Pearson Partners International

Tag: case study

The Flawless Code for a Leading Information Technology Organization’s CEO

A Pearson Partners International Success Story

Senior-level information technology professionals across the country rely on the collaboration, knowledge-sharing and resources of the Society for Information Management, or SIM. When the organization needed a new chief executive officer, they knew that with the evolving nature of the IT industry and the increasing value proposition of the association, they needed to elevate the CEO role. To do so, they needed just the right search firm to lead the charge in recruiting this key executive.

Renee Arrington, Pearson Partners International’s chief operating officer and CIO / IT Leadership practice leader, had been a member of the organization for many years and had previously served on its board of directors. She and her partner Lisa Thompson, Pearson Partners’ vice president, met the challenge, outshined the competition and recruited the perfect fit in Mark Taylor.

An evolving association for an evolving industry.

Traditionally, SIM had recruited from within the chapter membership for the chief executive officer role. A decade after its last CEO appointment, SIM decided it wanted to broaden the candidate pool and hone the profile by using a search firm.

“We felt that with the changing landscape of professional associations, and the value proposition they bring, we needed to formalize our process of filling the chief executive role,” said Caren Shiozaki, chairman of the SIM national board of directors and head of its personnel committee. “We knew we needed the help of an executive search firm.”

The selection committee deeply analyzed the search firms under consideration, interviewing each one thoroughly. In the end, Pearson Partners stood out.

“We interviewed about six firms,” said Kevin More, SIM’s national board chair emeritus. “Pearson really stood out in terms of how they approach executive search. Renee had a lot of first-hand knowledge of our organization, and that was a key consideration in our selection of the right search firm partner. Lisa had extensive experience working with other associations and that was very important to us.”

Shiozaki and More knew that with increased competition from other IT-industry associations, along with the rapidly evolving nature of the profession, they had to think outside of the box in recruiting the new CEO.

“We really felt we needed a leader who was going to be more visionary and strategic to help us be more competitive as we headed into this new phase of the IT executive world and its associations,” said Shiozaki. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be good enough anymore to just do what we had always done.”

More explained, “We had always had an IT person running the organization. It was clear that this time, we needed someone who was more business-minded and broad IT knowledge was somewhat secondary to the leadership expertise.”

The search kicks off.

With Arrington and Thompson’s help, the organization developed the portrait of the ideal candidate: An executive with a diverse background in the association or not-for-profit space who was a strong, relational business leader. The new CEO would represent a shift from an operational mindset to one of strategy and vision. As the public face of the organization, the person needed an outward-focused, strong public persona.

Armed with a well-defined candidate profile, the Pearson Partners team surveyed key stakeholders to understand their needs and objectives and then went to work sourcing their networks to build and qualify an initial candidate slate.

“Renee and Lisa really took the time to seek our input,” said Shiozaki. “They both absolutely hit the nail on the head in terms of prioritizing the skills and traits we were looking for. I know that everybody involved in the search saw that as well. I had worked successfully with Renee in the past for executive search and I could see that Pearson obviously delivers a strong consistency in quality.”

The ideal candidate rises to the top.

The Pearson team interviewed the initial candidates on SIM’s behalf, narrowing the initial slate to a group of qualified candidates for SIM to interview. Arrington and Thompson prepared the SIM selection committee with candidate backgrounds and customized interview guides ahead of their interviews and participated in the final interview process.

“By the time we got to our face-to-face interviews, we had a very good sense of who the candidates were,” said More. “We knew what questions to ask and at that point it was mainly about chemistry and refining the answers to some key questions that we’d already asked. It was a very good use of everybody’s time and the strongest candidate was very clear at the end of the process.”

Shiozaki continued, “At that point, the final candidate clearly stood out. A few selection committee members felt that we needed to take the final two candidates through the last steps of the selection process. I appreciated Renee’s honesty—to us and to the second-place candidate—in coaching us that if we felt that strongly about the first-place candidate, there was no sense wasting everyone’s time for the sake of formality. I don’t think most search firms would have done that.”

“Pearson had put together a very thorough dossier on Mark, so we were very well prepared for our final interview with him,” said Shiozaki. “Mark had also done his homework before our interview and was able to converse about SIM quite intelligently. He presented some high-level ideas about how things could be approached and how things might need to change. I think the search team did a fantastic job because Joel [Schwalbe, SIM’s national board vice chair] and I felt so hopeful and excited after we had met with Mark. It was great.”

The boutique retained search experience.

As CIOs in their corporate jobs, both Shiozaki and More had previously worked with search firms. More had never worked with a retained firm, and for him, this search was a very different experience than what he had previously had.

“On the hiring side, this is the first time I had worked with a retained search firm,” More explained. “I had always used contingent firms for staff hiring and they had, in my experience, always worked by volume: Throw enough darts and hope one is a bullseye.”

More continued, “This experience with Pearson, as a retained search firm, was very different. It was more of a boutique, concierge service. All the heavy lifting was done by Pearson’s Renee and Lisa. If you asked anyone on our search committee, they would tell you it was an excellent and painless experience and a great use of everyone’s time.”

Shiozaki, on the other hand, had used retained search for the most part, but a few times had used contingent search. She explained: “When I was a CIO in a larger market in Dallas, I only used retained firms, including Pearson Partners. But when I moved to a smaller market in New Mexico, my CEO felt that contingent firms were a better bargain. However, those contingent searches were very difficult. You definitely get what you pay for.”

The candidate experience.

When the Pearson team reached out to Mark Taylor about the SIM CEO search, he was working as a chief operating officer at CMP Management, an association management company offering strategic development, accounting, administration, marketing and event management services to 25 professional societies. Taylor was serving as CEO, CFO and COO, reporting to boards of directors of associations in information technology and healthcare industries. While not actively seeking a new position, he had begun to consider what his next step in his career would be. Pearson’s outreach came at the right time and with an intriguing proposition.

“When I received an email from Lisa Thompson, containing a very well-developed and well-presented writeup about SIM’s goals and what they were looking for in a new CEO, I was immediately intrigued,” said Mark Taylor, SIM’s new CEO. “The fact that the role was IT-oriented fit very well with my background, of course, as did the fact that I had been working for five years already with an association management company.”

“Beyond the basic qualifications,” continued Taylor, “Lisa carefully presented many more of the soft skills that captured my interest and made me want to continue. There were several phrases that stuck out to me in her writeup—things like “leading the charge while allowing others to take the limelight” and “a relational-style leader”—which described me perfectly. A lot of these things jumped out at me and grabbed my attention because that’s the kind of leader I am. When I realized SIM’s objectives were right in the middle of what I’d been doing, and in the markets I had been in, I knew this might be a great fit for me. What clinched it was that I would be working with leaders who were very well-accomplished in their careers, and that really resonated with me.”

A very thorough process.

The Pearson Partners team followed a thorough and detailed process to narrow the initial slate of candidates to the final contenders. They thoroughly prepared the SIM search committee and each final candidate with a slew of information to make the interview and selection process efficient and successful.

“The process was very, very thorough” Taylor said. “Although I was eager to jump right into the role, I appreciated that the Pearson team was being very thorough, sourcing all of the candidates that would be a potential fit and not just walking in with one and saying, ‘Hey, we found your golden boy.’ I felt their sense of responsibility to their client in being certain they brought the best candidates to the table and that was evident in the process.”

Taylor continued, “Once the candidates got down to the final three, I felt Renee and Lisa prepared me very well for each conversation throughout the final stages. I did a lot of homework on my own, but the work the Pearson team did really aligned well to put me in the best light for the final interviews.”

The perfect fit.

Taylor was confident that the SIM CEO role was the perfect fit, both culturally and strategically. “I think where we really aligned perfectly,” said Taylor, “was in the relational, extrovert style of leader they were looking for, which is exactly what I am. If you can get very clear on what you want, whether it’s from the perspective of the hiring process or your individual career, it’s amazing how effective you can be at getting there.”

Shortly after Taylor came aboard, SIM held its national conference, SIM Connect Live, attended by IT leaders from around the globe. Prior to the conference, the national management council held its meeting, including SIM chapter leaders. This was Taylor’s first big stage after joining the organization.

“Mark really hit the ball out of the park,” said More. “He connected the analysis that he had done of our association and of our membership with all of our objectives, and this was something we had never seen before. Mark clearly had all the skills we were seeking, and he got everyone very excited about the future direction of SIM. He has hit the ground running and we are very pleased.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

July 17, 2019
Passion and Experience Bring a Perfect Match to Renowned Dallas Nonprofit

For years, Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support employed a senior director of funding and community development, responsible for operational fundraising and managing large capital campaigns for special projects. When that position opened up right at the beginning of a $30 million campaign to raise capital for a new building, Genesis Chief Executive Officer Jan Edgar Langbein decided to split the former role into two new positions: a senior director of development and a senior director of major gifts to take over the complex capital campaigns component.

“The name Pearson Partners kept popping up,” Langbein says. “I had never used an executive search firm, and the firms I’d spoken with in the past had taken months to respond to my questions. When I reached out to Pearson Partners, [Senior Vice President and Director] Renee Arrington and [Vice President] Lisa Thompson were in my office within 48 hours. It was unbelievable. They put my mind at ease about what the process would look like. The fee was a leap for us financially, but I trusted them, and I so I stepped out on faith.”

The Pearson Partners team worked quickly to gain a deep understanding of Genesis’ needs for the role and create a detailed job description, then began an expansive search both inside and outside of the nonprofit community.

“They were in constant communication with me, and they reached outside the nonprofit chess game that other recruiters play, where people are just moved around from one organization to the next,” Langbein says. “They went beyond the usual suspects to recruit from other strategic areas, such as medicine and academics, which I was excited and surprised to see.”

Zeroing In

After Pearson Partners’ first round of candidate interviews, the executive search firm submitted a list of highly qualified candidates for Langbein’s review—just two weeks into the engagement. One candidate stood out: Maria MacMullin, a longtime nonprofit organization leader with extensive experience in fundraising, strategic planning, program development, public relations, marketing and public speaking.

Pearson Partners had recruited MacMullin for another position in the past, so Thompson knew she would be an ideal candidate for Genesis and reached out to gauge her interest. MacMullin was open to a new opportunity, as she had recently fulfilled her commitment to establish a new charitable foundation for her current employer, a technology company. When she was contacted about the opportunity at Genesis, she felt it was the right time for a move.

“Genesis has an exceptional reputation, and Jan Langbein is one of the most dynamic people in the Dallas nonprofit community,” MacMullin says. “I heard her speak publicly over the years, and she just blew me away.”

Langbein was equally enamored by MacMullin’s candidate profile.

“I knew right from the start that Maria was the total package,” Langbein says. “Everyone who works at Genesis has a fire in their belly—a passion for ending violence against women and children.”

“We always attract resumes and top candidates,” says Langbein, “but this job’s qualifications were unique. Maria had both the passion and the experience with capital campaigns and development. She was the perfect match.”

A Perfect Match

From MacMullin’s point of view, working with Pearson Partners was an ideal way to move into a new career phase.

“Every person at Pearson Partners has the highest level of professionalism and integrity,” says MacMullin. “They offered me a full profile of the position, including high-level intel on the employer and in-depth information about the role. Then, they had an in-depth conversation with me to determine my interest in the position and whether I’d be a good candidate fit. They shared a lot of detail with me up front. After that, I was invited to meet with Lisa and her colleagues for an interview.

“Pearson really takes the time to get to know their candidates and the companies they work with,” MacMullin says. “I felt very supported by Lisa and Renee, and I could feel they wanted to make sure I was making a decision that was good for me as well as their client. I felt like I was treated as a client and a friend.”

At Langbein’s request, Pearson Partners helped develop a unique and customized interview process in which Genesis senior leaders posed as funders, allowing MacMullin to demonstrate her ability to deliver a pitch and associated materials. The Genesis team was sold, and Langbein offered MacMullin the position just six weeks after her first phone call with Pearson Partners.

“The turnaround time was very impressive,” Langbein says. “Pearson Partners saw my sense of urgency and really responded to it. They were very professional, and it was a very good experience. I would definitely use them again.”

MacMullin is equally excited about jumping into her new role leading the current capital campaign, which is expected to last two to three years. “This position is such a wonderful fit for me. I am thrilled to work with Jan and the Genesis team,” she says.

“With Maria’s qualifications, she could have gone to a lot of places,” Langbein notes. “What I loved about Renee and Lisa was their advice, and they advised me that if I wanted Maria, I needed to act quickly. They recommended I expedite the interview process, and helped me with interview strategy and salary negotiations. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

April 10, 2019
A National Search Identifies the Ideal Internal Candidate for DART

After DART’s chief financial officer announced his retirement, the transit agency’s leadership team saw an opportunity to reevaluate the distribution of executive responsibility at the transit agency, which supports an extensive network of light rail, commuter rail, bus routes and paratransit services that move more than 220,000 passengers across the metroplex each day.

The former CFO had not only handled finance, but also overseen a number of different departments within the organization.

“When our CFO retired, we went through the exercise of fashioning out what we wanted things to look like going forward,” says Jesse Oliver, deputy executive director of DART. “We decided to carve out the financial aspects of that role and create a new executive vice president of administration position to oversee the administrative functions.”

Because the newly created position would have responsibility for strategic planning, human resources, procurement, risk management, information services and marketing communications, a unique skillset and experience were needed.

“We were looking for good, broad-based management skills, as well as some knowledge of transit and public entity operations and functions,” Oliver says. “We needed the person to have a depth of experience that demonstrated that he or she could oversee a number of different areas and bring value to those areas and the organization as a whole. We needed a nationwide search, as the candidate pool would have been limited if we were to have only recruited in the transit industry, and especially if the search were just local to Dallas or even statewide. We wanted to ensure that we reached out and drew in all potential candidates who might be interested and who had the skills and background we were looking for.”

DART used an RFP process to select an executive search firm to locate the best candidate for the new job, which would report directly to DART’s president and chief executive officer, Gary Thomas. Pearson Partners International was the firm that came out on top, and the search process that began in December 2017 was led by Lisa Thompson, LPC, PCC, vice president.

Thompson helped DART define the qualifications for the job, which included management experience overseeing senior-level staff, strategic agility, political savvy, business acumen and effective team-building skills. Pearson Partners then talked with hundreds of candidates from across the country.

“We did a deep dive into potential candidates’ backgrounds and brought in people with transportation experience who weren’t currently working in the industry, as well as others who didn’t necessarily fit the same old mold,” Thompson says. “We wanted to refresh the talent pool and look for the right skillset and talent that DART needed. DART’s executives already have a broad network within the transportation industry, so we brought in candidates they didn’t know and expanded their network and vision of what the talent landscape really looks like.”

After working with Pearson Partners to thoroughly evaluate each qualified candidate, the DART executive team interviewed seven highly qualified candidates using a custom interview guide created by Pearson Partners to ensure consistency across all interviews.

In June 2018, DART made an offer to one candidate who had gone through the entire Pearson Partners search process and also had extensive, first-hand experience with the transit agency: Nicole Fontayne-Bárdowell, a four-year DART veteran who was at the time serving as DART’s chief information officer.

“For some time, I aspired to advance within the organization, and when I read Pearson Partners’ briefing sheet, this job seemed like a perfect fit,” Fontayne-Bárdowell says. “I knew it was something I had to pursue, and I’m very pleased I made the move.”

While all of the candidates interviewed were capable of doing the job, Oliver says, Fontayne-Bárdowell stood out for her strong abilities as well as her transit agency experience and knowledge.

“In no way did we start this process knowing that we would hire an internal person,” Oliver notes. “Nicole was treated just like everyone else in the process and came out on top. We have great peace of mind knowing that the process was consistent and fair, and we met some excellent people that we will definitely contact if other opportunities come along. The pool that was vetted showed strong abilities and backgrounds, and that let us know there are a lot of good people out there who would consider being part of this organization.”

From Fontayne-Bárdowell’s perspective, moving through the Pearson Partners search process as an internal candidate was easy and seamless.

“My first interview with Pearson Partners was a very engaging conversation with Lisa and [Pearson Partners’ CEO & President] Keith Pearson,” says Fontayne-Bárdowell. “They managed the time well and covered a lot of ground. When they presented a list of candidates to DART, I was in the group, and the next step was an interview with Gary Thomas and Jesse Oliver. Going into the second interview, I asked Pearson Partners for coaching and received valuable insight and feedback. As an executive search firm, they know how to treat you.”

On the hiring side, Oliver was impressed by the reliability and timeliness of the Pearson Partners team.

“They were responsive to us when we gave them potential leads, and the overall pool of candidates they presented was very large,” Oliver says. “They worked with us to assess individual pluses and minuses and provided a great deal of input and analysis of candidates as a starting point for us. It was a great experience, and I would absolutely recommend Pearson Partners to others.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

December 19, 2018
An Innovative VP for oneworld

When oneworld, an alliance of some of the world’s leading airlines, set a vision for the future that included a significant change in strategic direction, it was time to augment the leadership team with new thinking and capabilities.

The company is the world’s most highly awarded airline alliance, bringing together 14 of the world’s leading airlines that generate over $130 billion in annual revenue. Its new vision includes a stream of digitally enabled initiatives and calls for creative use of technology to reduce delivery complexity for member airlines.

To lead these high-tech efforts, oneworld created a new role for a Vice President of Innovation and Digital. This new executive would need to have both technology expertise and a unique set of leadership skills to cultivate digital strategies and solutions, enable new tools and technology platforms, develop and implement a technology vision and roadmap, and build and nurture the innovation and digital team. Because this new VP also needed to instill an innovative and disruptive mindset and bring in out-of-the-box thinking to challenge the status quo, the board decided to expand the search beyond the airline industry to find the ideal candidate.

“We were looking for a thought leader deeply immersed in the contemporary digital world who also understands the challenges of driving innovation across legacy businesses and breaking that inertia,” says Rob Gurney, oneworld’s chief executive officer. “We wanted someone who would be an agitator and a catalyst for change.”

Seeking to tap into a global talent pool, oneworld chose Pearson Partners International to help fill this groundbreaking new role. Pearson Partners’ vice president Frank Morogiello, who has intensive, first-hand knowledge from his career in the airline industry, was tapped to lead the search.

“Frank was terrific,” Gurney says. “I was absolutely convinced from the outset that Frank truly wanted to create a successful outcome for all parties. He invested a lot of highly productive time and understood the business challenges we were trying to meet. He had a real, genuine stake in this, and I think that’s probably the key differentiator that made this search a success.”

After casting a global net for potential candidates and thoroughly pre-screening them, Morogiello narrowed the field to 12 top contenders and presented detailed assessments for oneworld interviews. “We road-tested the candidates against how they would deal with the challenges, and then we assessed them based on the original criteria that we had set,” Gurney says. “I was happy with the process because it resulted in what we felt were 10 very solid candidates after the first round of interviews.” From the final slate of candidates, the hiring team created a short list of four and then narrowed the field further to two stellar choices.

In Gurney’s eyes, each of the final candidates would have been a good fit for the role. However, one brought the greatest creative capability and capacity to drive and energize change: Johnny Dranchak, who accepted the challenge and joined the oneworld team in October 2017. Previously, Dranchak was CTO of GE’s CoreTech App Studio (a digital innovation and incubation group within GE Digital), where he was responsible for the technical and cultural elements of GE’s Industry 4.0 digital transformation.

“We ended up with a terrific candidate,” Gurney says. “Johnny has very quickly gotten to the heart of the issues, and has quickly connected and engaged. He’s already adding value, and it seems to be working extremely well.”

From Dranchak’s perspective, the job is the perfect next step on his career path, and his experience with Pearson Partners was excellent.

“I have been able to bring an outsider’s view and experience into an organization, and ultimately an industry, that is ready for a digital awakening,” Dranchak says. “This role draws upon virtually every experience I have ever had, yet is radically different. This provides me with both the challenges I need to grow, as well as the opportunities to have a broad and deep impact. My experience with Pearson stands out because each interaction was not only professional, but human. While in hindsight I learned that the initial candidate pool was large, I never felt like ‘just another candidate.’”

Gurney says that for this search, Pearson Partners’ Frank Morogiello was a perfect solution and that working with the firm was a great experience.

“The scope has been met, Frank and his team’s preparation was excellent, the judgment was good and we got the right candidate for the job,” says Gurney. “When we started this process, that was my definition of a successful outcome for this search, and Pearson Partners hit every one of those targets. I am delighted.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

December 20, 2017
Working with the Board to Find a New Leader for CPR

When a board of directors needs to replace an organization’s top executive, it can be challenging to find the time, connections and consensus to locate and attract the right person for the job. So when the board of Cooperative Processing Resources (CPR) felt the organization needed a new president and chief executive officer, the group decided to enlist the help of an executive search firm.

CPR provides software solutions to cooperative member agencies offering credit and housing counseling services. Based in Dallas, CPR provides support services that are essential to the success of its member base of 53 non-profit agencies, some of whom have more than 100 members.

CPR’s new president needed to have the right experience and leadership skills to meet challenges head-on and lead strategic technology planning and implementation that would more effectively meet member needs. Although CPR does not operate as a non-profit, its budgetary constraints are similar to those of the non-profits it serves, so the new president’s salary expectations needed to fit the organization’s budget.

After interviewing several executive search firms, the board decided to retain Pearson Partners International in September 2016, after meeting with Renee Arrington, senior vice president and director.

“Renee offered the best explanation of her role, as well as her connections in the community that we felt would be the best source of qualified candidates,” says Scott Karol, CPR board member. “Pearson Partners stood out among the search firms we talked with. As a board, this was something we were doing outside our normal job responsibilities. Renee showed the most ability to understand our needs and seemed most dedicated to crafting her approach to our needs. I think she very much understood the position the board was in.”

Renee began the search by carefully documenting exactly what the board was looking for in a new president.

[blockquote]“Renee took the time to listen and restate, and then documented that information into a chart that was a meaningful visual representation of things we were looking for and the priorities we had,” says Karol. “She drew out from us all the things we needed to understand and were looking for that might not have been top-of-mind to us.”[/blockquote]

Next, Arrington began canvassing the marketplace to identify and recruit ideal candidates, creating formal matrices that provided feedback on each candidate. From the initial pool of identified individuals, several were chosen for in-person interviews, with Arrington coordinating the efforts for the five hiring committee members.

“It’s hard to get a group of people to align around this kind of decision, but Renee really stood out in her ability to manage that,” says Karol. “When we wanted to interview or review candidates, all of the materials were well organized and logistics were handled top to bottom. Every one of the candidates was well qualified.”

One candidate stood out: Rost Ginevich, who was offered the job and joined CPR in January 2017.

“Rost had clear technical experience, and an interest in our projects and in taking on a challenge,” says Karol. “He was extremely relatable and personable, and he had the design thinking we needed. It was a great combination.”

Arrington helped the board reach consensus on a salary offer that was a bit of a stretch for the organization, but was realistic and competitive for Ginevich’s qualifications and seniority level.

[blockquote]“Renee provided honest discourse through it all, and that was really helpful,” says Karol. “She was there to talk about her experience and give advice, and she was very genuine. She provided a nice balance of communication and independent action, and she really made sure that the resources of the organization were coordinated to our needs. It was a full-service experience, so we didn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to find out what our role needed to be in the process. Renee provided all of that information to us in a timely and meaningful fashion.”[/blockquote]

Overall, Karol says, working with Arrington and Pearson Partners was a positive and seamless experience for the board members.

“I don’t believe any of the other search firms would have done a better job,” says Karol. “Renee maximized the way Pearson Partners organized and handled information to minimize the effort required on our part. She understood the market and was able to deliver.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

July 18, 2017
A Perfect Match for Match Group

When Match Group (MTCH) became a publicly traded company, it needed a chief accounting officer with the specialized skills and experience to take the company into its new phase. At the time of its IPO, Match Group owned 45 brands, including Match.com, Tinder, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish. Across all of its brands, the company was supporting 59 million active users in 190 countries.

Match Group CFO, Gary Swidler, was seeking an executive search firm with a strong understanding of the Dallas talent market. A colleague “very highly recommended” Pearson Partners International. That colleague’s recommendation convinced him that he’d found the right firm for the job, and he hired Pearson Partners for the search in 2016.

“We wanted to find someone with Big 4 accounting experience, ideally someone who had been a CAO or CFO of another publicly traded company—a company like ours,” Swidler recalls. “We needed to see clear, demonstrable experience and capabilities. We did not want to take a chance, as our business is fast-paced and complex. We wanted someone who had M&A experience, doing complicated transactions, in a company that had a parent company.”

Working on an aggressive timeline, Pearson Partners launched the search, pre-screening candidates and conducting preliminary interviews to narrow the field.

“The Pearson Partners team was responsive and focused,” Swidler says. “They clearly took the search personally – more than just ‘doing the job.’ They gave me advice, kept me up to date and guided me through the search. They did a good job surfacing candidates and bringing them to me, so I didn’t have to do the work.”

Pearson Partners’ search process led Match Group to Sandy Martin, a seasoned leader who had previously been CFO at Tribune Publishing and had the right mix of skills and experience for the job. She came on board in November 2016.

Martin was impressed by Pearson Partners’ integrity and professionalism and the team’s respect for her throughout the process. She had worked with Pearson Partners in the past, and her experience with the Match Group search exceeded her expectations.

“I have known some of the Pearson Partners team for many years and have always respected their high integrity and people-centric approach to recruiting,” says Martin. “Working with Pearson Partners on the Match Group CAO position reinforced my respect for their insightful leadership and diligence throughout the process—they never left me uncertain about next steps or progress. Their superior professionalism, dedication and integrity are exceptional in the industry.”

“Sandy has been a great executive,” Swidler says. “She takes control, leads, learns and takes the right path. She works well with the team. She’s a great find, and she’s excited about the job and making an impact already. Pearson Partners did a very good job helping us to be successful. I’m very happy with the outcome.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

April 3, 2017
A New HR Leader for Rosewood Corporation

When The Rosewood Corporation’s vice president of human resources decided to retire after a 35-year tenure with the company, she was leaving behind some very big shoes to fill. Having served as HR leader for 15 years, she was well liked and had become a trusted ear for the firm’s employees, many of whom felt uncertain about the change.

The company wanted to bring in someone from outside the organization, with significant HR experience. They saw the job opening as an opportunity to evaluate the department, and to add a new executive team member who could view the operation through fresh eyes. And while they wanted someone with health plan experience, it was also very important that the individual hired would stay in the job for a long time.

Thanks to Pearson Partners’ experience and knowledge in helping companies fill top human resources positions, the firm was selected to conduct the executive search.

A deep dive into company culture

Setting out to understand the company culture as well as the job expectations, Pearson Partners’ Managing Director of Professional Services, Lisa Thompson, interviewed Rosewood’s president and general counsel, to whom HR reports. Lisa also spent significant time learning from the departing vice president of HR and the staff.

Pearson Partners conducted in-depth executive assessments of the retiring vice president, as well as her second-in-command, to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

“The Pearson team was extremely responsive,” says C. Jedson Nau, senior vice president and general counsel for The Rosewood Corporation. “They also worked hard to understand what we needed in our HR department.”

From four, to two, to one

After screening multiple potential candidates, Pearson Partners referred the top four for interviews by both Nau and Rosewood’s president.

“All of the candidates were a good match,” Nau says. “Any of them could have filled the position.”

After the first round of interviews, the field was narrowed to two top candidates, who were then interviewed by Rosewood’s chief financial officer and the departing vice president of HR. Within two weeks of starting the interview process, the executive team had chosen the final candidate: Sherrie McAden.

In her 25 years of HR experience, McAden had worked for a large company and a family-owned company. She had started HR departments, was skilled in evaluation and had broad experience in the field.

“We wanted someone who could look at HR from a new perspective, and we think she had the best background to provide that,” Nau says, noting that Rosewood would definitely use Pearson Partners’ executive search services again.

“Lisa and her Pearson Partners team were always available and responsive, and they provided top candidates,” he says. “They took the time to understand our needs and the strengths and weaknesses of our HR department. I don’t think the search could have been handled any better.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

September 29, 2016
Private Equity Company Acquires New Portfolio CFO

When a small private equity portfolio company’s chief financial officer announced his retirement—and the fact that he would be leaving quickly—the private equity owners jumped into action to fill the position.

“We had a short time frame before our retiring CFO departed,” the company’s CEO says. “As a small, middle-market company with limited resources, we had to act quickly.”

With intensive manufacturing operations, as well as offshore sourcing capabilities, the company needed a CFO with exceptional technical skills and the ability to develop dashboards and other key metrics that are critical in managing the business. And, because the company had disparate operations and multiunit facilities, the ideal candidate needed to have leadership depth beyond that of a traditional finance professional.

Because of the portfolio company’s limited resources, it was able to provide target compensation that would be competitive with the market, but couldn’t go higher. And, because the new CFO would be working in a secondary or possibly tertiary market, it expected that relocation would be required.

Knowing that filling the position was a tall order, the company turned to Pearson Partners International.

“The Pearson Partners team made a commitment to understand our firm’s strategy and culture, long before any specific assignment presented itself,” the CEO says. “We were impressed by their commitment to forging and investing in a long-term relationship, in contrast with the more typical transaction orientation of many search firms.”

The Pearson Partners team spent time with leaders of both the private equity company and the portfolio company to gain a thorough understanding of the nuanced skills required of the job, and began locating and pre-screening qualified candidates. Rather than overwhelming the company’s leadership with a large number of candidates that might later be determined to be a less-than-perfect fit, they quickly narrowed the candidate list to a few highly qualified individuals.

“Pearson Partners was very discriminating about the candidates we were directly exposed to, and as a result, the process was very efficient and we were able to spend time with the most qualified candidates,” the CEO notes.

In less than 90 days, the new CFO was hired. The individual was not only local and wanted to stay that way—no relocation necessary—he had a personal passion for the industry and experience overseeing a more complex operation.

“This CFO role was a very challenging position to fill,” says the CEO. “The right candidate had to have a rare combination of exceptional technical skills and considerable leadership depth. In the end, our new CFO has considerably more experience than we expected we could attract.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

March 30, 2016
Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind Lands New CEO

When Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind needed a new chief executive officer, the non-profit organization had to be sure that its next top leader had not only the expertise to oversee the agency’s employees and operations, but also broad business acumen, passion for the organization’s mission and strategic thinking skills. To find the right individual for the job, it turned to Pearson Partners International.

Before winning the search, Pearson Partners’ Managing Director of Professional Services, Lisa Thompson, created a detailed map of the organization as well as its products and services, differentiators and structure—a document that proved invaluable during the search.

“Pearson Partners was incredibly well prepared for our initial meetings,” says David Bowe, Dallas Lighthouse’s chair of the search committee. “The work they did even before they had the search showed us how hard they would work right out of the gate to find our new CEO. They had more knowledge walking in the door about our company, executive team and organizational structure than any other search firm we spoke with.”

Armed with a clear picture of the company, its culture and its leadership needs, as well as a strong understanding of the market of available candidates, Lisa researched and thoroughly pre-screening candidates before presenting only those that were the most highly qualified.

“I really appreciated the team approach Pearson Partners took,” Bowe says. “Their different yet cohesive perspectives lent a strong balance to the presentation of the candidates. Lisa communicated with us often and were very responsive to any questions we had along the way.”

Lisa conducted comprehensive, customized assessments to benchmark the final candidates based on the job specification, the organization’s culture and the candidate’s potential fit in the organization.

“They gave us a strong set of objective data points about the candidates’ motivators, stressors and leadership styles. This thorough analysis really helped us make our decision,” Bowe says.

The quick, efficient search ended with Dallas Lighthouse hiring a new CEO who would bring more than 20 years of corporate, military and industrial CEO experience, as well as significant non-profit board service.

“I really respect the way Pearson Partners treated our candidates,” Bowe says. “Many firms can do a good job vetting candidates, but they don’t often take the time to keep them informed during the process. I got great feedback from the candidates about Lisa keeping them in the loop during and even after the search process. Pearson Partners acted as an extension of our team in the marketplace. It was a very successful search, and we would absolutely use them again.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

March 30, 2016
Making the Match: Pearson Partners Secures COOs for Global Meeting and Event Association

When a global membership organization needed two new and uniquely qualified chief operating officers within a three-year period, it turned to the same, proven executive talent resource both times: Pearson Partners International.

Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest global meeting and event industry association, with approximately 18,500 members belonging to more than 80 chapters and clubs in 22 countries. Having successfully employed Pearson Partners International to fill its open chief operating officer position, the organization made sure that Pearson Partners was one of the three retained executive search firms that received a request for proposal when the same position reopened nearly three years later.

Remembering the success of the first COO search—and particularly its positive experience working with Pearson Partners’ Lisa Thompson, managing director of professional services—MPI once again chose Pearson Partners to help secure its newest executive.

“Having worked with Lisa before—both here at MPI and in searches at my earlier career—we knew what the search was going to entail and what we were going to get out of that relationship,” says Diane Hawkins, MPI’s senior director of people and performance. “Another one of the three companies knew our market, but had done a lot of work in our industry, so they were restricted from going after certain people because their employers were clients. Pearson didn’t have that disadvantage, and another thing I liked about Pearson was that they have a lot of familiarity with non-profits and membership organizations.”

In both COO searches, MPI sought an executive with experience working for an association or membership-based organization. The ideal candidates would also have operational expertise and experience in the travel industry. Because these niche requirements narrowed the qualified talent pool considerably, MPI knew the position would be hard to fill and was willing to conduct a nationwide search.

Thompson and the Pearson Partners team, including chief executive officer and vice chairman Keith Pearson, began by conducting multiple interviews within MPI to learn about the organization’s culture and identity, as well as what would be expected of the new COO. Then, Thompson carefully pre-screened and interviewed multiple candidates, presenting Hawkins with detailed written evaluations, background checks and references for those who were most highly qualified.

“We expected a diverse group of candidates, and that they be totally and thoroughly screened, and they were,” Hawkins says. “It was very clear that Pearson Partners spent a lot of time and effort with each candidate, because the detailed write-ups that we received on each one prior to the interview were right on target.

We had three or four final candidates, and it was really a tough decision.”

Both COO searches were completed within three months, and the candidates who were hired had both the skillset and disposition to excel within MPI’s global membership culture.

“Their passion for the industry was clear,” Hawkins says. “They understood the industry, and they were in perfect alignment with our core values.”

MPI’s current COO, Michael Woody, brought more than 27 years of experience in the meeting and event, hospitality and tourism industries. He was excited about MPI’s commitment and dedication to professional development and education, which dovetailed perfectly with his passion for and involvement with higher education. He was eager to move into a role where he could have a global, positive impact in a challenging and rewarding membership organization.

“It has been an excellent fit,” Woody says. “This position has given me the opportunity to pull in all the different skillsets I have from my numerous jobs, from understanding the hospitality industry to hoteliers, restaurants, convention and visitors bureaus, publishing and international diplomacy. It’s a great match.”

He was extremely impressed with Pearson Partners’ confidentiality and respect for his time throughout the search process.

“I had gone through the recruitment process before, with two other firms, and there was no comparison,” Woody says. “Pearson Partners was unparalleled in its professionalism, flexibility, level of detail and speed of providing me with information. They were constantly surpassing my expectations.”

Woody felt that Pearson Partners’ thorough interview process ensured not only that he was a good fit for MPI’s needs, but that this was the right opportunity for him.

“It was a very collaborative process, where we were all looking at the whole package and exploring, and making sure that it was a good fit for all of us before we moved forward,” Woody says. “It was clear that they had researched me, and they asked all the right questions. When I asked questions about MPI, they were very well informed about the culture and the experience to be expected once I was onboarded. After each interview, Pearson Partners always followed and asked for my thoughts. They weren’t relying just on what MPI told them; they also asked me. I haven’t seen that as standard, in my experience with other recruiters.”

Woody was also pleasantly surprised to find that Thompson stayed in touch with him not only during the offer negotiation, but for weeks and months after he accepted the job.

“Lisa’s follow up was just as important to me as all the work she did leading into the interviews,” he says. “The entire Pearson Partners team, at every level of the organization, was incredible, from the leadership to the front line that greets you when you walk in the door and makes sure you have everything you need.”

That sentiment was echoed by Hawkins, who expects to continue her professional relationship with Thompson and Pearson Partners as other executive search needs arise at MPI.

“No matter who we have worked with at Pearson Partners, they have always been very professional,” Hawkins says. “They have always been very responsive, on top of their game and understood what our needs were. Lisa has created that business and personal relationship that really helps drive the success.”

See more Pearson Partners success stories.

October 1, 2015