Odgers Berndtson Launches U.S. Aerospace & Defense Practice and Names Practice Head

April 1, 2015 – Odgers Berndtson has launched its new U.S. aerospace & defense practice and appointed Samantha Foster as partner to oversee its operations. Ms. Foster, a seasoned executive recruiter with more than two decades spent in the aerospace and defense sector, will be based in the firm's New York office. She brings significant sector expertise and experience partnering with military and commercial aerospace clients on search assignments in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in the areas of avionics design and manufacturing; composites manufacturing; landing gear systems, castings and forgings; and maintenance, repair and overhaul. Ms. Foster was previously global head of the aerospace sector practice for ZRG Partners. The new practice will partner with sector companies on search engagements to recruit C-suite executives as well as operating unit and field organization leaders, and similarly critical functional roles within engineering, research & development, IT, security, human resources, sales, and marketing, among others. "We are launching our U.S. aerospace & defense practice at a time when defense companies and those in commercial aviation and aerospace face unprecedented market changes requiring a new breed of corporate and functional leadership to make insightful and innovative growth decisions — and to cultivate the next tier of leaders with equal agility to manage through the ever-challenging complexities of these businesses," said Steve Potter, managing partner for Odgers’ U.S. operations. Odgers Berndtson provides a wide range of recruitment services for leading organizations in private and public sectors, including board level and executive search, management assessment and international assignments.