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

Buffkin / Baker

Find a Recruiter

30

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

Recruitment Firms Land Big West Conference Commissioner Using Virtual Technology

As the coronavirus pandemic alters the way executive recruiters conduct business, collegiate athletics consultants College Sports Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin / Baker have teamed up to place Dan Butterly as commissioner of the Big West Conference. He will start on June 1 to transition alongside Dennis Farrell, who will officially step down one month later. Mr. Farrell is retiring after

College Sports Solutions and Buffkin / Baker Recruit Head Football Coach for Howard University

College Sports Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin / Baker have teamed up once again, this time to recruit Larry Scott as the new head football coach for Howard University, a chartered historically black university in Washington, D.C. Jeff Schemmel, president of CSS, led the search along with Dan Walters of Buffkin / Baker. “We are proud to welcome coach

College Sports Solutions and Buffkin / Baker Tapped to Find Commissioner for Big West Conference

The Big West Conference has begun its search for a new commissioner to replace Dennis Farrell, who recently announced his retirement after leading the conference for 27 years. Collegiate athletics consultants College Sports Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin / Baker are managing the search process, with Jeff Schemmel, president of CSS, acting as lead consultant, with assistance from Dan

Search Firms Partner to Recruit Head Football Coach for University Northern Colorado

Executive search firms College Sports Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin / Baker have collaborated to recruit former Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey as the 16th head football coach for the University Northern Colorado (UNC). The search was led by Jeff Schemmel, founder and president of College Sports Solutions, and Dan Walters, associate partner with Buffkin Baker. “We are

Buffkin / Baker

Press Releases

Buffkin Baker/College Sports Solutions Place New Women’s Head Coach at Georgia Tech

ATLANTA, GA, April 10, 2019 – The partnership of Buffkin Baker/College Sports Solutions placed the new women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech. Nell Fortner has been named the sixth head coach in Georgia Tech women’s basketball history, director of athletics Todd Stansbury announced on Tuesday. One of the most successful coaches in women’s basketball history, Fortner has compiled

Buffkin Baker/College Sports Solutions Chosen to Conduct Southern Conference Commissioner Search

SPARTANBURG, SC, April 4, 2019 –  The Southern Conference announces that the partnership of College Sport Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin/Baker has been selected to manage the search process to replace retiring Southern Conference Commissioner, John Iamarino. CSS successfully completed the recent search for Commissioner of the Big Sky Conference along with numerous head coaching positions.

Buffkin / Baker Names Ted Jadick Partner & Head of Global Governance

NASHVILLE, TN, February 20, 2018 – Buffkin / Baker, a leading national retained search firm, is pleased to announce that Ted Jadick – a veteran of 40 years of building strong corporate boards of directors – has joined Buffkin/Baker as a partner and head of the firm’s global governance practice. Before joining Buffkin/Baker in January, Jadick

Buffkin / baker Places Daniel Sabreen as Vice President of Public Relations for The New York Knicks

NEW YORK, NY, December 13, 2017 – Buffkin / Baker is pleased to announce their placement of Daniel Sabreen as the new Vice President of Public Relations for the New York Knicks. Warren Wasp, Partner with Buffkin / Baker led the search. Mr. Sabreen will be joining the Knicks from CBS Sports, where he served as their Vice

Buffkin / Baker Names Nat Sutton Partner in Nonprofit Practice

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 29, 2017 – Buffkin / Baker, a leading national retained search firm, is pleased to announce that Nathaniel J. Sutton – former partner and vice chairman of Heidrick & Struggles – has joined the firm as partner and head of its nonprofit practice. “Nat has more than 17 years of executive search

Buffkin / Baker

Multimedia

Videos

Talent Acquisition from an In-House Perspective
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
Your Trusted Partner for Your Senior Leadership Talent Needs