Comhar Partners Opens Doors

October 29, 2019 – Veteran recruiters Bernard Layton and J. James O’Malley have launched Comhar Partners, a provider of executive search, professional recruiting and talent advisory services. Comhar, derived from the Gaelic word meaning “collaboration” was formed to provide independent recruiting expertise in partnership with the firm’s clients to help solve their full spectrum talent management challenges.

Comhar Partners, led by former Stanton Chase executives, was formed to focus on providing recruiting solutions in consumer products and services, education and non-profit, financial services, healthcare and life science, industrial, private equity, professional services and technology industries. The firm is headquartered in Chicago with specialized recruiting consultants based in seven offices across the country, including New York City, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, South Florida and Mid-Atlantic, with additional offices to be announced in 2020.

“Our team is thrilled to announce the launch of Comhar Partners,” said Mr. Layton. “This new partnership gives us the opportunity to provide our clients the customized solutions they are seeking from recruiting consultants.”

“We now have the freedom to innovate our service offerings; we will be focused on including professional recruiting, our newest service,” said Mr. O’Malley.

Mr. Layton has over 30 years of mid-level and senior-level executive search experience within the consumer products, packaged goods and industrial products industries. Previously, he built and led the Chicago office of Stanton Chase. He performed over 2,200 searches spanning a wide range of senior and mid-management positions such as presidents, CEOs, partner, chief information security officer and senior vice presidents across a number of industries, with particular expertise in engineering, information technology/information security, construction, management consulting, consumer products, industrial and financial services.

Mr. Layton began his career at S. R. Clarke, a national firm and, as partner and division president, started the Chicago operation for the organization. In 1992, he founded Morgan International and subsequently Nicholas Partners, which rebranded as Peoplenext in 2004. In 2008, Peoplenext became Stanton Chase Chicago.

Mr. O’Malley served as managing director of the Chicago office of Stanton Chase. His role centered around senior-level searches for the professional services and financial services practice groups in Chicago. For more than 25 years, Mr. O’Malley has developed talent acquisition solutions to help leadership talent align with changing business needs. Previously, he was a partner and executive search practice leader at TalentRISE, a recruitment solutions firm in Chicago. Prior to that, he was senior vice president in the human resource function of Fifth Third Bancorp. Mr. O’Malley has also worked for several professional service firms, including Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Huron Consulting and Lante.

Open for Business

Over the past year, new recruiting firms have put out shingles around the world in a wide range of industries. Here’s a look at a recent sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Mary Lee Montague has announced the launch of Montague & Associates, a national firm based in Chicago that specializes in C-suite searches for non-profit organizations. “This is a pivotal time for the non-profit sector, which needs dynamic leaders just as critically as for-profit firms,” said Ms. Montague, an executive search professional for more than two decades.

Veteran search consultant Christopher Sheeron launched strategic advisory firm Grayson & Co. “I am thrilled to launch Grayson & Co. to provide a specialized toolkit for an array of organizations to address political uncertainty, corporate complexity and technological innovation,” said Mr. Sheeron.

Former Korn Ferry consultant Kyle Bowlsby has established Bowlsby Sports Advisors LLC, a full-service and integrated sports consulting firm. The company works side by side with clients to pair executive search and career development services. 

Morant Executive Search has been launched in Zurich by veteran search consultant Sabine Morant. The firm offers customized search solutions with a focus on identifying individuals with transformational skills. The firm combines the expertise gained from many years of experience.

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

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