Boutique Search Firm TwentyPine Names CEO

TwentyPine Jamie Coakley CEO

September 22, 2017 – Search firms have seen a number of top leadership appointments since the start of the year, many focused on strategy, growth, branding efforts and operations. The latest: Sales-focused executive recruitment provider TwentyPine has promoted Jamie Coakley to CEO.

In tandem with this appointment, Max Maeder, founder and former CEO, will move to an industry advisory role as president to spearhead the company’s strategic alliances efforts and the growth of TwentyPine’s consulting division.

As CEO, Ms. Coakley will be responsible for leading growth strategy and execution of the company’s long-term vision across operations, sales and marketing.

“Jamie rounds out our leadership bench with deep industry expertise and a tremendous track-record in scaling sales and recruiting organizations,” said Mr. Maeder. “She understands the unique challenges of our industry and we are thrilled to have her experience help drive our team to even greater success.”

Experienced Recruiter

Ms. Coakley is an experienced leader with a history of re-energizing growth and profitability for mature recruiting and staffing companies. Prior to joining TwentyPine as the firm’s general manager in March, she led and expanded the New York division of early-stage search firm Betts Recruiting as its East Coast managing director. In that role, she helped to scale the team from 14 to 150 members, with over $20 million in annual revenue.

Leadership Appointments Rising at Search Firms

Leadership appointments have been gaining traction at executive search firms since the start of the year. Here’s a look at several taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Heidrick & Struggles recently named Krishnan Rajagopalan as its new president and CEO. Mr. Rajagopalan has served as acting CEO since Tracy Wolstencroft took a medical leave of absence in April. Based in Washington, D.C., 57-year-old Mr. Rajagopalan also leads the firm’s executive committee. He has been with Heidrick for 16 years.

San-Francisco-headquartered executive search firm O’Rourke & Associates appointed Rebecca Bower as president. Ms. Bower is widely regarded as a top leadership advisor with a career that spans nearly 25 years in human resources, management, training and sales. O’Rourke & Associates specializes in credit union industry recruiting.

Ratliff & Taylor appointed Beth Sweeney as its president, where she now has full profit-and-loss responsibility for each of the company’s three practices: executive search, leadership development and career transition. Ms. Sweeney previously served as market president at the firm.

Executive search firm Cobalt Recruitment tapped James Wakefield as its CEO. Mr. Wakefield joined Cobalt in 2007 coming from the management team at Michael Page in London. In 2009, Mr. Wakefield moved to the UAE to help Cobalt establish a presence in the region, and in 2014 he was promoted to international managing director.

Witt/ Kieffer named Andrew P. Chastain as its new CEO taking over from Charles “Chuck” W.B. Wardell who remains a senior advisor to the firm. Mr. Chastain has been with the firm since 1997 and previously served as managing partner and chairman of its healthcare practice. He assumed the CEO role in July, and plans to remain active in healthcare.

McDermott & Bull appointed Brandon Biegenzahn as its new president. Mr. Biegenzahn has been one of the top producers at McDermott & Bull for several years and leads the firm’s financial institutions practice.

SRiCheyenne named Jay Hussey as CEO. Chief executive and founder, Pat Mastandrea, has moved into a new role at the firm as vice chairman. He joined SRiCheyenne from Odgers Berndston where he led the firm’s U.S. technology and digital transformation practices.

Legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA) and executive search firm Allegis Partners named John Cashman as president. In his new role, Mr. Cashman will head strategic efforts to elevate the business of both firms, jointly owned by Allegis Group, a global talent solutions leadership provider. Since joining Major, Lindsey & Africa in 2005, Mr. Cashman has risen through the ranks as a recruiter, manager and leader.

Eric Salmon & Partners announced that its long-standing president, Massimo Milletti, has handed over management of the search firm to two partners who will co-head the partnership. Sophie Wigniolle from the firm’s Paris office will lead together with Raoul Nacke, a managing director in Frankfurt.

JR Partners named Josh Gonnella as president and senior managing partner. He joins founding partner and chief operating officer Joe Wein to lead the organization. He brings experience and a diverse career in financial services to the firm. Prior to accepting his new position, he held senior managing director roles at Lloyds Bank.

Snodgrass Partners recently announced that Tom Jacobs will transition from sports recruitment partner to president. Founder Steve Snodgrass, who previously served as president and chief executive officer, will remain CEO. Mr. Jacobs joined Snodgrass Partners last year to lead the firm’s new sports division.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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