Acertitude Assists PE-Backed Turkey Hill in CIO Search

December 11, 2020 – Executive search firm Acertitude has assisted in the placement of Julie Rafferty as chief information officer for private equity-backed Turkey Hill, the fourth largest-selling premium ice cream brand. Co-founder and managing partner Rick DeRose and principal Jessica Tvelia led the assignment. The search was completed in just 76 days.

Ms. Rafferty brings a demonstrated track-record working for diverse, global fast-moving consumer goods organizations. Most recently, she served as the chief information officer of Pinnacle Foods. In this position, Ms. Rafferty managed all aspects of information technology to support the manufacturing, sales and distribution of consumer goods focusing on business simplification, process improvement and cost reduction. She developed and implemented the IT strategy to support and enable business growth.

Before that, Ms. Rafferty was vice president of IS for Reckitt Benckiser, where she managed all aspects of information technology to support the North American, South American, Australian and New Zealand business.

Headquartered in Lancaster County, PA, Turkey Hill Dairy produces the fourth largest-selling premium ice cream brand and one of the top refrigerated iced tea brands in the nation. Over the past 20 years, Turkey Hill has tripled in size and now sells products in 49 states and a dozen countries, on three continents.

Founded in 2015, Acertitude specializes in recruiting CEO, C-suite and executive talent in the consumer, financial, healthcare and life sciences, industrial, private equity, professional services and technology sectors. Its consultants work from offices in Boston; Dallas; Miami; London; New York; Philadelphia; Providence; Raleigh; Shanghai; and Washington, D.C.

Mr. DeRose advises leaders of technology and private equity firms on board and leadership selection, often consulting on how influential trends in digital, mobility, cloud, big data, security and the customer experience are redefining the skills and expertise needed at work. He has a strong history of recruiting successful sales, marketing and strategy talent for businesses that are growing rapidly and driving transformative change. He has proven expertise in telecommunications, technology, private equity and professional services.

As principal with Acertitude’s technology and professional services practices, Ms. Tvelia has spent the last 20 years honing her recruiting and HR skills in the professional services, software, data analytics and finance spaces.

CIO Recruiting

In recent months, a number of organizations have turned to executive search firms to help them find top flight CIOs. Here are a few of the top assignments tracked by Hunt Scanlon Media:

Brentwood, TN-based search firm The Human Capital Group | a Gallagher Company placed Dolores Quezada-Mears as CIO at Hensel Phelps in Greeley, CO. “Our client has reinforced that they are thrilled with the process and outcome,” said Steve Hayes, senior managing director. “We presented a slate of vetted finalists within 20 business days, as guaranteed, and the executive team hired Dolores from that initial slate. She is a great addition to the Hensel Phelps team!” Ms. Quezada-Mears has spent the past 10 years serving in executive IT leadership roles at CRH Building Materials in Atlanta.

Acertitude has recruited Justin Sheppard as CIO for Enlivant, one of the nation’s largest senior living owners and operators with a presence in 27 states across the U.S. Co-founder and managing partner Rick DeRose spearheaded the assignment. Acertitude’s search took 105 days. Mr. DeRose, who has a strong record of placing CIOs and IT leaders, collaborated closely with Enlivant’s president and chief operating officer Dan Guill, chief human resources officer Peter Smith and TPG Capital CIO advisor Ron Kim.

Sydney-headquartered search firm the Insight Group placed Michelle Rennie as the new CIO of the Royal Children’s Hospital. Ms. Rennie is a senior digital leader with over 15 years of IT management experience across large and complex matrix organizations. She has a proven track record of transforming critical teaching and learning processes into high quality online and mobile services. Previously, Ms. Rennie was director of technology, learning, teaching and research at RMIT University.