Analyst at Renaissance Capital and a Research Assistant at another international executive search firm. She is currently studying at Moscow State Open University with a major in Linguistics. Alla speaks fluent Russian and English and is studying French and German.
Alexandra Kulikova, Marketing Associate
Alexandra is a Marketing Associate in the London office of Excelion Partners International. She has a linguistic background and over five years of business journalism and editorial experience.
Previously, Alexandra was Managing Editor of the monthly bilingual business magazine of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, a marketing tool for promoting Russian and British business in both directions.
Alexandra holds an honours degree in Linguistics and foreign language teaching from Moscow State Linguistic University. Currently she is doing an MSc in Media and Communication Governance at London School of Economics and Political Science. She is fluent in Russian and English and also speaks French and Spanish.
Zoe Grant, Research Analyst
Zoe is a Research Analyst in the London office of Excelion Partners International. She has a linguistic background and over two years of research experience.
Before Excelion, Zoe was a postgraduate student and received her MA by Research in Russian Culture from the University of Leeds. During her BA in Geography and Russian at the University of Leeds, she attended the Centre for International Education at Lomonosov Moscow State University for an academic year. Zoe speaks fluent English and Russian and is studying German.
Valerie Stogdale, Senior Advisor
Valerie runs her own executive coaching firm and acts as a senior advisor to Excelion Partners International. Her clients range from FTSE 100 companies and private equity houses to Buckingham Palace and the Royal Family.
Previously, Valerie spent eleven years with Russell Reynolds Associates in London. She then extended her experience at Norman Broadbent before becoming the first female Partner of Tyzack.
Valerie received her MA in Human Sciences from Oxford University and started her professional career with KPMG.