Snodgrass Partners Names President
January 26, 2017 – Executive search firm Snodgrass Partners has 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. The firm also added Lee Dicklitch as vice president of collegiate sports and Larry Bonfante and Dr. Mark Kovacs as strategic partners.
Mr. Jacobs joined Snodgrass Partners last year to lead the firm’s new sports division, which recruits coaches for collegiate Olympic sports programs and provides recruiting and consulting advice to tennis and golf resorts and clubs in need of professionals and operations directors.
He is a 28-year athletics administration veteran who held leadership positions at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). He also worked as an administrator at the Big Eight Conference (now the Big XII) and the University of California, Berkeley.
Later this year, Hunt Scanlon Media will present its first ever roundup of leading recruiters in the sports & entertainment field. It is one of the most explosive growth areas in executive search. If your firm belongs on this roster, please connect with us so you don’t miss out. We’re looking for 50 trailblazers!
| Contact Us |
As a director at the NCAA, Mr. Jacobs worked with a variety of championships, which included Division I Men’s Soccer (College Cup), Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis and Division I Men’s Ice Hockey (Frozen Four). During his 17-year career at the NCAA, he also worked in baseball, basketball, wrestling, and water polo. Additionally, he served as a liaison to the Division I Championships / Competition Cabinet.
“Tom is one of most capable leaders I’ve ever met,” said Mr. Snodgrass. “I am confident that he is the right choice to lead us into our next phase of growth.”
Moving Beyond a Sports Niche
Mr. Dicklitch will enhance the search firm’s capabilities beyond the niche of Olympic sports to include all collegiate programs. He has worked in minor league sports at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the NCAA where he played key roles in the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, BCS National Championships, Ice Hockey (Frozen Four), Soccer (College Cup), the Rose Bowl and other high-profile events.
“I have had the privilege of working with Lee and he brings a solid track record of creating and executing partnerships,” said Mr. Jacobs. “He has a knack for identifying opportunities and has the skills to ensure success.”
As strategic partners, Mr. Bonfante and Dr. Kovacs extend Snodgrass Partners’ client solutions offerings.
Mr. Bonfante is the founder of CIO Bench Coach, an executive coaching practice for information technology executives. He has held executive leadership positions over the past 35 years in various industries, including financial, pharmaceutical, non-profit, consulting and sports & entertainment. Mr. Bonfante has also served as an executive coach and business adviser to C-level executives.
Dr. Kovacs is CEO of the Kovacs Institute, a performance sciences institute focused on elite individuals looking to optimize performance in sport, business and life. He is also an associate professor in the sport health science department and the director of the Life Sport Science Institute at Life University. He is a sports administrator, performance physiologist, researcher, professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching elite athletes.
Snodgrass Partners is a specialized executive search and management consulting firm founded in 2001. Since its inception, the firm has conducted hundreds of recruiting assignments for regional, national and international organizations of all sizes in a variety of vertical markets. The firm also offers comprehensive management consulting services and alternative solutions for talent acquisition, including recruitment process outsourcing (RPO).
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
