PRESS RELEASES

Buffkin / Baker Taps Ken Carrick, Janny DeLoache to Bolster Higher Education Practice

(Sept. 9, 2020) Buffkin / Baker, a leading national retained search firm, is pleased to announce that Ken Carrick and Janny DeLoache, veteran executive recruiters, have joined the firm to bolster its thriving higher education practice. Carrick will serve as partner and DeLoache will be a principal at Buffkin / Baker.

“We are thrilled to have these exceptional leaders join our growing higher ed practice,” said Martin Baker, managing partner of Buffkin / Baker. “I have long admired Ken and the superb search practice he has built in higher education, along with a track record of recruiting diverse and talented candidates. Today, more so than ever, colleges and universities need strong administrators who can lead their institutions during these unprecedented times. Ken and Janny bring a wealth of experience and will further our capabilities to serve a broad base of clients across the higher education sector.”

Carrick previously served as president of Coleman Lew Canny Bowen, a national retained search firm with dual headquarters in New York and Charlotte, North Carolina. With more than 35 years’ experience, he has cultivated a diverse roster of clients in the education, retail, nonprofit and government sectors.

Carrick has conducted searches for colleges and universities, athletic conferences, public school systems, public charter schools, independent K-12 schools, and clients in a variety of other sectors.

“I am excited to join the Buffkin/Baker team in the higher education practice,” Carrick said. “The firm has a stellar reputation, and I am impressed with their values, ability to identify and recruit a diversity of talented leaders in the sectors served, and commitment to providing excellent service to clients. Martin is a visionary leader in the higher ed space, and I look forward to serving clients together with him.”

Carrick began his career as an accountant with Duke Energy and later worked for a national insurance company before entering the executive search profession in 1986. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Catawba College, where he was also a student athlete. He earned an MBA from Wake Forest University.

Carrick currently serves a director on the Mecklenburg County ABC Board and was recently appointed to the North Carolina Association of ABC Boards’ legislative committee and completed two terms as a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC)’s Americas council board. Carrick has been the President of the Catawba College Alumni Board, and on the boards of the Greenwood Genetic Center Foundation, Greater Carolina’s Chapter of the American Red Cross and Covenant Day School. He has also been involved with numerous volunteer service groups and youth sports associations in the Charlotte area.

DeLoache previously served for nearly 22 years as a consultant with Coleman Lew Canny Bowen. She specializes in higher education, secondary education, government entities, sales and marketing, and is active in client relations, consultations, and assisting clients with neutral site interviews.

DeLoache began her career as an admissions counselor and assistant dean of students at Converse College, where she earned a bachelor’s in fine arts and master’s in education. Deloache was also assistant to the vice president of student affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology. She served as a vice president at Marketing Outreach, Inc. in Atlanta, and also was a southeast regional manager for New York-based, US Concepts Inc. which serves Fortune 500 companies.

DeLoache is a member of the Mint Museum Auxiliary, the Junior League of Charlotte and an ENCORE! life member at the Children’s Theater of Charlotte. She has served on the Converse alumnae board and the Wofford College’s parent advisory council.

About Buffkin / Baker

Buffkin / Baker is a retained, national boutique search and consulting firm composed of industry leaders. Each partner in the firm has been a leader in their respective fields and each has more than a decade of retained search experience. Combined, its partners have more than 175 years of search experience and 210 years of industry experience. The firm has several practice areas including: higher education, digital marketing/advertising, technology, health care, media/entertainment, and nonprofit. The firm serves public, private, venture, and private equity backed companies. Offices are located in Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Winston Salem, with an affiliate office in London. The company is also a member of Panorama Search, an international federation of retained firms with 24 firms and more than 50 offices globally.

Buffkin / Baker’s higher education practice is one of the most prominent in the country, having conducted more than 650 searches for universities and colleges and more than 90 searches for universities and colleges within the past three years. The professionals of the firm have recently conducted searches for a number of institutions within Power Five conferences, as well as leading liberal arts colleges, AAU institutions, HBCUs, and regional universities.