Built by people
who have done
the job themselves.
PALS was founded by former talent managers Shareena Harnett and Jonathan Ball, who built their careers inside some of the best-known management companies in entertainment. Shareena began at Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, management company for the Spice Girls, David and Victoria Beckham, Annie Lennox, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and Carrie Underwood. Jonathan worked at First Access Entertainment, management company for Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea and Lil Peep, before moving to Lateral Management, home to Labrinth, Paloma Faith, Jessie J and Taio Cruz and more.
Between them, they have spent their careers supporting internationally recognised talent and the teams around them, often in roles that were highly personal, demanding and effectively 24/7. Working within the private lives of high-profile people requires an exceptional work ethic and the resilience to keep going when the pace is relentless. These qualities form a key part of the PALS standard and are central to how they assess everyone who applies for the roles they represent.
Jonathan
Ball
Entertainment & Private · London
Jonathan has spent his career at a senior level across the music, entertainment and creative industries. He developed as a talent manager at First Access Entertainment, working across its international roster, before moving into a team leadership role at Lateral Management. A natural talent spotter, he was the first of his peers in the music industry to support Ed Sheeran at the very start of his career, and has a long track record of identifying emerging artists who went on to achieve major international success. That instinct for potential, combined with first-hand experience of building teams and creating the structures that let high-performing businesses grow, now shapes how he approaches recruitment. Having operated inside demanding senior roles himself, he understands exactly what they require, and how to find the people who can lead, manage and drive growth within them.
Shareena
Harnett
Entertainment & Private · London
Shareena has spent more than twenty years inside the entertainment industry, in personal assistance and talent management roles at the heart of high-profile private lives. She began as a PA before becoming day-to-day manager for Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, later supporting One Direction as their PA and going on to manage ZAYN through his departure from the band and the launch of his solo career. Her strength as a recruiter comes from having done the work herself: she knows what sets an exceptional PA apart, and how to stay composed when everything around you is moving at once. That first-hand understanding allows her to recognise the people who can step into trusted roles, anticipate the unspoken demands of the position and consistently exceed expectations.
