Buffkin / Baker

About Us

Buffkin / Baker is a partner-led executive search firm specializing in Healthcare, Higher Education, Private Equity, Technology/Digital, Consumer, and Non-Profit sectors. Each partner, a leader in their field, brings over a decade of retained search experience, contributing to a collective total of more than 300 years in search and over 400 years in industry and operational expertise. The firm operates from multiple locations, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Simons Island, Tampa, Washington, DC, and Winston-Salem. Buffkin / Baker is a member of Panorama, a global community of over 400 leadership experts working together in 70+ office locations to promote a diverse perspective on leadership, embracing creative thinking, and sharing our expertise and experience to bring our clients the very best results.

Achievements

RECENT PLACEMENTS

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At Buffkin/Baker, its partners are experts in the verticals in which they specialize. This is one secret to their success in finding the right talent for clients’ organizations. The firm possess firsthand knowledge and understanding of the industries in which they work, and know what it takes to be successful in each of its domains. This understanding, partnered with their extensive network and proven process, allows the firm to effectively help clients with their important hiring decisions.

For them, success means not just finding a leader for our client companies but finding the right leader. The firm carefully evaluates clients’ company culture, specific organizational needs, and leadership talent to ensure they place an individual who is not only capable of excelling at the position, but who also is an ideal fit for that specific company culture and environment. At the end of the day, their 99% completion rate for their searches speaks for itself.

Buffkin / Baker

Solutions And Expertise

Buffkin / Baker is a retained, specialty boutique search firm composed of industry leaders. Each partner in the firm has been a leader in their respective fields and each has over a decade of retained search experience.

Combined, its partners have more than 300 years in search and over 400 years in industry and operational expertise.

Solutions
  • Assessment
  • Board Services
  • Executive Search
  • Succession Planning
Industries
Functions
  • Board/Governance
  • CEO/President
  • Data/Analytics
  • Finance/Accounting
  • GM/Operations
  • Information/Digital
  • Legal/Compliance
  • Marketing & Sales
  • Medical/Clinical

Buffkin / Baker

News Briefings

Buffkin / Baker Assists Oklahoma State University in President Search  

Martin M. Baker of  Buffkin / Baker has assisted Oklahoma State University (OSU) in the recruitment of Kayse Shrum as the university’s 19th president. With her hiring Dr. Shrum will become the first woman to lead a public research institution in the state of Oklahoma. Dr. Shrum, currently president of the OSU Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS)

Buffkin / Baker Retained by Lees-McRae College to Find New Provost

Executive recruitment firm Buffkin / Baker has been selected to assist in the search for a new provost for Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC. Managing partner Martin M. Baker is leading the assignment. Lees-McRae College is seeking a creative and dynamic provost who will provide active and engaged leadership across campus, serve as an advocate for the faculty,

Buffkin/ Baker Recruits Chief Revenue Officer for Alliant

Top-drawer chief revenue officers are commonly found at start-ups and smaller businesses and tend to the bottom line while the rest of the C-level team expand key partnerships, look for growth opportunities or source funding. That is changing, however, as larger businesses now view the CRO post as an essential, long-term role. Executive recruitment firm Buffkin

Buffkin / Baker to Assist Oklahoma State University in Search for Next President

Executive recruitment firm Buffkin / Baker has been selected to assist in the search for the next president of Oklahoma State University (OSU). Burns Hargis announced his plans to retire at the end of this academic year, on July 1, 2021. Managing partner Martin M. Baker is leading the assignment. The search process will include broad outreach to

Buffkin / Baker

Press Releases

Hugh Boston Joins JEGI CLARITY as Managing Director

(April 19, 2021) JEGI CLARITY, a pre-eminent M&A advisory firm for the global media, marketing, information and technology industries, headquartered in New York, NY and London, UK, is pleased to announce that Hugh Boston has joined the firm as Managing Director. Hugh brings more than 20 years of M&A, capital markets and operating experience working

Altafonte Appoints Ricardo Chamberlain to Global Marketing Senior VP

(April 30, 2021) Ricardo Chamberlain has been appointed Altafonte’s global marketing senior vice president, Billboard has learned. The announcement follows an extensive search involving a comprehensive process led by Buffkin / Baker Partner Tom Truitt and Associate Ashleigh Shulman. As global marketing svp, Chamberlain will be tasked with developing strategic initiatives and opportunities for Altafonte’s

Manring Named New Dean of the College of Engineering

(April 14, 2021) University of Missouri Provost Latha Ramchand today announced that Noah Manring has been named the new dean of the MU College of Engineering. Manring has served as the interim dean of the college since May 2020 following the departure of Elizabeth Loboa. He will assume his new duties on May 1, which

Buffkin / Baker Names Jen Bradley New Partner

(Jan. 27, 2021) Buffkin / Baker, a partner-led executive search firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jen Bradley to partner, where she will be responsible for creating value for clients in both the firm’s healthcare and private equity practice. Bradley joined Buffkin / Baker in 2008 as an associate actively engaged in executive

Buffkin/Baker and The Blues Foundation Partner to Place Patricia Aden as New President & CEO

(Sept. 16, 2020) The Blues Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Patricia Wilson Aden as its next President & CEO. Aden brings more than three decades of non-profit management experience to the Foundation, with a specialization in the preservation and celebration of African American cultural resources. Her most recent experience as President &

Buffkin / Baker

Multimedia

Videos

Women in Leadership
Women in Private Equity
Bufkin / Baker and Panorama
Bufkin / Baker and the History of Our Firm
Buffkin / Baker and Why We Keep Going
Bufkin / Baker and the Traits of Our Firm
Buffkin / Baker and the Vision for the Future
Buffkin / Baker: Empathy in the Workplace

Insights:

Good Governance, Succession, and Why External Validation Matters—Even for Internal Candidates
Private Equity Compensation Trends for 2026: Precision, Performance, and Pay for Value Creation
Relationship‑Driven Executive Search in the Age of AI: Insights from Partner Tom Wilson
Introducing our New Series: The Modern CHRO
Challenge: PE Investment in Founder-Led Healthcare Businesses
“Junior” Executives—Executive Search at the Director Level
Remote Work vs On-Site Work. Which is the right direction?
The Critical Role of HR Leadership During Private Equity Transitions
Enhancing Business Outcomes: The CHRO & CFO Alliance
Start Ups & Unicorns
Interim HR Consulting: A New Strategy for Agile Leadership
What is Talent Acquisition?
What is Total Rewards?
Expand Your Network Today for Tomorrow’s Opportunities
Creating A Relationship With A Retained Executive Search Firm
Strengthening Your Hiring Process: Why Building Company Brand Matters
Partnering with an Executive Search Firm to Recruit Higher Education Leaders
Recruiting And The Love Language
Rising Importance Of Chief Data Officer In Tomorrow’s Successful Enterprises
The Impact of a Down Market on Executive Placements
Finding a Signal, In a World Full of Noise
Leveraging The Chief Data Officer In Healthcare Organizations
2020 Trends for Higher Education Institutions
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