Recruiting for the Family Business … It’s All About Passion

October 7, 2015 – CarterBaldwin Executive Search has placed John Sabol as president of Pinnacle Promotions, a family-owned promotional marketing agency. Dave Sobocinski, a founding partner of CarterBaldwin, headed the assignment.

Mr. Sabol has more than 25 years of experience leading apparel, automotive, sporting goods and consumer products companies — ranging from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500. He will report to Pinnacle CEO David Weintraub and his responsibilities will include leading the company through an aggressive growth strategy. He will partner with the board of directors and executive team to define Pinnacle’s long-term strategic goals and vision for the future.

Previously, Mr. Sabol was CEO of Hartwell Industries (a Patriarch Partners portfolio company), where he led overall strategy and operations for a manufacturer and distributor of corporate apparel and uniforms serving a diverse set of clients from Samsung, MetroPCS, and UHaul to non-profits like the YMCA. Prior to his tenure at Hartwell, he founded Arte Leadership Group, a boutique eLearning platform for executives, and served as president and partner in ListK LLC, a private equity firm investing in technology-startups with high growth potential.

“Partnering with entrepreneurs, particularly those with other family members in the business or on the board, in an effort to find the person that will lead their business (and often their financial security), is very different than partnering with PE firms and corporations,” said Mr. Sobocinski. “Entrepreneurs in many cases spend more time with their businesses than they do family and don’t always think of the day they will hand over the reins; what they do is who they are, it is not about the money, it is personal and often how they, and even their family, are recognized in their respective community.”

Client passion, he said, often trumps everything else. “That passion often makes these type of searches the most difficult, but it is that same passion that can make them the most rewarding as well. It certainly creates an extremely close working partnership.”

Pinnacle Promotions, founded by two brothers in 1994, specializes in design, sourcing, and production of branded merchandise and corporate apparel for customers including Coca-Cola, GE, USAA, Merrell, and FedEx. The company offers full-service marketing strategies to small and medium-sized businesses in addition to providing company store and fulfillment services to large brand-conscious corporations in the Fortune 500.

CarterBaldwin has previously led searches for a wide range of companies from non-profit, to small unique niche businesses to a $1 billion manufacturer. The firm’s recent work includes placing new presidents for Mardel Christian Stores, DiversiTech Corporation, WinShape Foundation and Owens Group International. In addition, CarterBaldwin has placed CEOs with Rea Magnet Wire and Plymouth Tube.

CarterBaldwin is a provider of executive search services in the healthcare, technology, non-profit, consumer services, industrial and media/telecom sectors. Its client list includes a number of name brand institutions, including KPMG, ADP, Teradata, First Data, Duke University, Pepperdine University, New York Life, Fleet Pride, and Berkshire Hathaway.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media

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