Focus Search Partners Appoints Managing Partner of Interim Leadership Solutions

November 5, 2024 – Focus Search Partners, a Vaco company, has named Kate McLellan as managing partner of interim leadership solutions. In this role, she is responsible for building the company’s interim practice and addressing clients’ provisional talent needs across multiple industry sectors, including healthcare, life sciences, technology, manufacturing, consumer products and financial services.

“During times of transition, Focus Search Partners’ dedicated interim leadership team strives to identify the right leader and solution around organizational challenges to deliver immediate value,” said Paul Frankenberg, founder and managing partner of Focus Search Partners. “With Kate’s abundant experience, passion for problem-solving and proven success in the interim leadership space, she is the ideal leader to build upon our thriving interim leadership practice. I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to the team.”

Ms. McLellan brings nearly 30 years of experience in professional services and interim leadership solutions. Her clients include both privately held start-ups, as well as multi-billion-dollar publicly traded companies.

Previously, Ms. McLellan served as managing partner at Korn Ferry, directing interim solutions within private equity and life sciences, and managing partner of Patina Solutions, which was acquired by Korn Ferry in 2022. She was also partner and chief executive officer of The Pentad Group, a Boston-based consulting firm which she founded in 2004. Ms. McLellan completed the successful acquisition of The Pentad Group to Accretive Solutions, then led the subsequent acquisition to Patina Solutions.

As managing partner of Focus Search Partners’ interim leadership division, Ms. McLellan leads business development and the recruiting and delivery teams. Her team brings a wealth of deep industry expertise, coupled with hands-on, functional knowledge. With an average of 25 years of experience, they excel at sourcing and identifying the right on-demand talent.

“It’s been exciting to witness the evolution of interim leadership solutions in recent years,” said Ms. McLellan. “Today, more and more leaders are choosing to engage with organizations on an interim basis to help them solve their most pressing business challenges. At Focus Search Partners, I’m proud to be a part of a high-performing team dedicated to delivering on-demand talent that helps our clients with their business imperatives.”

Focus Search Partners was acquired by Vaco in 2014 to become the retained executive search division of the global talent solutions firm. With 35-plus team members and 13 partners across nine states, Focus Search Partners specializes in building teams to grow companies, focusing on recruiting board members, executives, and senior-level individuals.

Founded in 2002 by Jerry Bostelman, Jay Hollomon, and Brian Waller, Brentwood, TN-based Vaco provides boutique-level service with global reach in executive search, consulting, permanent placement and strategic staffing. Its areas of expertise include accounting, finance, technology, healthcare IT, operations, administration, and managed services. The firm operates more than 35 offices, with 780-plus employees and 4,300 consultants worldwide.

Past Expansion

Earlier this year, Focus Search Partners expanded with the addition of Joseph Solari as managing director. In this role, Focus says that Mr. Solari will be focused on helping business owners and management teams solve problems, capitalize on opportunities, and increase the enterprise value of their companies. “Joe’s extensive experience with private equity-backed firms – combined with his entrepreneurial mindset and consultative approach – makes him an instrumental asset to our team,” said Mr. Frankenberg. “Between our recent additions of Seth Blumenthal in Philadelphia, Michael Caggiano in Washington, D.C., and now Joe Solari in the New York Tri-State area, Focus Search Partners has firmly established an East Coast presence. We look forward to utilizing Joe’s leadership to drive continued success for our clients, solidifying our ongoing commitment to growing our partner presence in the Northeast.”

Mr. Solari over more than 25 years of experience providing private equity firms and their portfolio companies with retained and interim executive search, as well as advisory services. He previously held senior roles at private equity firms Saugatuck Capital and Metropolitan Partners Group, as well as experienced gain with Korn Ferry. He founded Greenwich Private Investments in 2019 and continues to serve as a senior advisor to G*Ventures Management.

Related: Vaco Appoints President

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

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