CAA | Hanold Executive Search Recruits VP of HR for the U.S. Soccer Federation
November 22, 2024 – CAA | Hanold Executive Search has recruited Matthew Garey as vice president of HR for the U.S. Soccer Federation in Chicago. Mayank Parikh and Catie Nelson led the assignment. “I could not be more excited to share that I have accepted a position as vice president, human resources with the U.S. Soccer Federation,” Mr. Garey said in a LinkedIn post. “There is so much going on with the sport in our country and I can’t imagine a better time to be joining this dynamic organization.”
As VP of HR, Mr. Garey will focus on enhancing both HR operations and talent strategy to support U.S. Soccer’s evolving needs. Reporting to CHRO Lisa Buckingham, he will play a central role in strengthening the organization’s HR foundation and building a dynamic team ready to advance the federation’s mission.
Previously, Mr. Garey served as senior director, human resources at Osmose. Before this, he served as associate vice president, human resources at North Highland, where he oversaw talent activation consisting of learning & development, leadership development, talent management and engagement. Prior to this, Mr. Garey served as senior HR manager for Amazon. During his career, he also gained HR experience serving in various roles with LottaBrand, McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply Company, Sherwin-Williams, and sterling Jewelers.
The U.S. Soccer Federation, serving as the governing body of soccer in all forms in the United States, has played an integral part in charting the course for the sport for over a century. The organization comprises 27 total teams, including the US Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and also governs Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League in the U.S. It was founded in 1913.
This past spring, Hanold Associates placed Carlos Kuri as the chief legal officer of the U.S. Soccer Federation. Mr. Kuri joined U.S. Soccer from SXSW, where he served as chief strategy officer and general counsel for the last three years. “I’m thrilled to join U.S. Soccer at this momentous time for the organization and sport, as we look forward to the Men’s World Cup in 2026, the building of our National Training Center and future home for U.S. Soccer, and the execution of our strategic vision,” said Mr. Kuri.
Hanold Associates serves CEOs of startups, founder-led organizations, family offices, pre-IPO companies, PE firms and Fortune 100 organizations. The firm has completed more than 2,000 searches for its clients across industries, which include American Airlines, Apollo, a16z, A+E Networks, Acushnet, BlackRock, Blackstone, Cartier, College Football Hall of Fame, CBS, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Domino’s Pizza, eBay, Electronic Arts, Fanatics, Federal Reserve Bank of NY, Ford Motors, Ford Foundation, Gucci, Hearst, Indeed, KKR, L Catterton, Live Nation, MGM Resorts, Moderna, Nederlander, The New York Times, Nordstrom, Paramount, Patagonia, Phillips 66, Prada, Kering, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, Riddell, Save The Children, Shore Capital, TB12, Uber, Under Armour, Vail Resorts, Walgreens, and Zoom. Founded in 2010, Hanold Associates is headquartered in Chicago, with partners located in Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, Detroit, and Phoenix.
Mr. Parikh is a managing partner at Hanold Associates and leads the tech & private equity practice. Since joining in 2015, he has progressed into leadership roles within the firm and has developed a specialization in supporting the needs of big tech, VC-backed and PE-backed clients. Mr. Parikh focuses on recruiting across the human resources function and has led engagements across geographies and industries, ranging from those that are scaling quickly and hiring their first-ever HR leader to those that are more mature but transforming and evolving in key ways.
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Ms. Nelson is an associate with Hanold Associates where she focuses on recruiting chief people officers, talent, HR and diversity, equity and inclusion leaders and their respective teams across industries. Prior to joining Hanold Associates, she worked as an investment banking analyst in the cross markets group at Goldman Sachs in Chicago where she focused on M&A advisory work.
Recently Acquired
In October, Hanold Associates was acquired by entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Hanold Associates’ team of 20 colleagues was folded into CAA’s executive search division. “We continue in our longstanding efforts to innovate growth opportunities across all facets of CAA that further our commitment to providing unmatched resources to our esteemed clients worldwide,” said Paul Danforth, CAA managing director and president, CAA Sports. “CAA was the first talent agency to launch an executive search division, and we are thrilled with the incredible success that Joe Becher, Asher Simons, and their team consistently deliver to their clients across sports and entertainment. The addition of Hanold Associates, and its unique expertise, will amplify our efforts in this important service area and we are excited to see what these two teams can accomplish together.”
“The recruitment of effective human resources leadership is vital to the growth and success of any organization, and Neela, Jason, and the team at Hanold Associates are without peer in this space,” said Mr. Becher. “There are tremendous synergies across our businesses and clients. Hanold’s culture and approach to client service is complementary to ours, and we are thrilled to join forces to bring these world class resources to our clients globally.”
CAA Executive Search was co-founded by Mr. Becher and Mr. Simons in 2017. It serves the sports, entertainment, and media industries, working closely with its clients to help build leadership teams through executive search; designs and develops organizational structures and compensation plans; and engages with investors, venture capital and private equity firms on human capital due diligence projects, providing expert insight into senior management teams within acquisition targets. Since its launch, CAA Executive Search has worked across major global sports rightsholders, technology companies, record labels, esports leagues and franchises, gaming publishers, live entertainment promoters, sports betting companies, traditional and digital media businesses, agencies, global brands, private equity firms, VC funds, and family offices.
Related: Hanold Associates Recruits SVP of HR and Diversity for New York Giants
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
