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 Recruits President for the Music Business Association

Executive recruitment firm Buffkin / Baker has recruited respected industry veteran Portia Sabin as the new president of the Music Business Association (Music Biz). The organization’s current longtime president James Donio will be stepping down from the post, but will continue in an advisory role. Tom Truitt, a partner and head of the entertainment practice, led the assignment. “We

Achieving Work/Life Balance Sometimes Means Working Weekends

Even as some organizations ponder shorter official work weeks, more and more jobs are coming with the expectation, sometimes unspoken, that employees should be available at any time. Bosses may think they’re squeezing extra productivity out of their direct reports, but it’s that type of pressure that can depress employee engagement. In one recent survey

Buffkin / Baker Seeks Chancellor for University of Mississippi

Executive recruitment firm Buffkin / Baker has been enlisted to find the next chancellor for the University of Mississippi. Managing partner Martin Baker is leading the assignment. The chancellor, who serves at the university’s chief executive officer, reports through the commissioner of higher education to the Mississippi board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning, the

Search Firms Partner to Find New Commissioner for Southern Conference

Executive search firms College Sports Solutions (CSS) and Buffkin / Baker have collaborated to recruit Ohio University director of athletics Jim Schaus as the new commissioner of the Southern Conference. Atlanta-based College Sports, which managed the search, was chosen for its expertise in finding athletics leaders, while Buffkin/ Baker, based in Brentwood, TN, offered prowess in tapping top academic

Buffkin / Baker

Press Releases

Christopher Hamamck Appointed SVP of Sales and Business Development at Aegis Health Group

BRENTWOOD, TN, June 28, 2016 — The Buffkin Group is pleased to announce the placement of Christopher Hammack at Aegis Health Group as their new Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Mr. Hammack has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry. Most recently, he served as National Director of Enterprise Sales for

The Buffkin Group Places New CEO at Tennessee Kidney Foundation

BRENTWOOD, TN, June 11, 2016 — The Buffkin Group has placed Heather Powell as the new CEO of the Tennessee Kidney Foundation. The search was led by Roland Lundy, Partner with the Buffkin Group, as part of the firm’s Non-Profit vertical. Mrs. Powell joined the Tennessee Kidney Foundation team from Ronald McDonald House, where she served

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
Your Trusted Partner for Your Senior Leadership Talent Needs