Boyden Appoints New CFO

October 23, 2018 – Global executive search firm Boyden has named Victor Escandón as its new chief financial officer. He replaces Lydia Reitana, who held the role since 2012.
Mr. Escandón will be responsible for all of the firm’s strategic financial activities and initiatives. He will report directly to Trina Gordon, Boyden’s president and CEO.
“Victor’s extensive international experience in financial management will be a great asset to Boyden’s continued global growth,” said Ms. Gordon. “The breadth of his expertise in corporate finance, M&A and strategic planning will be critical in supporting the board, leadership and our offices as we continually expand our global service offerings and deliver a unique client experience.”
Most recently, Mr. Escandón served four years as senior director of corporate finance for Stamford, CT-based Daymon Worldwide, a brand developer and retail services provider with 35,000 employees. At Daymon, he worked closely with the CFO and board on the recapitalization of the employee-owned company.
Previously, Mr. Escandón served 13 years in financial management roles with PepsiCo and Frito-Lay including mergers & acquisitions, strategic planning, corporate treasury, finance operations and global procurement. He began his career in various financial roles with JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, First Boston, Merrill Lynch and Bankers Trust.
Mr. Escandón, who is trilingual in English, Spanish and Portuguese, received his MBA from the Wharton School and a master’s degree in international studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University in 1990.
Boyden is a global provider of executive search services with more than 70 offices in over 40 countries. Founded in 1946, the firm specializes in high-level executive search, interim management and human capital consulting across a broad spectrum of industries
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Former IBM finance executive Paul Ottolini recently joined Russell Reynolds Associates as CFO. He replaced Tom Kendall who retired after serving the firm for 35 years in various capacities. Mr. Ottolini is responsible for managing the firm’s global financial operations, connecting strategy with performance and overseeing financial reporting and budget management.
“We are delighted to welcome Paul to the firm,” said Clarke Murphy, CEO. “Paul’s previous leadership roles at global organizations and in the professional services industry make him uniquely qualified to lead our finance department. His decades of experience align terrifically with our needs, and we look forward to his contributions in the weeks and months to come.”
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Mr. Ottolini was previously CFO of IBM’s global business services division. There, he was responsible for transformational efforts to increase overall operating performance while also leading day-to-day financial and operational activities.
Mark R. Harris joined Heidrick & Struggles as CFO, succeeding Richard W. Pehlke who retired in March. Mr. Harris had been CFO at Hercules Capital, a publicly traded business development company, with responsibility for the finance, accounting, operations, treasury, legal and investor relations. Under his leadership, Hercules saw a significant increase in earnings per share and total shareholder return. Before that, Mr. Harris was the senior managing director/head of Asia, CFO and head of asset management of Avenue Capital Group’s Asia funds. He also formerly served as corporate financial controller at Hutchison Telecom, a NYSE-listed telecommunications company based in Hong Kong.
“Rich has provided strong financial leadership, earning the respect of our investors and colleagues throughout the firm,” said Mr. Rajagopalan. “I want to wish Rich the best in his upcoming retirement and thank him for his nearly seven years of service to the firm. Rich and Mark will partner together to ensure a smooth transition.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media