hyrUP Acquires Evolve Partners
December 3, 2025 – hyrUP, an executive search and recruiting firm specializing in accounting, finance, technology, and operations, has acquired boutique search firm Evolve Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Our mission has always been to combine speed, precision, and partnership in how we help companies hire,” said Andrew Feldman, co-founder and co-CEO of hyrUP. “Evolve Partners shares our values and commitment to providing an elevated client experience. Together, we’re creating a more tailored, technology-enabled approach to executive and direct hire search that meets the evolving needs of our clients.”
“Over the past 14 years, Evolve Partners has built a reputation for helping growth-stage companies secure world-class finance and accounting talent to accelerate scale and success,” said Kate Brogden, founder and president of Evolve Partners. “Joining forces with hyrUP allows us to further scale that impact, offering clients the same trusted partnership they know, now with expanded reach, resources, and expertise.”
The acquisition marks a significant milestone in hyrUP’s ongoing growth strategy and reinforces its commitment to delivering client-centric search solutions nationwide. By integrating Evolve Partners’ expertise, hyrUP will expand its reach across key markets while deepening its specialization in finance and executive talent.
As part of the acquisition, Ms. Brogden will join hyrUP’s leadership team. She brings more than 15 years of recruiting and executive search experience and is known for her focus on strategic partnerships and market insight—helping founders and executives align hiring needs with business goals and market realities. She will be joined by Lexi Rawlings.
“The integration of Evolve Partners enhances hyrUP’s ability to serve companies undergoing growth, transformation, and transaction-driven change,” said Mr. Feldman. “This is another step toward our vision of being the go-to partner for organizations seeking exceptional finance and leadership talent.”
“We’re excited about the future of hyrUP’s growth plan as we continue expanding our talent solutions nationwide,” George Graves, co-founder of hyrUP added. “The addition of Evolve Partners strengthens our ability to deliver a more strategic, relationship-driven experience for our clients and candidates.”
Recent Deals
Hunt Scanlon Ventures has facilitated a number of M&A transactions across the executive search space in recent months. Here is a look at a few:
Talento Human Capital has acquired R2 Global, a highly respected technology recruitment and staffing firm known for its niche expertise across cloud & data, business systems, and e-commerce. This strategic move will expand TalentoHC’s existing footprint in the technology sector and launch, as well as strengthen, its technology search & staffing service lines. “The combination of TalentoHC’s talent acquisition expertise with R2’s deep technical focus marks an exciting new chapter for both organizations,” said Juan Gaitan, CEO of TalentoHC, based in Coral Gables, FL. “R2’s agile approach to technology staffing and recruiting aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver tailored recruitment solutions. Together, as R2 Powered by Talento, we are positioned to become a premier go-to partner for IT talent and innovation,” he added. “TalentoHC and R2 Global customers will benefit tremendously from the portfolio of human capital offerings that the combined organizations now provide,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO and co-founder of Hunt Scanlon Ventures.
Global talent advisory firm ZRG has acquired Aspen Leadership Group, a search firm focused on placing and supporting top fundraising leaders and executive talent in educational institutions and the broader non-profit sector. “The addition of Aspen Leadership Group is nothing short of transformative,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Their expertise in development and advancement is the perfect complement to our growing education practice, and as we roll into 2025 we are unlocking the collective power of these exceptional niche businesses under the unified banner of ZRG’s education practice, creating unmatched solutions for academic and non-profit leadership.” Aspen Leadership Group, established in 2013, conducts a wide range of searches across the fundraising, education and non-profit sector and is widely considered the eminent leader in its field. Its clients include Brown University, PBS, Robin Hood, the Humane Society of the United States, the Leakey Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Denver Zoological Foundation, among others.
Talento Human Capital (TalentoHC) has acquired The PeterSan Group and PeterSan Legal Staffing. The merger brings expertise in legal recruiting to TalentoHC’s customer experience model and comprehensive human capital services, including retained executive search, professional and management recruiting, RPO, staff augmentation, and human capital consulting. Managing partners Peter Gosule, Peter Goldfeder, and Sandy Friedman of The PeterSan Group will lead the TalentoLegal business unit from New York City, where the firm has been rooted for three decades. “The PeterSan transaction fits in well with our platform strategy as we build onto our customer-centric model and expand our industry and functional vertical focus,” said Juan Gaitan, CEO of TalentoHC, based in Coral Gables, FL. “The intersection of these two approaches will create opportunities for continued growth and value for our customers, candidates, associates and shareholders.”
ZRG acquired Jamesbeck, a New York City-based recruitment firm specializing in senior-level talent for the broad investment management community across private market and traditional firms. “This strategic move aims to establish ZRG’s presence in asset management and will support the firm’s existing private markets clients by adding a new channel for senior roles at the management company level across investments, product, and fundraising,” said ZRG. “Jamesbeck has been at the forefront of decisive changes that have impacted asset management leadership for more than two decades,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “The firm’s acquisition by ZRG will be beneficial to clients across the global investment management space who have come to rely on its network, judgment and guidance around senior-level leadership talent,” he noted. Jamesbeck specializes in the investment management industry across public and private markets. The firm recruits senior-level talent across investing, distribution, product and C-suite positions on behalf of a range of clients from boutiques to the largest multi-product organizations. Jamesbeck’s Melissa Norris, managing partner, and Beth Rustin, founding partner, will become the co-heads of asset management search at ZRG.
Related: How Search Firms are Winning Through M&A and Unlocking Value
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
