Isaacson, Miller Appoints New President and CEO

February 3, 2021 – The board of directors of Isaacson, Miller has appointed Ericka Miller as the firm’s next president and CEO. She will officially start her term on July 1, 2021, upon the retirement of current president Vivian Brocard. “As one of the first women of color to lead a major national executive search firm, Ericka brings a deep and lifelong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, consistent with Isaacson, Miller’s core values,” the search firm said. “Ericka has done an excellent job of building and leading our PreK-12 education and education improvement practice, chairing the promotions committee, and serving as an indispensable member of the board of directors,” said John Isaacson, founder and chair of Isaacson, Miller. “She distinguished herself with her colleagues on the board and was their unanimous choice for president and CEO,” Mr. Isaacson said. “They are both proud and grateful to welcome her as the successor to Vivian. Vivian has led the firm skillfully and leaves an outstanding legacy. She and Ericka will manage the transition together.”

“It’s truly an honor to be asked to lead Isaacson, Miller and build upon the superb leadership of Vivian Brocard, and the continued support of John Isaacson as the firm’s chair,” said Ms. Miller. “I returned to the firm in 2016 because I believe that the work that we do to strengthen and diversify the civic sector is critically important,” she said. “The unwavering commitment to high-quality service to our clients and the immensely talented search consultants who constitute the firm inspire me every day. I’m excited about the future.”

Having served as a partner at Isaacson, Miller from 2005 to 2007, Ms. Miller rejoined the firm as a partner with a broad education-focused practice in 2016. She has a wealth of leadership experience in the non-profit sector and government, as well as experience in the for-profit arena and academia. Her clients are located around the country and include preK-16 education non-profits, education advocacy organizations, foundations, scientific research societies, historically black colleges and universities, and social justice research institutes. Ms. Miller leads the firm’s preK-12 education and education improvement practice, and she serves on the firm’s executive committee.

Ms. Miller was a senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education in the Obama administration after being nominated for assistant secretary for postsecondary education in the U.S. Department of Education. She was a long-term client of Isaacson, Miller during her seven-year tenure as the chief operating officer of The Education Trust, a national research and advocacy organization based in D.C.. Ms. Miller managed an education consulting firm as president and COO, worked as a legislative adviser on Capitol Hill, and began her career as a faculty member at Mills College after completing her PhD in English literature at Stanford University. For much of her career, she has blended leadership and management with deep domain expertise in education.

Having served as a partner at Isaacson, Miller from 2005 to 2007, Ericka Miller rejoined the firm in 2016. Her education-focused practice is broad, mirroring her wide variety of experience. Her clients are located around the country and include preK-16 education non-profits, education advocacy organizations, foundations, scientific research societies, historically black colleges and universities, and social justice research institutes.

A member of Leadership Greater Washington’s Class of 2004, Ms. Miller currently serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Institute for Higher Education Policy, NWEA, National Summer Learning Association, and the community foundation ACT for Alexandria.

Serving Mission-Driven Organizations

A nationally recognized search firm focused on recruiting transformational leaders for mission-driven organizations, Isaacson, Miller has conducted thousands of placements over more than three decades. More than half of the firm’s work has been in academia, involving university presidents, college chancellors and deans.

The firm has filled top leadership posts at Wellesley College, Washington State University, Miami University, Howard University, Bowdoin College, Dartmouth, NYU, Virginia State University, and the University of North Carolina, among others. John Isaacson, the firm’s chair, founded Isaacson, Miller in 1982.

Leadership Appointments Rising at Recruiting Firms

Top leadership appointments, of men and women, 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:

San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has added a new president and chief operating officer to its leadership team as it seeks ways to drive and scale its human capital advisory service offerings. Joining Bespoke as president is Eric Walczykowski, a technology industry veteran who has served in leadership roles in business development, sales and marketing. He is charged with driving Bespoke’s transformation from a pure executive search firm to a full-service human capital advisory firm. Mark Hood joins as chief operating officer, bringing decades of experience in operations, management, and capital market activities. Mr. Hood will be expected to build the firm’s talent and management infrastructure to scale its capacity across multiple service lines, while sustaining the firm’s track record of performance, quality, and client satisfaction.

Chicago-headquartered referral recruiting service Hunt Club has expanded with the addition of Stephanie Tysdal as its chief operating officer. “Stephanie is incredibly customer focused. We spent our first conversation talking about all the ways that the recruiting industry (to date) has neglected using technology to change the customer and candidate experience,” said aid Nick Cromydas, co-founder and CEO. “She immediately understood the advantage our business can have by further unlocking our expert network marketplace to access the best candidates via trusted introductions. She’s spent time in archaic industries in benefits and logistics, redefining how to use technology, engineering, data science to deliver an unparalleled experience, and we’re really excited to have her deliver that for Hunt Club and the recruiting space.”

Executive recruitment firm Development Guild DDI, which focuses on the non-profit sector, has named Victoria Jones as president and Deborah Brown as chief operating officer. “I’m delighted to share that Victoria Jones is our new president,” said CEO Suzanne Weber. “Victoria’s new role along with the promotion of Deb Brown to COO will drive our continuous evolution as trusted, innovative partners to non-profit leaders.” Ms. Jones joined Development Guild 20 years ago and has served as the firm’s executive vice president for the past seven years. Ms. Brown joined Development Guild 20 years ago and has served as its senior vice president of finance and administration for the past eight years.

Global talent solutions provider Randstad Sourceright has appointed current EMEA managing director Michael Smith to the role of global CEO of Randstad Sourceright. He will assume the duties of current CEO Rebecca Henderson. Mr. Smith has 15 years of experience in the talent acquisition industry, working in operational and leadership roles across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. He currently manages the dual responsibilities of leading Randstad Sourceright EMEA and the Randstad UK operating company out of his post in Amsterdam.