Hanold Associates Places CHRO at Harvard Maintenance
October 3, 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 Toni Spinazzola as CHRO of Miami-based Harvard Maintenance, a top-ranked managed services provider. Jason Hanold, CEO and co-managing partner of the recruitment firm, led the search.
Ms. Spinazzola will report to Stanley Doobin, owner and president of Harvard Maintenance, and Nathalie Doobin, owner, president and CEO of Harvard Services Group and Harvard Enterprise Risk Solutions. As CHRO, Ms. Spinazzola will design, execute and lead the human resource capabilities and strategies to align with Harvard’s business plans, growth needs, culture and core values. She is also expected to play a critical role in driving Harvard’s vision, mission and values throughout the enterprise.
Previously, Ms. Spinazzola was executive vice president of HR at OvaScience, a publicly trade biotechnology company. Prior to that, she served as global VP of HR at Bruker Corp. She has also held various HR roles for Merck Group, Millipore Corp., and the former Boston Globe/New York Times Co.
“Toni brings the ideal experiences and leadership capabilities to Harvard to help shape the next phase of the organizational evolution, growth and significant scale,” said Mr. Hanold.
Harvard Maintenance is one of the largest and fastest growing privately owned providers of high quality managed services in the U.S. It provides services within commercial real estate, financial institutions, education, health care and controlled environments.
A CHRO View on Building Great Teams, From Inside and Out
Managing a large workforce at any company is no easy task. But when that workforce is 32,000 strong, it requires the steady hand of a top human resource leader who will keep everyone motivated, engaged, intact and forward thinking. And that’s across 160 countries encompassing every cultural nuance imaginable.
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:
WinterWyman Executive Search placed former Nortek executive Liam Weston as CHRO at Hollingsworth & Vose, a global manufacturer of advanced materials for filtration, battery and industrial applications. Senior vice president and partner Beverly Morgan led the search. Before joining H&V, Mr. Weston was CHRO for Nortek.
Los Angeles-headquartered executive search firm Shelli Herman and Associates placed Rob Spooner as the CHRO of the internationally acclaimed San Diego Zoo. President Shelli Herman led the search along with her associate, Michele Lyons. Mr. Spooner most recently was area director of colleague experience.
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 Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
