Execu|Search Group Appoints New CEO

March 2, 2020 – Executive recruitment firms have made a number of top leadership appointments over the past year, many focused on strategy, growth, branding efforts and operations. The latest: Execu|Search Group announced that Lawrence Dolinko, current president of the professional services temporary division, will succeed Edward Fleischman as CEO.

Mr. Fleischman, who founded the firm in 1985, announced his retirement as CEO and will remain with the firm in an advisory capacity as executive chairman. Along with this transition, Gary Grossman, senior partner, and Glenn Bernstein, chief operating officer of the temporary division, are stepping down from their roles to become executive advisors. They will support the firm as major shareholders.

“It has been our privilege to lead a company that prides itself on 35 years of integrity, culture, quality and service excellence,” Mr. Fleischman said. “While the time is right for us to pass the torch, we believe the best is still ahead of us. Larry is a proven and respected leader who has delivered strong results in the 20 years he has been with the firm. We are confident he will help our firm evolve and grow in the years to come.”

With over 20 years at Execu|Search, Mr. Dolinko has extensive experience in client management, relationship building, negotiation and sales. Believing that employee development is critical to stronger teams and continued business success, he has also spearheaded many career advancement initiatives at Execu|Search.

Kyle Mattice, Tom Potenza and Mitchell Peskin will join Mr. Dolinko on the executive leadership team. Mr. Mattice, currently president of the firm’s healthcare temporary division, will serve as president of the firm in addition to his oversight of the healthcare temporary division. Mr. Potenza, currently executive vice president, will ascend to president of the technology division, while Mr. Peskin will become president of the permanent division where he will continue to develop and drive key growth initiatives.

“As the firm moves into the next phase of growth, we have a strong leadership team—with Larry at the helm—to take us to the next level,” said Mr. Fleischman. “Through their combined experiences and perspectives, they will continue to guide Execu|Search toward the full achievement of our mission. We look forward to working with them and celebrating their achievements.”

“I am excited and humbled to be named the next CEO of Execu|Search, and I want to thank Ed, Gary, and Glenn for the confidence they have placed in me to lead this organization,” said Mr. Dolinko. “Execu|Search has outstanding people, tremendous potential and a leadership team that is second to none. It will be my honor to work with them side by side as we build on our success.”

Execu|Search Group is a recruitment, temporary staffing and workforce solutions firm with offices throughout the U.S. The firm serves clients across a broad range of industries, including accounting/finance, creative and digital, engineering, financial services, healthcare, human resources, legal services, non-profit, office support, pharma and technology.

Leadership Appointments Rising at Search Firms

Top leadership appointments have been gaining traction at executive search firms over the past year. Here’s a look at several examples taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

CyberSN, a boutique search firm serving talent needs in cybersecurity, appointed Mark Aiello as its new president. “Choosing a president for a firm that has a very special family culture which focuses on productivity and love was easy when I met Mark,” said Deidre Diamond, CEO and founder of CyberSN. “Mark shares the same passion that drives us at CyberSN — the care of the cybersecurity community. Care of the community means building technology to speak their language, using technology to make great matches and providing career support along the way,” she said. “We care about the cyber professional and Mark does too.”

Dubai-headquartered Pedersen & Partners named Gary Williams as its new CEO replacing founder Poul Pedersen who will assume the role of executive chairman. As CEO, Mr. Williams will have full P&L responsibility and lead the firm. As executive chairman, Mr. Pedersen will continue working full-time for Pedersen & Partners.

Global recruiting organization Amrop has appointed Federico Cuneo as CEO and chairman of its executive board. He replaced José I. Leyún as CEO. As an executive board member of the Amrop Partnership, and a partner and director of Amrop Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador since 2005, Mr. Cuneo brings organizational experience, entrepreneurial energy and a global perspective to the role.

The RSA Group, which is based in London and focuses on the life sciences sector, has appointed executive chairman Nick Stephens as its CEO. Alex Bennett recently stepped down from the top post.  Mr. Stephens has been with RSA since 1986 and leads the firm’s board services practice, handling about five or six C-level assignments each year. 

U.K.-headquartered executive search firm VMAGROUP has appointed Andrew Harvey as CEO. He succeeds Julia Meighan, who moves into the role of chair. Mr. Harvey came to the firm in 2013, and for the last two years has been U.K. executive director, responsible for the growth and development of all aspects of the U.K. business.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media