We’re driven by a simple belief: recruitment should be personal.
It’s not just about filling a role—it’s about building long-term partnerships that shape careers and help organisations grow stronger.
We have spent years recruiting across front, middle, and back office within financial services — both here in Australia and globally.
Through that experience, we’ve seen the impact a high-touch, tailored approach can make. It’s what inspired us to launch Foundry.
We work closely with clients and candidates across the financial services industry, offering honest advice, deep market insight, and a commitment to delivering a high quality recruitment service. Whether you're looking to grow your team or take the next step in your career, we’re here to help—thoughtfully, transparently, and with real expertise.
Meet our team
John Meehan
Director
With over 17 years of recruitment experience, John Meehan has developed long-term partnerships across Australia and international markets. Having worked in Brisbane, London, and Sydney, he has successfully led mid-to-senior level recruitment across front, middle, and back-office functions within the financial services sector.
John’s approach is relationship-first, ensuring every search is conducted with integrity, deep market expertise, and a well-connected network. His trusted industry insights and high-touch service set him apart, making him a go-to advisor for companies seeking strategic hiring solutions and candidates looking for the next step in their career. As the Director and Co-Founder of Foundry Talent Partners, he focuses on delivering tailored recruitment processes that strengthens businesses and supports professionals in their career progression.
Key Specialisations
Debt (banks, non-banks, private credit, debt advisory)
Sales and Trading
Finance, Accounting and Operations
Executive
Tom Clifton
Director
With over a decade of recruitment experience across Sydney and London, Tom has built a strong reputation across the financial services market in Australia. Throughout his career, Tom has successfully led teams and delivered numerous searches across back, middle and front office functions, providing him with unique holistic perspective on hiring within the industry. More recently, Tom has been focused on delivering top class talent across private equity, front office investment teams, and capital raising functions to leading local and global funds management firms.
As Co-Founder & Director of Foundry Talent Partners, Tom is committed to a relationship-first approach, ensuring that every search is tailored to clients' needs, whilst ensuring candidates are positioned to fulfil their potential and ambition. His extensive network and deep industry knowledge make him a trusted advisor to both employers and employees, helping firms secure the talent they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
Key Specialisations
Front-Office Investment: Private Equity, Real Estate, Venture Capital, Alternatives
Capital Raising & Distribution
Executive
Rachel Heeks
Rachel has over nine years’ experience across the Sydney finance recruitment market, specialising in Finance & Accounting appointments within the financial services sector, with particular expertise supporting funds and investment businesses, as well as broader commercial organisations.
Throughout her career, Rachel has built a strong track record as both a high performing individual contributor and a leader of high performing recruitment teams. She recruits across the full spectrum of accounting and finance roles, from qualified accountants through to senior finance leadership appointments including CFO, Financial Controller and Head of Finance mandates.
Known for her relationship driven and consultative approach, Rachel partners closely with organisations to understand their strategic hiring needs while supporting finance professionals at every stage of their careers. Her professionalism, market insight and commitment to long term partnerships have made her a trusted advisor within the Sydney finance community and a valued member of the Foundry Talent Partners team.
Key Specialisations
Accounting and Finance
Operations
PE backed C Suite
Contact
rachel.heeks@foundrytp.com.au
+61 476 861 758
LinkedIn
Ali Newsome
Ali Newsome has over 8 years’ recruitment experience across the Sydney finance market, having led teams across Front, Middle and Back Office while also delivering strong individual results. She is well known for her expertise in Finance & Accounting recruitment across the Financial Services sector, partnering with firms across the industry, with particular exposure to funds, wealth and investment management. Ali has also supported private equity and private credit clients with key leadership hires, including CFO appointments within portfolio companies.
Similarly to John and Tom, Ali tailors every search to her clients’ needs, placing relationships at the forefront of each engagement while ensuring candidates are well positioned for their next career move. Ali’s approachable personality and professional approach, combined with her extensive market knowledge, have made her a trusted advisor across the Finance & Accounting market in Sydney and a valued member of the Foundry Talent Partners team.
Key Specialisations
Accounting and Finance
Operations
PE backed C Suite
Contact
alison.newsome@foundrytp.com.au
+61 458 668 398
LinkedIn
Phoebe Garrett
Director - Legal, Risk and Compliance
Phoebe Garrett brings a distinctive perspective to legal, risk, and compliance recruitment - one grounded in real-world legal practice. She began her career at a top-tier national family law firm, where she developed a first-hand understanding of the standards, rigour, and culture that define the profession. That foundation informs everything she does as a recruiter.
After making the move into recruitment, Phoebe spent five years at Robert Walters, where she built a strong track record placing high-calibre candidates across the legal, risk, and compliance market. Through that experience, she developed deep market knowledge and a network that spans law firms, financial services, and in-house legal functions.
Now joining Foundry Talent Partners, Phoebe combines her practitioner background with genuine commercial insight to deliver a consultative, relationship-first service. Whether supporting organisations looking to strengthen their legal and compliance functions or professionals seeking their next career move, she is committed to getting it right - for both sides of the search.
Key Specialisations
Legal
Risk
Compliance
Contact
phoebe.garrett@foundrytp.com.au
+61 475 111 122
LinkedIn
Stuart Sellar
Director - Operations, Credit and Product
With four and a half years of recruitment experience across the Sydney financial services market, Stuart has built a strong reputation placing talent across credit, operations, and product functions. He works closely with banks and non-bank lenders, covering credit appointments from analyst through to senior leadership, and brings the same depth of focus to operations and product mandates across the broader financial services sector.
Throughout his career, Stuart has developed a genuine understanding of the financial services hiring landscape, building long-term relationships with both clients and candidates across the market. Known for his considered and consultative approach, he takes the time to understand what organisations need and what motivates candidates at every stage of their career. As a Director at Foundry Talent Partners, Stuart is committed to delivering high-quality searches that help firms secure the right talent and support professionals in taking the next step in their career.
Key Specialisations
Operations
Product
Credit
Contact
stuart.sellar@foundrytp.com.au
+61 422 908 197
LinkedIn
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