Heidrick & Struggles Lands New CEO for Search Firm Lucas Group

August 22, 2019 – Executive recruitment firms have made a number of top leadership appointments in the past year, many focused on strategy, growth, branding efforts and operations. The latest: Atlanta, GA-headquartered executive search firm Lucas Group has appointed Randy Marmon as president and CEO. He succeeds Andi Jennings, who has led the firm since 2009 and will remain a member of Lucas Group’s board of directors and a principal company consultant.

“From my first day on the job as a sales and marketing recruiter in 1977 to the last decade as president and CEO, I’ve dedicated my career to ensuring Lucas Group remained the nation’s leader in executive recruiting through unwavering customer focus,” said Ms. Jennings. “This has been an incredible journey for me. I am proud to pass the privilege of leading Lucas Group on to Randy, whose reputation and accomplishments – both professional and personal – truly speak for themselves.”

In an unusual twist, Mr. Marmon’s appointment follows a comprehensive search that was conducted by Heidrick & Struggles and spearheaded by Ms. Jennings and Carolina King, chief people officer, on behalf of Lucas Group’s board of directors.

“Randy’s deep strategic and operational expertise uniquely positions him for this role, at this moment,” said Ms. Jennings. “I am excited to welcome him into Lucas Group’s rich history and look forward to the business vision, cultural energy, and innovative growth his leadership will bring.”

Mr. Marmon began his career as a public accountant in 1987 and was quickly recruited into the human capital industry by Norrell Services in 1989. He subsequently joined Kforce, where he progressed through the company during his 21-year tenure. In 1997, he was tapped to launch the national accounts division and within three years, the team contributed over 25 percent of the company’s technology and accounting and finance revenue. He was named president of the firm’s Midwest region in 2004 and ultimately rose to the newly created role of chief customer officer, where he served until late 2013. In 2014, Mr. Marmon founded a boutique advisory firm, Human Capital Transformation, and began consulting with a number of HCM firms, including P2P Staffing and its technology staffing arm, TekPartners. Mr. Marmon joined TekPartners as chief strategy officer in 2016 and most recently served as an executive advisor.

“Given Lucas Group’s track record of delivering unparalleled results for clients and candidates, I’m honored to lead the market’s recognized standard-bearer in executive recruitment into its next 50 years,” said Mr. Marmon. “I look forward to working alongside the incredible team of professionals that Andi Jennings has assembled here and am excited to share my 30 years of HCM experience with a company that is acutely positioned for growth and transformation.”

Lucas Group works with mid-tier to Fortune 500 clients in consumer products, energy (oil, gas, chemicals and alternatives), aerospace and defense, call center and customer services, global supply chain management, industrial products, food and beverage, and biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device services. In addition to serving the legal sector, the firm’s practice groups includes accounting and finance, human resources, IT, manufacturing, legal, sales and marketing, and military transition. It has more than 300 affiliate recruiters in offices throughout the U.S.

Leadership Appointments Rising at Search Firms

Top leadership appointments have been gaining traction at executive search firms over the past year. Here’s a look at several examples taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Dubai-headquartered Pedersen & Partners named Gary Williams as its new CEO replacing founder Poul Pedersen has assumed the role of executive chairman. Mr. Williams has over 17 years of executive search consulting experience. He joined Pedersen & Partners in 2014 as the head of South East Asia. 

Global recruiting organization Amrop has appointed Federico Cuneo as CEO and chairman of its executive board. He replaced José I. Leyún as CEO. As an executive board member of the Amrop Partnership, and a partner and director of Amrop Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador since 2005, Mr. Cuneo brings organizational experience, entrepreneurial energy and a global perspective to the role.

The RSA Group, which is based in London and focuses on the life sciences sector, has appointed executive chairman Nick Stephens as its CEO. Alex Bennett recently stepped down from the top post.  Mr. Stephens has been with RSA since 1986 and leads the firm’s board services practice, handling about five or six C-level assignments each year. 

U.K.-headquartered executive search firm VMAGROUP has appointed Andrew Harvey as CEO. He succeeds Julia Meighan, who moves into the role of chair. Mr. Harvey came to the firm in 2013, and for the last two years has been U.K. executive director, responsible for the growth and development of all aspects of the U.K. business.

Waltham, MA-based WinterWyman appointed Scott Ragusa as president, succeeding Bob Boudreau, who had been CEO since 2002. Mr. Ragusa was previously president of WinterWyman’s contract staffing and contingency search businesses. He will now be the executive in charge of companywide operations as the firm shifts away from retained recruiting to contingency and interim work.

Egon Zehnder appointed Edilson Camara as its new CEO. He took over from Rajeev Vasudeva, who stepped down in October after holding the position since 2014. Based in Toronto, Mr. Camara assumed the role immediately, becoming the sixth CEO in the firm’s 55-year history. 

Perth, Australia-based executive search firm Gerard Daniels appointed Alison Gaines as the company’s global CEO. Following a 12-year tenure as the head of its board consulting practice and recently as managing partner of Gerard Daniels’ Asia Pacific practice, Ms. Gaines will now lead the firm to continue to drive growth across all regions and offices.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

Share This Article

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments