Hanold Associates Places CHRO at Vulcan
June 5, 2017 – Executive recruiters are in hot pursuit of chief human resources officers (CHRO) and other senior level HR leaders across the nation. The best HR chiefs are seen as integral strategic advisors to the C-suite and the ones in demand are those who are sounding boards for CEOs. Why such pent up demand for top flight HR experts?
According to executive recruiters, corporate leaders are hiring more like-minded sophisticated, proactive, strategic HR individuals with strong business savvy to drive their people capabilities just as they would a P&L.
The recruitment of these executives continues to be critical for companies. In the latest instance: Hanold Associates placed Tim Mulligan as CHRO for Seattle-headquartered Vulcan Inc. Jason Hanold, CEO and co-managing partner of the search firm, led the search.
Reporting to CEO Bill Hilf, Mr. Mulligan leads a team of HR professionals and will build and implement strategies that support Vulcan’s growth projects. His focus is on the strategy behind design and implementation of best-in-class systems and solutions that are flexible enough to adapt with the rapidly evolving philanthropic, media, science, technology and commercial efforts of Vulcan. “Tim is an accomplished and talented HR leader whose diverse passions and capabilities align perfectly with the multi-faceted pursuits of the incredibly talented leadership team at Vulcan,” said Mr. Hanold.
C-Suite Shuffle
CHROs have made big strides as strategic game changers and sounding boards for CEOs. The best ones have become critical C-suite players. That is making the hunt for first-rate HR leaders a highly competitive effort ….. Here’s some further reading from Hunt Scanlon Media.
Shelli Herman and Associates Lands CHRO for San Diego Zoo
To replace Tim Mulligan as CHRO of the San Diego Zoo, Shelli Herman and Associates was tapped to work on the assignment. The firm placed Rob Spooner recently as CHRO and he begins serving the internationally acclaimed institution in June.
Vulcan is a private company founded by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and these days a renowned philanthropist and investor. It was founded in 1986 and oversees Mr. Allen’s diverse business activities and philanthropic endeavors — from sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers to conservation projects like the Great Elephant Census to the Seattle Cinerama and Museum of Pop Culture, among others. The company’s mission is to find solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenge.
HR Search Consultants
Headquartered in Chicago, Hanold Associates is a boutique search firm specializing in HR officer assignments, serving clients such as REI, Patagonia, Nike, UFC, Moderna, Marvin Companies, Medtronic, Fiat-Chrysler, Godiva, eBay, Northwestern, Fossil, Carnival Corporation, Northwestern Medicine and Outward Bound.
The firm recently launched five CHRO searches for client companies, including Foundation Medicine, Hygien, and Vail Resorts. “We witnessed an unusual year in that we saw an uptick right before the year-end holidays, and then a long pause, pre and post-inauguration until about the mid-February, and then the floodgates opened,” said Mr. Hanold. “Company leaders were waiting to see how the markets would respond to the early days of the new administration.”
CHRO Recruiting
Hunt Scanlon Media has tracked a number of CHRO search assignments in recent months. Here’s a sampling taken from the company’s daily newswire archives:
Neumann Executive Search Partners was recently retained by both Fordham University and Clark University to fill their top human resources posts. Principal and founder Liz Neumann, vice president Mo Lashendock, and principal Amy Sugin are leading the assignments.
Pi Executive recruited Marco A. Leal as CHRO of Ajinomoto Windsor, a top manufacturer of Asian / Ethnic foods. The search was conducted by partner and board member Pierre Trippitelli and assisted by director Katherine MacLane. Mr. Leal brings over 20 years of experience developing world class HR organizations within fast growing consumer goods companies.
Boyden recruited Heather Laychak as CHRO of The Aerospace Corporation. Tim McNamara, managing partner of Boyden’s Washington, D.C. office and a leader in the firm’s aerospace, defense & intelligence and global transportation sectors, led the search. Ms. Laychak comes to Aerospace from Mattel, where she was the senior director of talent management.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Chase Barbe, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media