Buffkin / Baker Merges WTW Associates Into Its Expanding Search Platform

May 19, 2017 – Search firm Buffkin / Baker has merged New York-based WTW Associates into its expanding executive recruiting platform. WTW, a talent provider focused on the media, entertainment, technology and law industries, will integrate its operations into the Buffkin / Baker New York office. Terms were not disclosed.

“We have greatly enhanced our entertainment/media practice this year, and are excited to have Warren Wasp and WTW join our team,” said managing partner Craig Buffkin. “Earlier this year, we brought on MusicRowSearch, an entertainment search firm in Nashville and are eager to have Warren join the firm. He is one of the visionary media and entertainment search executives in the industry.”

“This is a great opportunity to join a thriving search firm that is positioning itself for future growth in the media, entertainment and tech industries,” said Mr. Wasp, who founded WTW Associates in 1987. “I was seeking a dynamic firm to help expand our business, and with the growth in Buffkin / Baker’s entertainment division, this was the perfect opportunity to leverage our synergies.”

Mr. Wasp becomes a partner in the firm, and will head its entertainment/media practice. He has extensive contacts within the entertainment and media industry in New York, Los Angeles and London.

Buffkin / Baker just recently formed with the merger of The Buffkin Group and Baker and Associates, LLC. “Craig and I have known each other for many years and have worked well together both professionally and personally,” said managing partner Martin Baker at the time. “Our common values of delivering a higher level of customer service will help differentiate us in the marketplace, and position us for a bright future.”

The newly-merged organization is based in Nashville, with offices in Chicago, New York, Winston-Salem, Charleston and Washington, D.C. Besides extending the firm’s geographic reach, the combination provides broadened synergies in identifying prospects across a range of disciplines, including healthcare, technology, private club, digital media, digital marketing, financial services, academia and other non-profit groups.


Client Needs, Demands Drive Change In Recruiting Sector
For boutique search firms, these are auspicious days. Double digit growth and expansion is the order of the day for many of the more specialized recruiters. As a group, industry statistics show, the boutiques are far outpacing their Big Five competition.


Mergers and Partnerships Continue In the Search Industry

Since the start of the year, the search industry has seen a number of mergers. Some involve national expansion, while others are about global reach. Some of the consolidations, meanwhile, provide more solution possibilities for customers who want a full suite of talent management services.

Just recently, London-headquartered executive search firm Hedley May and New York-based Exchange Place Partners merged. The alliance creates a global oriented search firm and Exchange Place will retain the Hedley May name. The merger allows the newly combined search firms to execute senior functional and leadership searches for multinational companies, financial institutions, professional services firms and regulatory clients across the globe.

Vancouver, BC-based executive search firm Goldbeck Recruiting recently joined forces with Merc Saudi, an international recruitment firm headquartered in Guadalajara, Mexico with extensive recruiting operations throughout Latin America and the Middle East. Merc provides recruiting services to an expansive number of sectors, including accounting & finance, automotive; banking, business support, constructive & engineering, facilities management, financial services, human resources, IT & telecommunications, insurance, legal, and logistics & supply chain. Goldbeck’s team specializes in placements from eight recruitment divisions, sales & marketing, engineering & skilled trades, healthcare & biotech, accounting & finance, industrial & construction, production & operations, information technology, and executive search.

In February, La Fosse formed an alliance with Intelligent Partners, a provider of research and education on alternative investments. Through the partnership, La Fosse will serve as a ‘talent partner’ to the firm. It turned to the search firm, it said, because of its expertise in the technology and digital sectors.

SRiCheyenne was recently launched following the January merger of U.S.-based media and content recruitment provider, Cheyenne Group, and UK-headquartered SRi (formerly Sports Recruitment International).

Also in January, executive search firms Thomas Thor Associates, B.V. and KeySource HCI, LLC merged their nuclear industry business interests in the Americas and formed a new company called KeySource Thomas Thor, which focuses on providing executive search services to the entire life-cycle of nuclear providers in North and South America and will be headquartered in Hudson, OH. The combined firm will also have access to the global network of Thomas Thor Associates with operations in Europe and the Middle East.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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