PRESS RELEASES

Announcing the launch of LPA Search Partners – the merger of Ligature Partners and Ascend Executive Search

Providence, RI: Willa Perlman, CEO of Ligature Partners and Anna McCormick Kelch, CEO of Ascend
Executive Search announce the merger of their firms. LPA Search Partners will combine their
respective practices to provide robust service and focus on EdTech & Knowledge Services, Digital Media & Services, SaaS & Information Services, Professional Services, Publishing, Healthcare, Board of Directors and Non-Profit., Both CEOs have extensive experience placing C-Level executives in these practice areas, and their client roster consists of multinationals to start-ups, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Pearson, Bloomberg, McGraw Hill, Cengage Learning, Accenture, Scholastic, AON Hewitt, CGI, Elsevier, Ernst & Young, Crain Communications, Britannica and DirectTV. LPA Search Partners will be marking its launch at the ASU GSV EdTech Innovation conference in San Diego on April 8th.

In a day and age of commoditized digital matchmaking, LPA Search Partners goes beyond the algorithm and employs a high touch, consultative approach to address individual clients’ needs and deliver the most qualified talent with a focus on sustainable fit for both client and candidate. The firm is represented in New York, Chicago, Providence, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and London and offers complementary addition services to recruitment including executive coaching, M&A consultation and a board practice with a special focus on diversity and women candidates.

“We are long time collaborators and merging our firms enables us to bring our industry knowledge and consultative approach across a broader group of related and interconnected industries to serve clients across North America, Europe and Asia,” said Co-CEO Willa Perlman.

“Between our two companies we have a roster of over 80k highly qualified executives. Our network is so deep that we pride ourselves on delivering candidates that are no more than one degree of separation from us personally. Yet, each search assignment starts with original research to keep our candidate lists fresh and specifically targeted for that unique role. Our clients in private equity and at the company level come to us and stay with us because of our placement and retention metrics, which exceed most recruitment firms’ percentages, “ Co-CEO Anna McCormick Kelch added.

Anna McCormick Kelch is an accomplished search consultant with over 20 years of experience and a
reputation for recruiting hard to find talent for clients in digital media, information services, SaaS, AI, machine learning, robotics and data & analytics. Prior to search, Anna served in sales, marketing and management roles in publishing, new media, and educational technology with companies including Meredith Corporation, Bertelsmann’s Gruner & Jahr, and Whittle Communications.

Willa Perlman was previously CEO and Managing Partner of Ligature Partners, Inc. She moved into
executive search in 2001 after 20 years of experience in publishing, intellectual property development, and general operating roles. Her prior credentials include: President of Hasbro Properties Group, President of Golden Books Publishing Group; President & Publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Books Division; and Vice President, Editorial Director of “Willa Perlman Books,” an imprint of the HarperCollins Children’s Division.

For more information, please visit www.LPASearchPartners.com, @PerlmanWilla (Twitter),
@McCormichKelch (Twitter) and on LInkedIn at Willa Perlman and Anna McCormick Kelch.