Hanold Associates Recruits Chief People Officer for Grenzebach Glier and Associates
April 27, 2023 – Sonia Nagra, Sandra Peña, and Meg McElroy of Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search have assisted in the recruitment of Karen Rasch as chief people officer for Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A). In this role, she will develop and operationalize a people strategy that will attract, develop, and retain top talent at the firm. Ms. Rasch will lead the company’s growing HR team and have a dual reporting relationship to both CEO John Glier and president Suzanne Hilser-Wiles. Ms. Rasch brings more than 25 years of experience to her role, with expertise in recruiting, talent acquisition and management, professional development and training, advancement support, human resources, and communications. She previously served in director positions in talent management for several universities domestically and overseas. These include Georgetown University and its branch campus in Qatar, Loyola University Maryland, Northeastern University in Boston, and most recently Washington State University (WSU).
At WSU, Ms. Rasch served as the first senior director of talent management, supporting talent development, ongoing learning, performance management, and career pathing for advancement professionals across the university system. Moreover, she served as the lead recruiter for dozens of successful searches – including three associate vice president positions – and consulted on a variety of searches for senior leadership roles. She also launched an advancement mentorship program, served on WSU’s COVID taskforce, and facilitated multiple talent management sponsored trainings and team retreats.
Previously, as the director of talent management at Shorelight Education, Ms. Rasch guided global talent management efforts for a leading international student marketplace connecting international students, universities, and service providers. Among her many professional contributions, she has developed curriculum for customized trainings, created strategies and frameworks for companywide recruitment and retention efforts, and managed performance evaluation systems and processes. Notably, at Georgetown, Ms. Rasch supported the university’s $1.5 billion campaign through recruiting, screening, and interviewing candidates for a 225-person advancement team.
GG+A is a full-service philanthropic management consulting firm. The company has provided philanthropic consulting services to more than 3,000 non-profits in five areas: higher education, independent schools, healthcare and academic medicine, arts and culture, and civic organizations. Its client partners have conducted 112 of the 175 campaigns of $1 billion or more completed to date. GG+A was founded in 1961 and developed early relationships with a diverse range of members of the non-profit sector, including Antioch and Berea colleges, South Chicago Community Services, and the YMCA. Headquartered in Chicago’s Loop, the firm also maintains an office in London with a total team of 110 employees.
Proven HR and Diversity Recruiters
Hanold Associates is a boutique executive search firm focused on HR and diversity and inclusion officers. Its client list is diverse across industries, geographies, and business scenarios, and culture is at the core of everything the firm does. Its clients include the National Football League, Zoom, Domino’s Pizza, Under Armour, Gucci, Tom Brady’s TB12, Kohler, REI, Live Nation Entertainment, Dick’s Sporting Goods, McDonald’s, Major League Baseball, Kellogg, Apollo, Big Ten Conference, Blackstone, TPG, L Catterton, Northwestern University, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Electronic Arts, Fiat-Chrysler, SC Johnson, eBay, Moderna, Hillrom, Great Place To Work, Fossil, Vail Resorts, AbbVie, Carnival Corp., Biogen, Allstate, Bridgestone, Wikimedia, ClubCorp, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Ford Motor Co., among others.
Related: Hanold Associates Recruits Chief People Officer for The Howard Hughes Corp.
Ms. Nagra focuses on recruiting HR talent across various functions and industries. She brings years of diverse experience leveraging her organizational and relationship building skills to help recruit premier HR leaders. Before joining Hanold Associates last year, Ms. Nagra was a senior HR and operations administrator for Axxiome Group, a financial services IT consulting firm based in Europe.
Hanold Associates Recruits SVP of HR and Diversity for New York Giants
Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search has recruited Celeste Bell as senior vice president of HR and diversity for the New York Giants. The assignment was led by Jason Hanold, Lisa Yae, Ivy Arlia, and Meg McElroy. In this newly created role, Ms. Bell will lead all HR and DEI Initiatives and will be responsible for continuing to develop and implement policies, procedures, and practices that positively impact employees and lead to better business outcomes. She will develop a cohesive function that supports the team, the business, and its people, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ms. Bell will report directly to CEO and president John Mara and serve as a key member of the senior leadership team.
Ms. Peña focuses on the recruitment of human resource professionals across industries including learning and development, talent management, HRBP, total rewards, talent acquisition, organizational development, and diversity and inclusion. Prior to joining Hanold Associates, she was an executive recruiter for Korn Ferry where she specialized in the recruitment of chief financial officers and finance executives. Prior to Korn Ferry, Ms. Peña was senior director of business development and account management for Latin America and the U.S. for the Corporate Executive Board in the information technology practice. Her experience also includes roles in business development for Latin America at Euromonitor International, a U.K.-based market research and consulting firm, and as senior international sales specialist for Alliance Laundry Systems, a commercial laundry equipment manufacturer in Wisconsin.
Ms. McElroy is an associate with Hanold Associates and focuses on recruiting human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion leaders across multiple industries and functions. Previously, she was director of recruitment and selection for Northwestern Mutual. There, she grew from developing and expanding the organization’s campus program to recruiting full-time professionals in the financial services industry.
Related: Hanold Associates Places Chief People and Culture Officer for Save the Children U.S.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
