Assembly Group Partners with Employ to Recruit CEO

April 19, 2024 – Austin, TX-based executive search firm Assembly Group has placed Steve Cox as the new CEO of Employ in Waltham, MA. He succeeds former CEO, Pete Lamson. “Congratulations to Steve Cox on his new role of chief executive officer at Employ,” Assembly said in a LinkedIn post. “It was a pleasure partnering with the Employ team, and we wish the company continued success as they welcome Steve.”

Mr. Cox brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in guiding business growth and technological innovation. Attributable to his experience with high-growth organizations and senior leadership roles in operations, customer experience and IT, he has an established track record of developing and implementing strategies to scale complex organizations. Most recently, Mr. Cox served as COO of Community Brands, a leading provider of B2B cloud-based software and payment solutions. Prior to that, he served in several executive level roles at Vertafore, Chess, and TSG.

“Employ is unique in its human-centered approach to recruiting,” said Mr. Cox. “We have seen first-hand the impact that hiring challenges can have on organizations. Each candidate, each customer, each partner and each hire made is deeply personal, and connecting the right companies with the right candidates is essential to our success. As a leader who prioritizes people above all other, this is an ideal role. I look forward to carrying on our people-first mission.”

“I am equally as excited about partnering with K1 Investment Management and Vik Verma, our newly appointed chairman of the board,” said Mr. Cox. “Together, their proven track record of helping businesses scale and drive growth will help us build on Employ’s strong foundation, to accelerate and reimagine the talent acquisition experience.”

Ron Cano, managing partner, K1 Investment Management said: “With the creation of Employ, we brought together JazzHR, Lever, Jobvite and NXTThing RPO to address talent acquisition needs throughout the entire lifecycle of a company, serving small businesses through enterprise,” he said. “Employ is focused on helping recruiters and hiring managers match the best people and job opportunities – this is critical to maximize the potential of individuals and organizations. Steve is an accomplished technology executive and leader who will empower Employ to realize this next phase of growth and uncover more opportunities for employees and customers.”

Employ is a provider of purpose-built recruiting and talent acquisition technologies and parent company of JazzHR, Lever, Jobvite, and NXTThing RPO. Employ serves more than 21,000 customers across industries. 

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K1 is a global investment firm that partners with strong management teams of high-growth technology businesses to help them achieve successful outcomes. Since its inception, K1 has partnered with over 200 enterprise software companies including industry leaders such as accessiBe, Atera, Checkmarx, Complysci, ControlUp, Emburse, Employ, Granicus, HR Acuity, IronScales, Onit, RethinkFirst, Reveal-Brainspace, RFPIO, simPRO, Smarsh, Technomile, XTM International and Zapproved.  

Functional Search Specialists

Assembly Group is comprised of dedicated executive search professionals who specialize in specific functional areas, allowing them to provide clients expert service in their respective fields. The firm is focused exclusively on growth equity and venture capital-backed software and technology companies. The firm’s clients include TA Associates, Genstar Capital, and Summit Partners.

Carissa Clark is the founding partner of Assembly Group. She began her executive recruiting career nearly a decade ago at Bespoke Partners, a boutique executive recruiting firm, where she was one of the firm’s first hires, and played an integral role in building the company’s infrastructure and client base. Her passion for partnering with founders and CEOs to build leadership teams is what led her to start Assembly Group in 2019. Throughout her career in search, Ms. Clark has worked exclusively with private equity-backed software and tech companies to place C-level executives across all functions.

Previous Work

Assembly Group recently helped with the recruitment of Chris Donus of Flash. “Chris is a tenured multi-faceted executive with an impressive track record of driving growth and value in his prior roles and has a unique background in the mobility eco-system and tech, from blue chip brands to startups,” said Dan Sharplin, CEO. “We’re excited to welcome him to our leadership team.” Mr. Donus most recently served as COO and CFO at Wheel Health, a venture- backed developer of a telehealth platform designed to connect
companies and clinicians to deliver virtual care. In his three years at Wheel, he led their Series B and C fundraising rounds.

“This is an important time at Flash as they continue to transform this industry,” said Mr. Donus. “I look forward to contributing to the great work the team has underway. Flash has a strong financial foundation and significant opportunities for value creation. I am excited to be joining the company.”

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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media