Membership at Global Executive Search Network allows T&I Consultancy, as well as other members, to be able to provide, in addition to its local market services, a large pipeline of variety of other human capital management services – some quite specific and niche ones – being supported by solid expertise of the GES Network partners with decades long track record specialized experience and references in these services.

Such a partnership with Global Executive Search Network allows T&I Consultancy conduct important global and regional cross-border search assignments with more comfort and confidence. Being a local boutique executive search firm in Azerbaijan, T&I Consultancy is able to support its regional clients’ critical recruitment – both executive and managerial – needs internationally regardless of frontiers and distances. Whether they are in Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Far East, Africa or somewhere else. Besides the researchers of the local Partner/Member of Global Executive Search Network, the organization also has a pool of international researchers, with a wide variety of native languages and industry & function expertise, who can be deployed, in addition, if necessary, to the local research teams, thus boosting research effectiveness and efficiency.

- The membership increases opportunities for various advisory needs of our clients:

- specific human capital management tools;

- narrow and high quality practice expertise;

- interim and crisis management solutions;

- portfolio of diversity of scientifically rigorous, technologically inspiring psychometrics solutions going beyond standard ones; and many others.

We aim to be the most highly regarded firm in the executive search industry of Azerbaijan. We aspire to influence all important local stakeholders and business leaders, as we manage to strengthen their understanding of the importance of corporate governance, transparency, diversity and fairness at all levels of organizational hierarchy. We will work to assure that they increase their appreciation and awareness of the value of each employee.

Our values are infused throughout our organization. They are fundamental to our long-term success, growth and true recognition as a valuable community participant. These values define who we are, how we think, and how we conduct our business.

-  Trust and integrity

-  Strict confidentiality

-  Dedication and focus

-  Passion for what we do

-  Continuous self-development and learning. As a firm and as individuals

-  Positive attitude and neutral mind

-  Straightforward, honest and transparent communication with clients

-  Accountability, responsibility and professionalism

T&I Consultancy is built on several fundamental business and ethical principles:

-  Aspiring to be the best executive search firm in Azerbaijan, we are passionate about our work and take pride in what we do! We are reliable focused and trustworthy!

-  We are dedicated to the highest industry standards in service quality, and to continuous improvement! We recognize success through repeated engagements from our clients! We are happy to serve as a springboard for the career growth of the managers and executives we place!

-  We are staunchly committed to the highest ethical and compliance standards in the conduct of executive search assignments we are mandated with! Upholding an impeccable reputation is integral to our business philosophy and is an invaluable asset of the firm!

-  Trust and integrity are our main core values and that is the name of the firm!

-  Confidentiality, appreciation for professional and cultural sensitivities, and full discretion while dealing with our clients and candidates alike are the fundamental values in our daily activities!

It is this unmitigated loyalty to our core values and principles that drives success of our brand. We understand that winning the respect and recognition of the business community is our most important objective as a professional advisory firm. These corporate values, together with our strong local knowledge of, and network within the regional markets, understanding of former Soviet, Western, Turkish and Persian cultures, traditions and languages, and their business expectations and standards, along with solid track record of diversified international executive search experience, are what set us apart from other firms in the recruitment industry of Azerbaijan, and in many cases, in the region. T&I Consultancy is your local international recruitment partner!

T&I Consultancy defines executive search as an integral aspect of the management consultancy. We believe that the quality of recruitment (and the efficient career management plan) can turn around the fortunes of any organization. We are – therefore – committed to the best possible solution for each search mandate. We are committed to adding genuine value to our clients’ critical hires.

Ilham is a seasoned generalist. He enjoys being engaged in different industries, conducting regional multicultural search assignments for various business functions. Overall, by today, he conducted 300+ retained search assignments of mid & senior management level (both Regional & Country CxO, General/Country Manager, and Head of Department for different business functions) with positions to be based in 14 countries within CIS, Middle East (mainly) and Europe.

Ilham carried out search projects in 15+ industries: Agriculture, Banking & Financial Services, Construction, Distribution, Hospitality & Tourism, Entertainment, FMCG, Food Flavors, Heavy Industry, Industrial Technology, Information & Technology, Legal Advisory, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Pharma, Retail, and others.

Ilham executed important – often highly ‘sensitive’ and confidential – search assignments for multinational, regional and national organizations, including both public and private (family owned) ones. The list of international clientele includes, but not limited to, BASF, 3M, DuPont, Honeywell, Festo, Wika, Multivac, Danone, Nestle, Carlsberg, Colgate Palmolive, Lactalis, Bel, Imperial Tobacco, Aujan, Ulker, Arc International, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, BERLIN-CHEMIE Menarini, Polpharma, Sopharma, Abdi Ibrahim, Agfa Health Care, Santen, Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent, APM Terminals, Panalpina, Doehler, IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances), Oriflame, and others.

Since 2016 Ilham is an Executive Board Member of the Italy-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (ITAZERCOM).

Since 2021 T&I Consultancy is a member of Global Executive Search, a worldwide network of independent executive search firms with members in 50+ countries across the globe. Consequently, GESN is among the top 3 executive search networks in the world in terms of geographical representation.

Born and raised in a multicultural district of Baku, Ilham’s diversified business management experience expands over twenty-five years. In his early career, during the perestroika, he completed his two-years military service in Ukraine and then took on several positions, including stoker in a government bank, forwarding agent in a large bread-baking plant, and translator for a private agricultural enterprise.

Wishing always to be independent and free, at his own, he started working, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as a freelance interpreter during the first international missions of the World Bank and IMF for companies and private businessmen visiting Baku to explore business opportunities.

A year later, in 1992, at the age of 24, Ilham was appointed Country Business Representative for Hallwood Energy, the US private oil company based in Denver, Colorado (then #27 in the US, and #83 globally). This cooperation eventually resulted in the signing of a joint venture agreement with SOCAR in April 1994 for the development of an off-shore field (the first one in the history of the post-Soviet Azerbaijan). Unfortunately, in September, the Board of Directors decided to pull out Azerbaijan and the project, due to their poor assessment of regional perspectives and stability which eventually led to a significant opportunity loss.

In 1995 - 2007, Ilham founded and ran Robero Ltd., a construction & real estate company that provided various property management solutions (construction & renovation, project management, maintenance, leasing, market research, evaluation services) to international business and diplomatic communities in Baku (BP, AIOC, CIPCO, Amoco, Pennzoil, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Mitsubishi, the embassies of France

and Germany (Kapel House), World Bank (Shaki Khan Sarayi/Royal Palace), and private international and local clients). Over 130 construction and renovation projects were completed within first five years before his grand voyage decision to leave for Europe for several years to discover the world.

As a result, Ilham lived in Italy and France for four years (2000-2004), during which he learned the languages, studied art, culture and literature, completed his MBA in Paris and traveled extensively (400+ places). Inspired by this experience, in 2007 he authored a novel «Капля дождя, застывшая между небом и землей...» under his pen name Keym Son. In 2010 the book won a literary award of the Moscow municipality Fund named after Yuriy Dolgorukiy which reviewed the literary works in FSU written in Russian language by a non-Russian.

In his free time, Ilham is a writer and lover of culture, history, art and traveling (600+ places in about 80 countries). He practices yoga. He is an avid reader interested in various subjects (human energy optimization, the healing power of food, biohacking, yoga, meditation, Big History, evolution of life on Earth, anthropology, personal transformation & self-development, life coaching, and many others).

-Diploma, French Literature, Sorbonne University, Paris, France, 2003-2004

-MBA, Finance, Ecole Supérieure de Gestion, Paris, France, 2002-2003

-Diploma cum Laude, Italian Language & Culture, Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy, 2000-2001

-MBA, Legal Regulation of Economics, Western University, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1998-2000

-BA, English Language, Azerbaijan State University of Languages, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1990-1995

Ilham is a native speaker of Azerbaijani and Russian. He is fluent in English, commands an advanced level of French and Italian. He masters conversational Turkish and Persian, and has an intermediate level comprehension of written Spanish, German and Ukrainian.