GHP Search Recruits Trustees for Ascend Charter Schools
May 8, 2025 – Executive search for board directors is a critical process for organizations aiming to enhance governance, drive strategic decision-making, and foster long-term growth. Board directors play an essential role in shaping corporate policies, ensuring regulatory compliance, and providing oversight to executive management. As a result, identifying and recruiting highly qualified individuals for these positions is not merely a task of filling seats but a strategic imperative that demands precision, foresight, and a deep understanding of organizational needs.
Recruiters tell Hunt Scanlon Media that the process of executive search for board directors and trustees is inherently complex and requires a tailored approach. Recruitment firms specializing in this area often begin by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the organization’s current board composition, strategic goals, and industry landscape. This analysis helps define the ideal candidate profile, which typically includes expertise in relevant sectors, experience in leadership roles, and a proven ability to navigate challenges. In addition to technical skills, emphasis is placed on diversity—encompassing gender, ethnicity, and professional background—to ensure the board benefits from varied perspectives.
GHP Search, formerly known as Greenwich Harbor Partners, recently assisted in the recruitment of Jay Bhinde and Sandra Kappell as new members of the board of trustees for Ascend Charter Schools, a Brooklyn-based network of K-12 public charter schools.
Mr. Bhinde is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience driving digital innovation and leading business and digital transformations. He specializes in advising C-suite executives and boards on solving complex organizational challenges, leveraging digital strategies to unlock growth opportunities and enhance operational performance. Mr. Bhinde has held impactful leadership roles at global organizations, including Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Deloitte, Accenture, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers, where he consistently delivered measurable results. As a successful entrepreneur, he has launched and scaled multiple customer-centric ventures, transforming innovative ideas into thriving businesses across diverse industries.
Ms. Kappell is the founder of Trakehner Leadership, a human resources and leadership consulting firm. With a strong foundation in talent development and HR, her expertise focuses on business transformation and operational excellence. She specializes in change management, communications, benefits and compensation, payroll, talent strategy, HR operations, forecasting, and budgeting. Ms. Kappell has led organizations through significant changes, including acquisitions, dispositions, and startup ventures within larger entities. Previously, she was assistant general manager/chief human resources officer at The Metropolitan Opera, chief administrative officer at Madison Square Garden Company, contributing to the development of the Sphere. At Cablevision, Inc., Ms. Kappell was part of the leadership team that drove the company’s transformation and sale, resulting in a significant increase in stock price. At AIG, Inc., she was part of the global executive team that repaid the $2B loan from the U.S. government following the 2008 financial crisis.
Related: GHP Search Fills Board Positions with Literacy Partners
Ascend is a network of K-12 public charter schools serving nearly 6,000 students in 17 schools across Brooklyn. It opened its first school—Brooklyn Ascend Lower School in Brownsville—in 2008 to 210 students in grades K-2. Ascend has grown to a network of 17 public charter schools in Brooklyn educating nearly 6,000 students in grades K-12. Ascend schools are located in the Central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, Bushwick, Canarsie, Cypress Hills, East New York, East Flatbush, and Flatbush.
Proven Search Consultants
GHP Search’s principals, Carrie and Ted Pryor, have worked in the industry as general managers and investors and have direct professional experience with the types of issues that face their clients. The firm’s client roster includes IBM Cloud Services, Media General, Marlin Equity Partners, DIRECTV, SpinMedia, ReelzChannel TV, and Keurig Green Mountain, among others.
Leading and Scaling with Talent
Talent has become the cornerstone of value creation in private equity, shaping the success of portfolio companies and driving superior returns. As traditional levers like financial engineering and cost optimization face diminishing returns, private equity firms are increasingly focused on leadership and operational excellence to unlock growth. The role of talent leaders has never been more critical—they are the architects of transformative strategies, aligning people and processes to maximize organizational potential and achieve sustainable scalability.
Hunt Scanlon Media is convening hundreds of operating partners, chief talent officers, and executive recruiters at the Harvard Club in New York on May 15, 2025. We will examine the vital role talent professionals play in driving value creation—from shaping investment strategies and operational initiatives to fostering leadership excellence and organizational growth.
Ms. Pryor has over 20 years of senior executive search experience. She has recruited board directors, CEOs and their direct reports, as well as partners for private equity firms. In addition to holding a board seat with the New York Pops, she serves as an advisory board member for Constellation Ventures. A veteran of the internet space since the early ’90s, she has deep experience in digital media, entertainment, and private equity.
Mr. Pryor focuses on senior-level assignments for general management, sales, marketing, and digital transformation. He specializes in recruiting executives using his four years as CFO and CEO of a venture-backed start-up, 10 years at General Electric Capital, and 20 years in international finance and investment banking. Mr. Pryor has served on public, private, and non-profit boards, and chaired the audit committee for the NBA’s Boston Celtics. In executive recruiting, he has focused on business services, digital marketing, E-commerce, ad sales, place-based advertising, communications, and customer service for growth companies and large national brands.
Related: Greenwich Harbor Partners Fills Board Positions for Thrive Scholars Chicago
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
