Elevate Sports Ventures Acquires Bowlsby Sports Advisory

January 17, 2025 – The Elevate Sports Ventures agency has acquired Bowlsby Sports Advisors, an executive search firm led by Kyle Bowlsby. The move brings Mr. Bowlsby’s firm under the Elevate corporate umbrella and branding. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Mr. Bowlsby assumes the title of senior partner for Elevate. The announcement comes almost a year after the company launched its hiring division, Elevate Talent, with the acquisition of U.K.-based executive search firm SRI.

According to public records, MSN uncovered that over the past year Mr. Bowlsby conducted a $10,000 search for Robert Morris’ senior women’s administrator; a $30,000 search for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s CEO; and strategic plans for the athletic departments of Incarnate Word ($20,000) and Azusa Pacific ($65,000). Mr. Bowlsby has developed a niche by working with non-Power 4 schools or finding candidates for less high-profile (and lower-paying) athletic department roles.

“We don’t take an acquisition lightly,” said Jonathan Marks, chief business officer of Elevate Campus. “We are making this acquisition to build the best collegiate search agency in the world. We know it is going to take time.”

Mr. Bowlsby told Sportico that he will continue to pursue the kinds of lower-profile projects that built his business, while increasingly seeking out opportunities to compete with the industry’s big dogs for the high-level searches. “I think it is a mix of both,” he said. “We want to continue to be at the ground level of search business, because that is how you get to know the next wave of talent. The college leader space has a pressing need for elite talent given the rapid changes in the industry. So when I look at Elevate, they are positioned at the forefront of revenue generation, and that offers us a unique advantage.”

Elevate was launched in 2018 as a partnership between the San Francisco 49ers, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and CAA; its current investor group now includes Arctos and Velocity Capital Management. In addition to its clients in pro sports, the consultancy also boasts relationships with more than 70 athletic departments as well as two Division I conferences–the Big East and ACC– providing them advisory services that range from ticketing to “experiential design.”

Recent M&A Activity

Acquisitions and consolidations continue to make news in the recruiting industry, with a number of notable purchases in recent months. Here is a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search has been acquired by entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Co-founded by Neela Seenandan and Jason Hanold, Hanold Associates recruits diverse corporate officers and board directors, with a significant focus on leading high-profile searches for chief people and HR officers across a wide array of industries. Hanold Associates’ team of 20 colleagues will be 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.”

ZRG, a global talent advisory firm and portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, has acquired Bravanti, a Chicago-based advisory firm specializing in services including executive coaching, executive team coaching, developing leaders, and outplacement/career transition services. “Bravanti brings expertise in three key areas: executive coaching, leadership acceleration, and outplacement career transition,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Bravanti’s global cadre of highly experienced coaches helps unlock the potential of executives up through C-level who deliver powerful business results and exceptional return on their company’s investments in their development.”

Global talent provider True has acquired Paradigm Search, a boutique executive search firm focused on finding engineering and product leaders. Founder and CEO Matt Johnson and the Paradigm team will join True’s product, data & technology (PDT) practice. “Matt and the Paradigm team have an excellent and well-deserved reputation in the executive search market,” said Brad Stadler, president of True Search and co-CEO of True Platform. “From our first conversation, this felt like such a natural fit. They are exceptional search professionals who will enhance our culture and our ability to deliver value to clients. We are truly fortunate the Paradigm team is joining us.”

Related: How Search Firms are Winning Through M&A and Unlocking Value

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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