London – May 7, 2025 — Riviera Partners, the premier executive search firm specializing in technology leadership, is pleased to announce that Lydia Shepherd has joined the firm as a Partner within its growing EMEA Practice. With nearly 15 years of experience in executive search, Lydia brings deep expertise in building high-impact product and technology teams across Europe. Her work spans VC-backed scale-ups, growth equity investments, private equity portfolio companies, and public businesses, often in moments of significant transformation including M&A, pre- and post-IPO growth, and post-acquisition integration.
In her new role, Lydia will partner closely with founders, boards, and investors to place not only world-class executives but also technology leaders in board and advisory roles, supporting portfolio companies in scaling responsibly and competitively in today’s rapidly evolving market. Her functional focus spans engineering, product, AI, design, and cybersecurity leadership.
Prior to joining Riviera, Lydia was a Director at The Up Group, where she led the Product, Technology & AI Practice, advising across the venture and private equity ecosystem. Her earlier experience includes leading technology and transformation mandates at Norman Broadbent and building the European arm of Candela Search. She began her career in investment banking at Citigroup before transitioning into executive search.
“Riviera is a natural next step. I’ve had the privilege of working with many of the team over the years, and they’ve built something exceptional—a world-class group of true subject matter experts with a reputation for rigour, insight, and pace. Riviera is fast becoming the go-to partner in Europe for engineering and product search. The depth of our US partnership gives us unmatched visibility into cutting-edge talent emerging from both coasts, and I’m excited to bring that global connectivity to clients navigating transformation and growth here in Europe.
I’m also deeply passionate about elevating underrepresented voices in tech leadership, whether that’s through mentoring, advising clients on more inclusive hiring strategies, or helping build processes that surface the very best talent, equitably. At Riviera, I’m excited to continue advocating for a more diverse, representative tech ecosystem.”
“Lydia’s arrival signals our intent in EMEA. This is a critical time for European Tech and our role is to help find world-class talent to build category-defining companies – having Lydia on our team will only accelerate the progress we are making” said Glenn Murphy, Managing Partner of Riviera Partners, Europe. “She brings not only a proven track record of partnering with founders and investors across Europe, but also a strong values-driven approach that aligns deeply with our mission. Her expertise across product, engineering, and AI will be invaluable to our clients as they build the next generation of category-defining companies.”
With Lydia’s appointment, Riviera deepens its commitment to building the leadership infrastructure for Europe’s most ambitious technology companies—ensuring they are equipped to scale, transform, and lead in a competitive, digital-first world.
About Riviera Partners
Riviera Partners is a global driver of innovation for today’s most influential companies—expertly placing executive talent in the crucial areas of IT, software engineering, product management, security, AI/ML/Data, and design. Riviera combines over two decades of recruiting expertise with a proprietary platform that uses machine learning to score and predict the best candidate for a company’s specific needs, driving successful outcomes. As a result, the company has become the go-to talent partner for leading private equity investors, venture capitalists, public companies, and technology innovators.