Direct Recruiters Inc. Expands Food Industry Practice
July 31, 2024 – Direct Recruiters Inc. (DRI) has expanded its capabilities and service offerings in the food and beverage practice area in collaboration with Owen Carryl, head of Starfish Partners food. “The synergistic partnership between Owen’s food practice and DRI’s extensive experience in food and related industries enables us to better serve our food industry clients across a broad range of roles and areas of focus,” said Dan Charney, president and CEO of Direct Recruiters, and managing director at Starfish Partners. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Owen and expand our presence in the food and beverage sector, offering comprehensive, customized solutions across the board.”
For over eight years, Mr. Carryl has led the food industry practice at Kaye/Bassman, consulting with food and beverage manufacturers across the U.S. and Canada. He assists these organizations in building high-performing leadership teams within research & development, food safety & quality and plant operations. Prior to his tenure in executive search, Mr. Carryl spent over three decades in the consumer health care and food & beverage industries and held roles such as VP of external innovation at Avery Dennison, director of R&D and open innovation at PepsiCo, and section head of research & development and clinical design at Procter & Gamble. He has a background and partnerships with major clients like Keurig Dr. Pepper, Kraft Heinz and the Edlong Corporation.
Within the Starfish Partners family, both Direct Recruiters and Kaye/Bassman have a long history in recruiting and executive search in the food and beverage industry, as well as several adjacent industries. “By combining decades of DRI’s experience placing top executives, sales and operations talent in industries like food processing equipment, packaging, material handling and supply chain, with KBIC’s proficiency in R&D, food safety and quality, and plant operations, this partnership enhances the range of executive search services we now offer to food industry companies,” Direct Recruiters said.
The expanded food practice will now cover a wide range of positions across: C-suite; food safety; food quality; marketing; R&D; and sales.
Related: Trends Facing the Executive Recruiting Industry
DRI assists medical device companies with recruiting, acquiring and retaining senior talent for mission-critical positions. They provide executive search, recruitment, and staffing services to fill roles in the medical device industry.
New Launch
In March, Direct Recruiters Inc. and INNOVA People, Starfish Partners companies, launched INNOVA Healthcare and INNOVA Tech staffing practice areas. “We have diligently been searching for the right firm to merge our existing staffing business with since the inception of Starfish Partners,” said Mr. Charney. “Joel Slenning and INNOVA People are the ideal partner based on their existing footprint in the hospital IT space. Additionally, their expertise in several other areas of hospital staffing will allow us to become a complete solution for our clients. Frank Myeroff, practice leader and managing partner of the Direct Recruiters existing staffing group will work closely with Joel to continue to grow this division for Starfish across leading medical centers and several other strategic markets that we have identified.”
Just Released: 2024 Corporate Culture Report
As leaders recognize the critical role of culture in organizational success, building sustainable cultural change for engagement, performance, and growth is now essential. Emphasizing psychological safety allows employees to express ideas, take risks, and voice concerns, driving innovation and engagement.
Hunt Scanlon Media’s 2024 Corporate Culture Report shows how a strong, cohesive culture transforms organizations. By prioritizing cultural synergies and shared values, companies can attract and retain top talent while fostering innovation. Download now!
Leveraging decades of experience in healthcare and technology recruiting and merging the staffing divisions of INNOVA People and Direct Recruiters Inc., this newly formed staffing company offers solutions, including contract, contract-to-hire, and temporary placements. In addition, they will offer customized staffing services encompassing consulting, sourcing, identifying, acquiring, onboarding, and retaining senior executives to organizations. Moving forward, the combined staffing companies will be operating under the INNOVA People brand.
Recently Acquired
In November, Starfish Partners, an investment and ownership platform for niched professional and mid-to-upper management search specialists, acquired INNOVA People. “Joel is one of those rare combinations of superior capabilities and production as a search professional while also establishing himself as an extraordinary leader, having built several firms in the industry,” said Jeff Kaye, managing director of Starfish. “Joel is a visionary but also one who can execute and implement with excellence. We are very fortunate to welcome Joel as an owner and are thrilled his team has joined as well.”
In 2022, Starfish Partners acquired Direct Recruiters Inc. DRI provides customized employment solutions for clients working in over 25 vertical markets. Since 1983, the firm has been recognized as the relationship-focused search firm specializing in building customized employment solutions. Its team offers contingency search, contract staffing, and retained “Direct Retention” search to source, identify, acquire, and retain top-performing professionals that elevate the success of its client organizations.
Related: Starfish Partners Acquires Global People and NinjaJobs
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
