Spear’s Review

‘Kindness, honesty and fun’ are the core values that underpin the operations at Oriel Partners, co-founder and director Auria Heanley tells Spear’s.

Specialising in the recruitment and placement of personal and executive assistants, as well as administrative and business support, Oriel Partners prioritises discretion and confidentiality by necessity; its clients include family offices, boutique investment firms, UHNW principals and well-known names in the luxury and entertainment industries.

Heanley, who established the firm in 2018 alongside fellow recruiter Olivia Coughtrie, says that 60 to 70 percent of its business comes via recommendation, especially from within (U)HNW circles. She attributes this to Oriel Partners’ ‘high-end, high-touch’ service: ‘[Coughtrie and I] meet all of the new clients ... We like to do face-to-face meetings rather than Teams calls. That human interaction is still very, very important to us.’

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Adviser Profile 

With more than 20 years’ recruitment experience, Auria understands that an exceptional private or executive support hire is about far more than experience on paper. She takes time to understand how a principal, family or business operates, the personalities involved and the qualities needed for a successful long-term appointment.

Her approach combines deep market knowledge with instinct, judgement and a carefully developed network of exceptional candidates. Auria remains closely involved throughout each search, from defining the brief and identifying talent to advising on interviews, offers and onboarding, with the aim of creating placements that genuinely last.