Eastward Partners Fills Senior Sales Role for LRN
April 6, 2026 – New York-based Eastward Partners recently assisted in the recruitment of Dan O’Leary to VP of sales at LRN, a Leeds Equity Partners backed company. Brian Ippolito, Callie Swift, and Reagan Wren led the assignment.
“We are pleased to celebrate the appointment of Dan O’Leary to VP of sales at LRN,” Eastward Partners said in a LinkedIn post. “Congratulations to the team for a great outcome and for entrusting us with this important search.”
Mr. O’Leary has built a career centered on go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and operational leadership across the tech and data sectors. He has held senior roles at Box, including senior director of GTM and ecosystem partnerships and earlier as a principal solutions architect, and was part of the founding team for Workplace by Facebook (Meta) before becoming head of partnerships for North America.
Earlier in his career, Mr. O’Leary served in leadership positions such as vice president of enterprise solutions at LincWare, vice president of sales at Quadralink Global Services, and country manager for Canada at Laserfiche. He is also involved as a mentor and limited partner with Stage 2 Capital, and has taken on broader operational leadership responsibilities, including helping lead global operations for Edelman’s Data & Intelligence division.
In his new role with LRN, Mr. O’Leary leads new business growth across the SMB and mid-market segments, helping organizations reduce risk, strengthen values-driven cultures, and achieve principled performance.
LRN is the world’s leading dedicated ethics and compliance SaaS company, empowering over 30 million people annually to navigate complex regulatory environments and build ethical, responsible cultures.
Eastward Partners is a venture backed, retained executive search, and human capital consulting firm with offices in New York City, Miami, Chicago, and London. It was founded with a focus on delivering talent acquisition solutions that lead to immediate and sustainable results within PE, PE backed, and privately held organizations. Approached through the lens of strategic human capital management, the firm partners with clients to optimize core business functions essential to long-term value creation.
Eastward Partners’ portfolio of work is focused on retained mandates for leadership positions as well as the building of high performing teams. They are focused on building capabilities for clients within private equity, professional services and corporates.
Mr. Ippolito, managing director, has over 17 years of executive search experience across growth-stage VC and PE-backed companies, specializing in GTM and C-suite roles. He leads searches for revenue-generating and customer-facing leadership positions—including chief revenue officers, chief marketing officers, and heads of sales and customer success. He plays a key role in mentoring junior talent and contributing to the continued evolution of Eastward’s tech-enabled platform.
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As an associate, Ms. Swift leads complex, senior-level searches, partnering closely with founders, boards, and private equity sponsors to underwrite roles, shape search strategy, and deliver outcomes aligned to long-term business goals.
Aropha and General Trucking Searches
Eastward Partners also recently assisted in the recruitment of CEOs for Aropha and General Trucking. The firm placed Tammy Deblock as CEO of Aropha, a Comeback Capital backed company. “Congratulations to the team for a great outcome and for entrusting us with this important search,” Eastward Partners said in a LinkedIn post. Ms. Deblock brings experience working across international teams and global markets. Her leadership of diverse, cross-cultural groups has delivered meaningful improvements in performance and engagement, translating into improved operations and financial strength. As CEO of Aropha, Ms. Deblock focuses on guiding strategy, scaling operations, and driving organic growth while partnering closely with customers, the board, and its team. Previously, Ms. Deblock served as director of product management and application engineering at NeoGraf Solutions, LLC.
Eastward Partners also placed Chris Meers as the new CEO of General Trucking, an Advantage Capital backed company. Mr. Meers is a results-oriented problem-solver with strong business acumen and effective communication & collaboration skills.
In his new position with General Trucking, Mr. Meers is responsible for full P&L across dedicated, regional, shuttle, and brokerage operations leading strategic growth initiatives in automotive, manufacturing, and time-sensitive freight. Previously, Mr. Meers was president and chief operating officer with Sewell Motor Express. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of sales and services with Cheeseman Transport. Before that, Mr. Meers was COO of Prime360. Earlier in his career, he spent over 20 years in various roles with XPO Logistics.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
