Tag: executive search

Tips for a Successful Job Search During a Pandemic
Lisa Thompson, Vice President & Professional Career Coach, Pearson Partners International

During the current COVID-19 crisis, it can be discouraging to see the rising unemployment figures and to know that it will likely continue to grow. You might be wondering: Should I put my job search on hold and give up on finding a new opportunity for the immediate future? If not, what can I do to ensure I stay top-of-mind for employers and ready to seize the next opportunity?

“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”
Winston Churchill

Now is the time to stay focused on your goals and redouble your job search efforts. Even during the most difficult times, companies continue to hire for critical positions. Those that are not doing so now will certainly need to ramp up hiring when they come out of their current holding pattern. The positions are there for those who have leadership skills and the courage to confront market challenges. If you are seeking a new opportunity, here are six tips on how to keep things moving forward in your career advancement.
1. Build your network. Now is the time to be leveraging and expanding your professional network. Reach out to your network and let them know about your skills and where you can add value. While so many are working remotely and not traveling, it is a good time to reestablish relationships and to find out what is happening in their companies and industries. It is still true that many jobs are filled through networking connections, especially in the more senior roles. Make time to leverage social media networking opportunities to stay connected and to learn about potential job openings and leads.
2. Be prepared. Get your resume and LinkedIn profile up-to-date and ready to go. Review your skills and experience and make sure you are highlighting your accomplishments. A good resume can play a strong supporting and defining role in your search by setting you apart from other executives and helping to communicate your skills, abilities, personal qualities and accomplishments to prospective employers. Your resume serves as an effective sales brochure to highlight your strengths and the contributions you can make to an organization. Recruiters and employers alike use LinkedIn to find candidates and to learn more about them. Take the time to update your resume and LinkedIn profile so they are consistent and representative of your expertise. Be sure to update your headshot so that it looks recent and professional.
3. Practice for virtual interviews. In the age of “social distancing”, your interviews will more than likely be virtual. Prepare for phone and/or video interviews by practicing. Practice your answers in a mirror or on camera. Set up and learn to use the technology ahead of the interview. For video interviews, download the necessary programs and make sure the camera position, lighting and volume is correct. Be sure to remove anything distracting in the background. Find a quiet and comfortable place where you will not be interrupted. Read through the job description and do your research on the company, industry and interviewer(s) and develop questions to practice answering. (Here is a list of practice interview questions to get you started.) Prepare a list of talking points and questions you want to make sure you cover and keep it where you can reference it during the interview. Don’t forget to dress as if you were going for the interview in person. It will demonstrate your professionalism and seriousness about the opportunity.
4. Be patient. Many positions have been put on hold or delayed, so be patient. Companies are still hiring in many industries, and in others, the delay will be temporary. If it is taking a while to hear back from a recruiter or employer, it is okay to check in periodically on the status of your candidacy, but don’t be discouraged if you haven’t heard anything in a while. Try to keep in mind that they are dealing with many unknowns regarding timing and they may not have an immediate answer.
5. Improve yourself. This is a great time to work on developing your professional skills. You can increase your value in the job market by taking related courses, participating in training and earning professional credits or certifications. E-learning offers unlimited opportunities to pursue educational goals that will help enhance your prospects. If you are in a gap between jobs, potential employers will respect that you have used this time for personal and professional development.
6. Care for yourself. Above all, remember to be kind to yourself and practice self-care. Be sure you are planning time in your schedule to exercise, eat right and relax. It is a stressful time for everyone—even more so if you are worried about finding a job. Take the time to care for yourself and to get the support you need to be successful in your efforts.
We are resilient and we remain a country full of opportunity for those willing to work hard to achieve their dreams. We have survived wars, depression, recessions and tragedies and we will survive this. Now is not the time to go silent and to let uncertainty dampen your ambition. Be ready for when this is behind us and companies will be scrambling to find top talent. In the words of Winston Churchill, “Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”
April 2, 2020
What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Current Economy
Stephen Konstans was formerly an SVP at Pearson Partners International.

As we are all living in our new normal with worldwide health issues confronting all of us, I thought it would be helpful for those interested to talk about What’s Hot & What’s Not from a business perspective. In doing so, I do not wish to gloss over the immense physical and emotional human tragedy so many people around the world are experiencing—my continued thoughts and prayers are with everyone worldwide during this awful time.

However, a secondary suffering is rapidly occurring in the world around us—a financial suffering—and as businesspeople, we all need to think about how we can operate in the current chaotic circumstances. Just yesterday, it was announced that in the United States, last week’s unemployment claims jumped to almost 3.3 million new claims in just one week. That is the single largest number of new claims in the history of our country. We have a country of roughly 330 million people. That means last week alone, effectively 1% of our entire population was put out of a job. I don’t mean to be depressing, but that is just where things are today.

During the current week, I have had many conversations with business leaders, from CEOs to CFOs and others, and the news is a bit more diverse than what you might initially expect. Some companies are taking drastic measures and slashing their workforces (note the unemployment figures above.) Others are hoping to hold on to the people they have and take their lumps financially—at least in the short term. I have talked with a company that has already had over a 50% drop in revenue and others that have only had minimal financial impact while still others have benefitted greatly financially (think hand sanitizer). Industries that have already announced significant hiring needs include supply chain and specialty retail. These may be short- and intermediate-term situations, but right now, many of us just need to make it in the day-to-day.

Based on the things I am seeing and hearing, here is a list of industries you should (and shouldn’t) look at for employment and business opportunities:

What’s Hot:
- - Turnaround Companies
  - Healthcare
  - Healthcare Suppliers
  - Consumer Staples
  - Logistics and Distribution
  - Niche Technology
  - Telecom and Utility
  - Grocery and Superstores
  - Food Storage
  - Pharmaceuticals
  - Guns and Ammunition
  - Agricultural Companies
What’s Not:
- - Restaurants
  - Retail
  - Oil & Gas
  - Real Estate
  - Luxury Consumer Products
  - Travel, Hotel & Leisure
  - Non-essential Manufacturing
  - Automotive
  - Aerospace
  - Sports & Entertainment
In conclusion, having lived through Black Monday in 1987, the S&L Crisis, 9/11 and the Great Recession, our country and people around the world are resilient, and we WILL get through this. Hopefully, this will provide you with some practical advice to help you and/or your business as we all live through our new normal.
March 31, 2020

Searchlight Newsletter – Q2 2019

Q2 2019

A Message from Keith Pearson, CEO & Vice Chairman

Once upon a time, the chief financial officer role was all about the numbers. But today, if you asked a CFO what keeps him or her up at night, the answer probably wouldn’t have anything to do with accounting.

We asked that question of the CFO panelists at our June 2019 Spotlight Series^SM breakfast, and their answers were revealing. One said she loses sleep over cyber security. Another is keeping a wary eye on healthcare reform. One is laser-focused on organizational growth. Another spends a lot of time thinking about how to outsmart the competition.

These CFOs’ answers to this surprisingly complex question are a reflection of how the finance leader’s role has changed. CFOs today are an important part of their organizations’ strategic teams and are leading IT initiatives, developing human resources programs, training their future replacements, managing risk, monitoring cyber security and continuously scanning the regulatory environment and global trends to keep their organizations a step ahead of their competition.

The discussion at our recent Spotlight Series breakfast revealed the ever-expanding breadth of the CFO’s responsibilities and shared the increasing complexity and collaboration of this once-siloed role. To learn more, read our summary of the discussion in this issue.

Here at Pearson Partners, our team continues to grow and excel. I am extremely proud to share the news of two well-deserved promotions. In May, we named Renee Baker Arrington President & Chief Operating Officer. Renee has partnered with me on many strategic initiatives over the years and it gives me great pleasure to make her leadership role at Pearson Partners official. In June, we promoted Stephen Konstans to Senior Vice President and Financial Officers Practice Leader. Stephen has long focused on CFO and finance leader search expertise and I’m eager to see our clients realize even greater value as Stephen takes the helm to lead our financial officers practice area.

We are looking forward to our global partnership’s annual meeting in Dubai in October, where our partner consultants from 43 offices in 29 countries will convene to discuss trends in their businesses. With our clients and the global business climate evolving daily, it is a very exciting time to be in executive search and leadership consulting.

In This Issue

Quarterly Spotlight Series^SM Breakfast:
The Changing Role of the Chief Financial Officer

At our recent Spotlight Series^SM breakfast event, we invited a group of CFOs to talk about how they spend their days and what they worry about at night. Long gone are the days when a CFO’s sole focus was on finance. The increasingly complex responsibilities of finance leaders demand a diverse skill set and continuous attention to a variety of influences that challenge an organization in unexpected ways. A valued part of their organizations’ leadership teams, CFOs are making strategic contributions that establish a strong foundation for growth, competitiveness and future leadership.

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

When the nation’s leading information technology professionals’ association, Society for Information Management (SIM), needed a new CEO, they knew they wanted to expand the scope of the role to meet the evolving demands of the profession and to do so, they enlisted the help of an executive search firm. Learn how Pearson Partners’ search experts Renee Arrington and Lisa Thompson helped SIM recruit the perfect match.

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White Paper:
Executive Talent 2025: What’s Now, New and Next in Global C-Suite Talent

What are the trends in recruiting and developing C-Suite leadership in the next five years? The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) has undertaken an intensive study to find out. Following on its report three years ago, Executive Talent 2020, the organization surveyed global business leaders to study their top challenges and priorities as well as expectations and plans for the next few years. Learn more and read the white paper in this issue.

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Tips from the Leadership Coach:
Boutique Executive Search Firms Help Clients Win the War for Talent

At a time when hiring and retaining the best executives and reducing time-to-hire are crucial in winning the war for talent, boutique executive search firms have a clear advantage over large firms whose hands are tied by constraints like overreaching off-limits restrictions, often taking months to develop a slate of candidates that may not be the best fit. Today, organizations value the speed, agility and fewer constraints of boutique executive search firms with national and international footprints. Read eight tips on the many advantages of a boutique search firm.

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Pearson Partners Profile:
Custis Hoge, Advisory Board Member

Our newest member of our esteemed board of advisors, Custis Hoge, is a leading financial executive with a strong, client-focused management style. He strives to be a servant-leader to his teams and business colleagues. Learn why we invited Custis to join our advisory board and lend his expertise to our team by reading his Profile Q&A in this issue.

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Featured Search

We are conducting a nationwide search for a Vice President of Operations for a buried pipeline water and wastewater infrastructure company. The United States has 1.6 million miles of water and wastewater pipelines, many of which are more than 100 years old. Every two minutes, a water main breaks in the U.S., with more than 2 trillion gallons of treated water lost annually at a cost of over $2.6 billion. Our client aims to solve that problem by building a company based on strong core values and best practices unique to the municipal construction space. The VP of Operations will report to the CEO and proactively partner with operating executives to develop a premier operations group within the organization.

Learn more or provide a confidential referral.

View more featured searches.

Recent Placements

Chief Executive Officer, Society for Information Management (SIM) View our Success Story

Chief Innovation Officer, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)

Regional Vice President, Retail Financial Services Provider

Vice President, Software Development & Data Analytics, Travel Technology Company

Vice President of Hospice, Home Health, Community and Hospice Care Provider

Managing Director, Canada, Legal Services Provider

Museum Director, Major Grants Foundation

Senior Director of Human Resources, Home Health Care Services Provider

Other news

Renee Arrington has been named President & Chief Operating Officer of Pearson Partners International. Renee will continue in her executive search capacity, leading our CIO & IT Leadership practice group and our Fort Worth, Texas office.

Keith Pearson has been elected chair of the board of trustees for 2019–2020 of the North Texas Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A longtime, avid fundraiser, volunteer and member of the chapter’s Team in Training, Keith has served as an advisory board member for the North Texas chapter since 2010.

Renee Arrington has been named program co-chair for 2019–2020 of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) North Texas Chapter.

Our recent Q2 2019 Spotlight Series^SM breakfast featured a panel of CFO experts discussing The Changing Role of the Chief Financial Officer. Read a summary of our discussion in this issue.

Stephen Konstans was a featured speaker at the recent Financial Executives Networking Group (FENG) Dallas Chapter in May, discussing How to Work with Executive Search Firms.

Stephen Konstans moderated a discussion in April at the Wharton and Northwestern Alumni Clubs of Dallas/Fort Worth, featuring a panel of leading executive search consultants discussing What Executive Recruiters Look for in Top Corporate and Board Candidates.

Lisa Thompson was quoted in Government Technology Magazine and Dallas Innovates Magazine discussing the strategy and groundbreaking nature of our recently completed search for a Chief Innovation Officer for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).

Pearson Partners welcomed our newest summer intern in June. Sarah Konstans (daughter of our own Stephen Konstans) is a student majoring in economics at Davidson College. She plans to pursue a career in real estate and loves to play basketball.

Lisa Thompson and Renee Arrington represented Pearson Partners at the annual meeting in May of our global partnership, IIC Partners Executive Search Worldwide, where Renee co-presented on the evolving executive search market and strategies to best structure our global group for future success.

In April, our global executive search partnership, IIC Partners, announced the appointment of six new practice group leaders, including our own Renee Arrington, who will serve as Board Liaison for Practice Groups. Renee explains, “Each of these Leaders and Deputy Leaders strengthens our global offerings by contributing their industry expertise to our practice groups.”

In October, Pearson Partners is joining our global IIC Partners search consultants from 43 offices in 29 countries in Dubai as we convene to discuss trends and innovations in our businesses and the executive search industry.

We appreciate your feedback. Please let us know how we may improve the quarterly Searchlight newsletter or our service.

July 18, 2019

The Changing Role of the Chief Financial Officer
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L to R: Rob Bodnar, Beth Bull, Stephen Konstans, Craig Bjerke, Julie Anderson, Keith Pearson

Stephen Konstans was formerly a Senior Vice President at Pearson Partners International.

Today’s chief financial officer manages far more complex and wide-ranging responsibilities than in decades past. In addition to the traditional numbers side of the job, finance leaders are now organizational strategists with expertise in technology, risk management, human resources, analytics and geopolitical trends.

To explore the changing role of the chief financial officer, we invited a panel of CFOs to share their experiences at our second-quarter Spotlight Series^SM breakfast on June 4, 2019. Our panelists included:
- Julie Anderson, Chief Financial Officer, Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. and Texas Capital Bank
- Craig Bjerke, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Methodist Health System
- Rob Bodnar, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Executive Vice President &Director, Masergy
- Beth Bull, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Communities Foundation of Texas
- Stephen Konstans, Senior Vice President & Financial Officers Practice Leader, Pearson Partners International (Moderator)
Increasing Complexity in the CFO’s Role

Today’s CFOs wear many different hats. In addition to their traditional finance responsibilities, in recent years, they have assumed responsibility for complex initiatives involving everything from technology to risk management, legal issues, regulatory compliance, global trade, data security, artificial intelligence and human resources. But today’s CFO has an even higher calling as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board of directors. Beyond the board room, the CFO continuously interacts with directors and top management to ensure a constant flow of open communication and to eliminate surprises.

CFOs play a key role in promoting their organizations’ growth, working closely with the leadership team to guide go-to-market initiatives, plan capital allocation and use advanced data analytics to produce real-time insight that supports effective decision-making.

A growing number of CFOs play a pivotal role in digital strategy, as technology represents a massive investment in meeting consumer and customer expectations in a digitally enabled world. Thus, a deep understanding of technology and its impact on the business is a necessary skill for finance leaders. In some organizations, the chief information officer reports to the CFO, with the CIO taking the technical lead and working closely with the CFO to shape digital strategy and ensure cyber security.

As team leaders, CFOs also share their expertise in developing the next generation of finance executives within their organizations. Through succession planning, mentoring, on-the-job training and creating leadership teams that empower younger finance team members in decision-making, CFOs pass their knowledge down to the next generation to feed the finance talent pipeline. Many also work closely with human resources to develop employee development, engagement and wellness programs that improve employee satisfaction and support a healthy company culture.

At the same time, CFOs must continuously study and evaluate the impact of the many different global influences that affect their organizations, from trade wars to Brexit, tax law, regulatory shifts and healthcare reform. Within this realm of ever-changing environmental influences, the CFO always keeps a close eye on the competition and works to keep the organization a step ahead.

There’s an old joke that asks, “What do you call a CFO who always works through lunch, takes two days of vacation every other year, is in the office every weekend and leaves every night after 10 P.M.?“ The answer: “Lazy.” Never has that old quip rung truer than in the ever-expanding realm of responsibilities of today’s chief financial officer.

Pearson Partners Spotlight Series Breakfast

Save the date for our next Spotlight Series^TM breakfast scheduled for September 10. Did you miss one of our Spotlight Series events? Check out summaries of past events.
July 18, 2019
Executive Talent 2025: What’s Now, New and Next in Global C-Suite Talent

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In 2016, our professional association, The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), revealed trends in recruitment, retention and development of C-Suite leaders in its Executive Talent 2020 report. Three years later, the organization has revisited the framework of that report, having surveyed business leaders worldwide to better understand their top business challenges today and by 2025, how they currently use external advisors and how they plan to use them in the future, as well as how executive search and leadership consultants can better serve them.

Digital Drives New Demand for Top Talent

Karen Greenbaum
AESC President & Chief Executive Officer

Digital is driving critical demand for new talent. With all the focus on the disruptive technologies of Industry 4.0 in recent years, we find that there is an even more voracious need for talent in a “Business 4.0” environment.

Business leaders understand that their organizations must be increasingly agile in order to seize the opportunities of digital and thrive in a rapid and often uncertain global business climate. They seek innovation and know that diverse talent is critical to bringing new perspectives and fresh thinking to their organizations, and they are increasingly looking to executive search firms to deliver it.

They are also looking to the next generation of leaders for the talent they need. Organizations risk losing institutional knowledge and years of management experience as the Baby Boom generation exits the workforce in many markets around the world. Developing next gen leaders has come much more in focus as today’s C-Suite realizes they will need to expedite the growth of their successors.

All of these key business issues are talent issues. As a result, there are win-win opportunities for increased partnership between business leaders and executive talent advisors.

In this report, we share with you what we heard from business leaders about their needs today and by 2025. We offer insights that can help you strengthen your talent strategy and gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Click the image below to read the white paper (PDF):

July 18, 2019
Boutique Executive Search Firms Help Clients Win the War for Talent
By Lisa Thompson, LPC, PCC
Vice President, Pearson Partners International

When a leading Dallas-based nonprofit needed to hire a senior director of major gifts before launching a $30 million capital campaign, CEO Jan Edgar Langbein reached out to Pearson Partners International, a boutique executive search firm. “The Pearson Partners team was in my office within 48 hours and gained a deep understanding of the role,” said Langbein, CEO of Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support. “Within two weeks, they submitted a slate of well-developed, highly qualified candidates, and we were able to fill the position quickly.”

Learn how Pearson Partners found the perfect match for Genesis Women’s Shelter in our case study.

At a time when hiring and retaining the best executives and reducing time-to-hire are crucial in winning the war for talent, boutique executive search firms have a clear advantage over large firms whose hands are tied by constraints like overreaching off-limits restrictions, often taking months to develop a slate of candidates that may not be the best fit. Today, organizations value the speed, agility and fewer constraints of boutique executive search firms with national and international footprints.

Here are eight ways boutique executive search firms deliver superior value, according to our Pearson Partners clients. (Follow the links to read in-depth case studies.)
- Partner-level experience and expertise. An experienced, senior-level consultant leading the search, rather than passing off the work to a junior associate (“leveraging” in large-firm parlance), can make a big difference in a successful executive hire. Pearson Partners client Ralph Stow, chairman of the board of STI International, explains: “It was imperative to us that senior partners be the ones making the calls to our targeted C-level executives. I liked the fact that the firm’s senior partners were the ones doing the actual search and not passing it off to less experienced recruiters.”
- Deep understanding of the industry. It can be difficult to recruit the right executive without being well-versed in the client company’s industry. “The boutique search firm we use understands the private equity business very well, and also the cultural attributes that go hand-in-hand with that,” said Christopher Ray, senior managing partner of Natural Gas Partners. “They were in tune with our need for this person to both fit internally and interact positively with our portfolio companies.”
- Ability to uncover hidden talent. In today’s tight job market, many qualified executives are not actively searching for new positions. It takes knowledge and skill to identify these sources of hidden talent, determine their goals and convince them to entertain a move. “Our boutique search firm has very strong connections in the marketplace,” said Rhonda MacAndrew, SVP of human resources at Greyhound. “They personally network with individuals and forge relationships with people proactively, and that’s extremely positive.”
- Freedom from candidate pool restrictions. Large search firms are constrained to a limited candidate pool by what’s known as “off-limits” restrictions. Since most of the Fortune 1000 companies are current or recent clients of the big search firms, those firms are not allowed to recruit their employees or candidates. This significantly limits their available candidate pool. Diane Hawkins, senior director of people and performance at Meeting Professionals International (MPI), explained: “One of the [other search firms] 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.” With a much smaller client base and, therefore, largely free from these off-limits restrictions, boutique search firms offer unparalleled access to leading players across all industries.
- Efficient recruiting process. A boutique firm can save time through a thorough and effective screening process, providing clients with a short list of qualified candidates rather than a long list of potential interviewees. “Our search firm was very effective at giving us the best of the best,” said Chris Burt, SVP, LSG Sky Chefs. “They gave us good insight into the candidates they presented so that we didn’t have to interview 20 or more people.”
- High level of responsiveness. A boutique executive search firm limits its number of engagements to provide the focused, personal service of a boutique with the experience and reach of a global firm. As C. Jedson Nau, SVP and general counsel of The Rosewood Corporation, said, “Pearson’s principals worked hard to understand what we needed in our HR department. They were always available and responsive. They took time to understand our needs and they provided top candidates.”
- Full-service approach. It can be challenging for a company to find the time, connections and consensus to replace a top executive. That’s why a boutique firm’s ability to take a full-service approach is so valuable. “The search firm’s senior partner took the time to listen to us and documented that information into a chart that clarified the things we were looking for and our priorities,” said Scott Karol, board member of Cooperative Processing Resources. “She drew out from us all the things we needed to understand that might not have been top-of-mind to us.”
- High completion rate. Most boutique search firms have a nearly 100% search completion rate because they don’t have the luxury of walking away from a search (barring client cancellation.) It is well publicized that the top 5 executive search firms typically leave more than 30% of their searches unfilled because they move on or they simply cannot fill the search to the client’s satisfaction because of off-limits restrictions. “I find that recruiting for this particular high-net-worth management function within a Big Four accounting firm is one of the harder positions to fill,” said Randy Wright, a partner at Deloitte. “I have used different recruiters over the years and it’s just a really tough market. Pearson Partners had a very thorough approach. It wasn’t just about getting a candidate, it was about developing a long-term relationship.”
As the executive talent acquisition and leadership consulting market continues to evolve, boutique executive search firms will continue to offer the right balance of high-touch, high-tech services. Contenders in the war for talent know that building lasting partnerships with boutique executive search firms leads to successful hiring and retention of their leadership teams.

Read other examples of how our boutique executive search firm helps clients build world-class leadership teams.
July 18, 2019
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

Searchlight Newsletter – Q1 2019

Q1 2019

A Message from Keith Pearson, President & CEO

The future is fascinating, and it will be here sooner than you think. At our March 2019 Spotlight Series^SM breakfast, many audience members were astonished when John Terrell, M.B.A., vice president of commercial development for DFW International Airport, casually announced that the airport will introduce “flying car” taxi service by 2025. Yes, flying cars! And no, this isn’t the Jetsons.

DFW International Airport aims to be the first to market with this disruptive technology, which will eventually change the way people and cargo move from the airport to their destinations. By aggressively implementing a technology that once seemed impossibly futuristic, but will one day become commonplace, the airport is firmly positioning itself at the head of the pack.

Many businesses in other industries are similarly embracing disruptive technology, from “digital twinning” of facilities and logistics operations—and even people—to remote healthcare, virtual teams and blockchain transactions. Consumer demand is driving some of the shift, but increasing efficiency and security are also key influences behind these trends.

The fascinating discussion at our recent Spotlight Series breakfast covered not just the exciting developments at the airport, but also the ways that disruptors are changing the fields of financial services, transportation and logistics, healthcare and outsourcing. If you missed it, you won’t want to miss the summary in this issue.

Here at Pearson Partners, our firm and our team continue to be hard at work in our professional, philanthropic and civic endeavors. Be sure to check out our News section below for some highlights. I am particularly proud to announce Stephen Konstans’ promotion to Finance Officers Practice Leader and Renee Arrington’s award as an HMG Strategy Technology Executive to Watch. Both honors are well-deserved, and I am very proud of both Stephen and Renee and their contributions to our team.

In This Issue

Quarterly Spotlight Series^SM Breakfast:
Disruptive Business Models: Innovative Ideas Transforming Industries

From flying cars to blockchain to virtual remote teams, disruptive technology is changing our world—and the global business landscape—faster than you might expect. Much of the change that’s coming in our near future is driven by consumer demand for services that meet them where they are and fulfill today’s “instant-gratification” expectations. Businesses that accurately anticipate disruptive trends, and proactively work to stay ahead of them, will gain a competitive edge. At our recent Spotlight Series^SM event, we invited four forward-thinking business leaders to talk about the impact of disruptors within the industries they know best: financial services, transportation, healthcare and outsourcing.

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White Paper:
Traits and Characteristics of a Successful CHRO

Today’s Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) are challenged to meet organizational talent demands within a digitally interconnected, global business landscape. In a series of candid conversations with several global HR resource leaders, Pearson Partners International and our global partnership, IIC Partners Executive Search Worldwide, explored their roles and what skills are needed to succeed. The insight of these top HR executives into the world of the CHRO ranged from the background and experience required to succeed in the job to the most urgent challenges CHROs face and the characteristics necessary to meet future business challenges. We summarized the findings in a new white paper, which will serve as a helpful resource for any organization seeking to more deeply engage its HR leaders in shaping future growth.

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Case Study:
Passion and Experience Bring a Perfect Match to Renowned Dallas Nonprofit

As one of Dallas’ most highly regarded nonprofit organizations, Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support is typically flooded with resumes whenever it has a job opening. But in early 2019, the organization had a new and extremely important position to fill: a senior director of major gifts. This role would be responsible for an ongoing $30 million capital campaign, demanding a unique set of skills and talents as well as a passion for ending violence against women and children. Genesis’ leader, Jan Edgar Langbein, enlisted Pearson Partners International to locate the ideal person to take on the new role, and an ideally qualified senior director was on the job less than two months later. Read our case study to learn more about this fast-turnaround, highly successful search.

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Tips from the Leadership Coach:
Invest in Your Management Skills

A good manager is worth his or her weight in gold at any organization, yet management-level employees typically aren’t the main focus of training efforts. So how can managers move up in their careers and increase their positive impact within the workplace? The answer to becoming a highly valued, high-impact manager may be as simple as a shift in attitude and intention. In this issue’s Tips from the Leadership Coach, we offer tips from human resources leader and author David Deacon for managers who want to create environments where people thrive. Read Deacon’s nine suggestions to boost your management skills.

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Pearson Partners Profile:
Scott Robson, Search Consultant

Scott Robson joined the executive search industry in 1986, when he was recruited into the business by the recruiters he met with during a job search. In the more than 30 years since, he has witnessed everything from an office visit by the FBI to a challenging executive job market in a thriving American economy. A dedicated mentor and servant in his church and community, Scott is always ready with a helping hand for those in need, and is eager to share his wealth of experience to help our clients fulfill their leadership goals. Get to know Scott by reading his Q&A in this issue.

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