Buffkin / Baker Acquires Gallagher’s U.S. Executive Search Practice
February 18, 2025 – Buffkin / Baker, a national retained executive search firm based in Brentwood, TN, has acquired the U.S. recruiting business of Gallagher Executive Search, including Frederickson Partners. “The acquisition of Gallagher’s U.S. Executive Search team will enhance the depth and breadth of our capabilities and provide a more comprehensive national presence,” said Craig Buffkin, managing partner. “By leveraging synergies in our core industry verticals healthcare, private equity, technology, higher education and consumer as well as deepening a broad functional reach, we aim to deliver even greater value to our clients and candidates. We are excited to welcome these search professionals to our growing team.”
Gallagher’s executive search business last year was pegged at $16.4m and the firm ranked in Hunt Scanlon’s Top 50 roster of leading U.S. search firms. “From Fortune 500 corporations to private equity firms to non-profit agencies, Gallagher’s advisors they have the instinct and market intelligence to know which candidates will be successful in what culture or organization,” Buffkin / Baker said in a statement. Gallagher has completed more than 1,200 searches for a wide variety of senior roles across multiple industries and functions.
“This acquisition allows Buffkin / Baker to further strengthen its offerings to provide a complete human resource solution to clients nationally and abroad,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures based on Greenwich, Conn. “Craig and his team have done a wonderful job expanding their core business around healthcare, tech and digital, non-profit, higher education, private equity and consumer. This acquisition brings a tremendous lift to that growth effort which has been underway for several years,” he added.
“Buffkin / Baker is a great fit for our U.S. executive search team,” said Steve Coco, global managing director of talent business line at Gallagher. “One of the reasons we selected Buffkin / Baker was their approach to managing business and cultivating an engaged workforce. Their excellent service is at the heart of everything they do and is behind the outstanding reputation they have gained in the marketplace. We look forward to working together to continue to service our mutual clients.”
Since 2024, Mr. Coco has served as global managing director, human resources and compensation consulting, and as a member of the global operating committee for Gallagher benefit services. Having started his career as a strategy consultant and moved on to run multiple human capital management consulting firms, he brings 20+ years of experience to this role — and plenty of energy as he leads the business line’s evolution to a high-growth platform.
Buffkin / Baker is a member of Panorama Search, an international federation of retained firms with 18 firms and over 30 offices globally. Buffkin / Baker formed in 2017 with the merger of the Buffkin Group and Baker and Associates LLC.
Mr. Buffkin, the firm’s founder, serves as the managing partner, and as head of the private equity and transformation practices, where he is actively involved with client engagements and business development. He has completed search work at the board, executive and senior level both nationally and internationally for a wide range of private, public, venture-backed, and private equity-back companies.
Based in Winston Salem, NC, Martin Baker has been in executive search for more than 22 years. In addition to his role as managing partner, he is also head of the firm’s higher education practice. He previously worked in the Atlanta office of Korn Ferry, where he developed search strategy and executed searches for numerous senior-level appointments. He began his career as a research associate with Saxton Bampfylde, an executive search and management assessment firm in London. He has conducted searches for the positions of CEO, CFO, CIO, provost, dean, director, and professor, having worked on over 350 searches throughout his career.
Recent Deals
Hunt Scanlon Ventures has been at forefront of a handful of recent deals in recent months. Here is a look at a few:
Talento Human Capital has acquired R2 Global, a highly respected technology recruitment and staffing firm known for its niche expertise across cloud & data, business systems, and e-commerce. This strategic move will expand TalentoHC’s existing footprint in the technology sector and launch, as well as strengthen, its technology search & staffing service lines. “The combination of TalentoHC’s talent acquisition expertise with R2’s deep technical focus marks an exciting new chapter for both organizations,” said Juan Gaitan, CEO of TalentoHC, based in Coral Gables, FL. “R2’s agile approach to technology staffing and recruiting aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver tailored recruitment solutions. Together, as R2 Powered by Talento, we are positioned to become a premier go-to partner for IT talent and innovation,” he added. “TalentoHC and R2 Global customers will benefit tremendously from the portfolio of human capital offerings that the combined organizations now provide,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures.
Global talent advisory firm ZRG has acquired Aspen Leadership Group, a search firm focused on placing and supporting top fundraising leaders and executive talent in educational institutions and the broader non-profit sector. “The addition of Aspen Leadership Group is nothing short of transformative,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Their expertise in development and advancement is the perfect complement to our growing education practice, and as we roll into 2025 we are unlocking the collective power of these exceptional niche businesses under the unified banner of ZRG’s education practice, creating unmatched solutions for academic and non-profit leadership.” Aspen Leadership Group, established in 2013, conducts a wide range of searches across the fundraising, education and non-profit sector and is widely considered the eminent leader in its field. Its clients include Brown University, PBS, Robin Hood, the Humane Society of the United States, the Leakey Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Denver Zoological Foundation, among others.
Talento Human Capital (TalentoHC) has acquired The PeterSan Group and PeterSan Legal Staffing. The merger brings expertise in legal recruiting to TalentoHC’s customer experience model and comprehensive human capital services, including retained executive search, professional and management recruiting, RPO, staff augmentation, and human capital consulting. Managing partners Peter Gosule, Peter Goldfeder, and Sandy Friedman of The PeterSan Group will lead the TalentoLegal business unit from New York City, where the firm has been rooted for three decades. “The PeterSan transaction fits in well with our platform strategy as we build onto our customer-centric model and expand our industry and functional vertical focus,” said Juan Gaitan, CEO of TalentoHC, based in Coral Gables, FL. “The intersection of these two approaches will create opportunities for continued growth and value for our customers, candidates, associates and shareholders.”
ZRG acquired Jamesbeck, a New York City-based recruitment firm specializing in senior-level talent for the broad investment management community across private market and traditional firms. “This strategic move aims to establish ZRG’s presence in asset management and will support the firm’s existing private markets clients by adding a new channel for senior roles at the management company level across investments, product, and fundraising,” said ZRG. “Jamesbeck has been at the forefront of decisive changes that have impacted asset management leadership for more than two decades,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “The firm’s acquisition by ZRG will be beneficial to clients across the global investment management space who have come to rely on its network, judgment and guidance around senior-level leadership talent,” he noted. Jamesbeck specializes in the investment management industry across public and private markets. The firm recruits senior-level talent across investing, distribution, product and C-suite positions on behalf of a range of clients from boutiques to the largest multi-product organizations. Jamesbeck’s Melissa Norris, managing partner, and Beth Rustin, founding partner, will become the co-heads of asset management search at ZRG.
Related: Hunt Scanlon Media Launches M&A Advisory Service for Recruiters
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
