PRESS RELEASES

Prout Group Executives Patrick Prout and Betsy Bruening Join Diversified Search

PHILADELPHIA, May 19, 2015 — Diversified Search, one of the nation’s top ten executive search firms, has announced that Patrick M. Prout, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Betsy Bruening, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, both formerly of The Prout Group, have joined as Managing Directors. Prout will be Diversified’s Practice Leader for Financial Services in the New York office. Bruening will establish a new office for Diversified in Cleveland.

The Prout Group is a retained executive search firm providing search consulting services to companies in the financial services, industrial/manufacturing, higher education/non-profit industries and corporate boards. The Prout Group is a founding member of the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD), a collaboration of leadership organizations including Catalyst, the Executive Leadership Council, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. All have a common goal to enhance shareholder value by promoting inclusion of women and minorities on corporate boards. ‎

Before launching his own executive search organization, Patrick Prout served as a partner in the Cleveland office of Heidrick & Struggles where he was a member of the firm’s financial services, diversity, chief financial officer and industrial practices. He also conducted successful searches for clients in the insurance, manufacturing, telecommunications, entertainment and sports fields.

Previously Prout was president and chief operating officer, then vice chairman of Bank One, Cleveland, NA, a $2.5 billion assets affiliate of Banc One Corporation. His career in financial services also included positions with Bank of America in Los Angeles, Rainier Bank in Seattle and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City. He also held sales and marketing positions with IBM, Miller Brewing Company and American Petroleum.

Prout received a B.S. degree in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.B.A. in general management from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business. He took his commission in the U.S. Marine Corps and served two tours of duty in Vietnam where he was awarded the Bronze Star medal with combat “v”.  He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and serves on the Advisory Board of Women in the Boardroom.

Prior to becoming a founding partner of The Prout Group, Betsy Bruening was the associate director of Heidrick & Struggles’ Cleveland office. She was a member of the firm’s financial services, diversity and industrial practices, as well as the chief financial officer Associates Council. Bruening successfully executed more than 150 search assignments, primarily for executives such as president, CEO, CFO, and board members. Her focus has been on industrial and financial services clients. She had previously spent ten years with British Petroleum, holding administrative and management positions with BP’s executive management team as well as the human resources department in succession planning, organizational development, assessment, and executive compensation.

She holds a B.A. in management from Malone College in Canton, Ohio, and an M.A. in psychology from Cleveland State University. Bruening has served on Cleveland State University’s Diversity Management Executive Committee and the Visiting Committee for College of Arts and Sciences, and she chaired the Community Advisory Board for Ideastream (WVIZ/WCPN) public broadcasting.

Lourdes Bennett, formerly of The Prout Group, will also be joining Diversified in Cleveland. With over ten years of executive search experience, she provides all administrative and logistical support to clients and candidates.

About Diversified Search 

With more than 40 years in executive search, Diversified is the largest US woman-founded and owned firm in the industry. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Diversified Search also has US offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and worldwide in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and the Americas. Diversified is the exclusive U.S. partner of AltoPartners, the international alliance of independent search firms with offices in 31 countries worldwide. For more information, please go to http://www.diversifiedsearch.com

Contact:
Stephen S. Morreale
Diversified Search
Steve.Morreale@divsearch.com