Naomi Slakmon | United Arab Emirates | Drawing Plans to Placing Leaders
Founder & CEO | Executive Search Specialist
Recruitment & Talent Acquisition Leader
“Companies get their people placed. Candidates get placed somewhere that matters.”
For Naomi Slakmon, recruitment is more than filling vacancies—it is about understanding people, recognizing potential, and creating connections that can move both careers and businesses forward. With more than 14 years of recruitment experience spanning construction, technology, property and real estate, Naomi has built a career around one central belief: the right person in the right environment can change the trajectory of an organization. Her journey, however, did not begin in executive search. Early in her career, Naomi worked in technical and project-focused roles, including as a CAD Space Planner at VARI-TECH and a CAD Technician at Chubb Fire & Security in the UK. She worked on school development projects, produced technical drawings, supported major clients, attended site meetings and helped solve problems for customers. She later became a Project Administrator at UGL in Sydney, supporting defence projects and coordinating information between project teams, clients, suppliers and subcontractors. She also spent time in debt recovery, progressing from Debt Recovery Officer to Team Leader at Wise McGrath, where she managed a team of eight, supported senior management and learned the importance of communication, accountability, problem-solving and performance. In 2003, she had started her professional journey as a telemarketer, learning the fundamentals of communication, relationship-building, persistence and sales. Those early experiences would eventually become valuable foundations for a career centred on people.
In 2012, Naomi entered recruitment with Randstad UK, beginning a six-year journey that saw her progress from Recruitment Consultant to Senior Recruitment Consultant and eventually Principal Consultant/Business Manager. She specialized in business-support recruitment across construction, property and engineering, developing expertise in identifying talent and understanding the needs of employers. She later moved deeper into specialist recruitment within the construction sector at Skilled Careers, before transitioning into technology recruitment at Jefferson Frank, where she focused on AWS professionals and technology roles.
Her career then took an unexpected but important turn into the world of professional sport. At Everton Football Club, she worked as Global Partnership Sales Lead, helping drive commercial growth through the acquisition of new club partners. It was another opportunity to strengthen her understanding of business development, relationships and the commercial side of organizations.
In 2022, Naomi relocated from London to Dubai-a major personal and professional transition. She joined cander as a Principal Consultant specializing in front-end UI/UX and digital recruitment, working across technology, data, IT transformation and related fields. She then moved into Dubai’s rapidly evolving real estate sector, joining haus & haus in 2023. Progressing from Senior Recruiter to Principal Recruiter, Naomi focused on headhunting top talent from the UAE and internationally. In 2025, she became Recruitment Director at Arabian Estates, leading talent acquisition and helping build high-performing teams within the real estate industry.
These experiences gave Naomi something more valuable than a résumé: a deep understanding of what happens behind successful hiring decisions. She saw that recruitment is not simply about matching a job description with a CV. It is about understanding organizational culture, leadership, ambition, timing and the kind of person who can genuinely contribute to a company's future. That realization became the foundation for her next chapter.
In June 2026, Naomi launched placed., a specialist executive search consultancy connecting exceptional talent with ambitious businesses across the real estate, developer and construction sectors in MENA and London. Through placed., Naomi offers Executive Search, Fractional Recruitment, Talent Acquisition Strategy and Headhunting. Her searches can include senior roles such as Sales Directors, Project Directors, Heads of Brokerage, Heads of Recruitment, Operations Directors, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Technology Officers and other leadership positions.
But the philosophy behind placed. goes beyond titles.
“We don't just fill roles. We place people who move businesses forward.”
For Naomi, recruitment is strategic, personal and impactful. She works with established organizations, startups and scale-ups while helping candidates find opportunities where their skills, ambitions and values can truly matter.
Her journey from CAD drawings and project administration to recruitment leadership, technology, professional sport, Dubai's real estate industry and ultimately entrepreneurship demonstrates the value of staying open to where a career can lead.
Naomi's story is also a reminder that careers rarely follow a perfectly straight line. Skills learned in one chapter can become the foundation for success in another. Technical knowledge can strengthen relationship-building. Sales can strengthen recruitment. Project administration can strengthen organization. Leadership can strengthen entrepreneurship.
Today, as Founder and CEO of placed., Naomi is not simply recruiting for the next position—she is building a business around the belief that people are the most important placement an organization can make.
For the next generation, her journey offers a simple lesson: you don't need to have your entire career figured out at the beginning. Keep learning, keep building relationships, recognize the value in every experience, and be willing to reinvent yourself when the next opportunity arrives.
From designing spaces to building teams. From London to Dubai. From recruitment professional to entrepreneur. Naomi Slakmon's journey shows that sometimes the career you build is found not by following one straight path, but by connecting the lessons from every path you've taken.
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