Atlantic Group Opens Office in Charlotte, NC
June 25, 2025 – Executive search firm Atlantic Group recently opened a new office in Charlotte, NC. Lauren Sawyer, director, is leading the new location. “We are thrilled to announce the opening of our newest office in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Atlantic Group said in a LinkedIn post. “This location will allow us to continue our expansion into the greater Charlotte market and service local clients directly with local talent. Lauren Sawyer will be spearheading our development of that market within the finance, accounting and administrative verticals.”
Ms. Sawyer joined Atlantic Group and provides accounting, finance, and administrative recruitment services to clients and candidates across a wide range of industries, including asset management/family office, real estate, media/entertainment, and retail/consumer goods, on both a permanent and temporary/consulting basis. She began her career at KPMG in audit, where she developed a strong foundation in accounting before transitioning to a financial analyst role at a real estate development firm.
Charlotte’s economy is underpinned by a robust financial services sector, serving as the second-largest banking center in the U.S.—home to Bank of America, Truist, and the East Coast operations of Wells Fargo—positioning the metro area with a gross metropolitan product topping $170 billion. Key growth drivers include financial services, fintech and tech hubs like Lowe’s Global Technology Center, manufacturing, and the rapidly expanding logistics and energy sectors.
Atlantic Group’s finance & accounting division is comprised of recruiters that possess over 100 years of recruiting experience, many with backgrounds as professionals within this space, and others who have specialized in these disciplines their entire careers.
Atlantic Group, founded in 2006, is an industry leader in executive and professional search. Headquartered in New York City, and with offices in Philadelphia; Boston; Stamford, CT; Holmdel, NJ; Blue Bell, PA; Chicago; and London, the firm can penetrate networks and execute searches regionally, nationally and globally.
Atlantic Group’s divisions include: finance and accounting, information technology, quantitative finance and capital markets, healthcare, administrative and corporate services, real estate and construction, short and long-term temporary consulting services, and outsourced payroll services.
Related: A Look at Executive Search in 2025
Prior to starting Atlantic Group, John Ricco was an experienced public accountant from KPMG where he was a key strategic member of KPMG’s new media practice where he was responsible for leading several high profile IPO’s. He has a passion for the recruitment industry and believes that strong relationships are what drives success in both business and in life.
Executive Search: Challenges, Trends, and Hopes for a Hiring Resurgence in 2025
For many search firms in almost all industry segments, 2024 has been a tough year. There are many reasons for the recent downturn, and some firms have experienced a dip in revenues for even longer, according to Tim Tolan, founder, chairman, and managing partner of The Tolan Group. “Lots of changes are on the horizon for 2025 on the hiring front, and search firms are waiting with bated breath while hiring decisions are on hold, and draft fee agreements are (still) sitting in DocuSign waiting to be signed,” he said. “Decisions are dragging, as are active search engagements, as hiring managers and leaders struggle to make hiring decisions in the environment, we are all trying to navigate.”
In the Hunt Scanlon 2024 Executive Recruiting State of the Industry Report, the numbers reflected a double-digit downturn in demand for executive recruiting, with the private equity sector being the most affected. “We’ve seen and experienced that firsthand, but we feel positive changes are on the horizon,” Mr. Tolan said.
Rich Scardina is actively involved with the strategic vision of the firm as well as continuing to manage a full cycle recruitment desk focusing specifically on private equity and hedge fund back and middle office roles within the CFO and COO verticals. He started his career as an auditor in public accounting and then joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette where he helped oversee their private equity accounting and finance operations for eight years as a vice president.
Past Addition
At the end of last year, Atlantic Group named Kevin Goldman to its legal and compliance division. “We are happy to welcome Kevin Goldman to Atlantic Group’s legal and compliance division,” the firm said in a LinkedIn post. “He is reuniting with senior managing director, Melanie Marshak, with whom he previously worked for two years, to further strengthen our capabilities in this space.”
Mr. Goldman most recently served as a director with Atlas Search, an executive recruiting firm dedicated to placing legal, accounting, finance, front office, tech, healthcare, clinical research, creative, office / accounting support and HR professionals. Prior to this, he was a senior associate with Tandym Group.
Related: Leading Through Uncertain Times
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
