JM Search Recruits CEO for Inventive-Group
January 6, 2025 – JM Search, a senior-level talent provider serving private equity investors, portfolio companies, and Fortune 1000s, has helped to recruit Erik Nelson as the new CEO of Inventive-Group in Mountain Home, ID. Andrew Henry, Jim McGinley, and Tucker Twitmyer led this assignment. “JM Search are honored to have helped with this effort,” the firm said in a LinkedIn post. “Please join us in congratulating Erik and the Inventive Group team as they embark on this exciting new chapter.” JM Search has now placed more than 730 private company executives in the last 18 months.
With over 25 years of experience in the consumer & recreational products, marine, agricultural and hearth industries, Mr. Nelson is a passionate and innovative leader with a vision to create and build outward focused companies and brands that deliver results. His core competencies include startups creation & management, positioning, channel development, revenue growth and international sales.
Mr. Nelson formerly served as CEO of Outward Ag, where he constructed and led a team of professionals who were committed to delivering a personal experience and ensuring the company’s partners’ success. Prior to that, he was the general manager and VP snowmobile and international at Arctic Cat, where he oversaw the global expansion and performance of the snowmobile and international business units. Mr. Nelson also served as the director international sales at Arctic Cat for all products, where he developed and executed product and commercial strategies to grow the company’s presence and market share in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Inventive Group, renowned for its manufacturing of high-quality parts and accessories for tow trucks and other vehicles, is backed by Matt Blevins and Anton Terlovsky of Clearview Capital, L.P. and Gianladis Jim of Vertikal Brands.
Advisors to CEOs, Investors, and Boards
JM Search is an advisor to CEOs, investors, and boards of directors in recruiting, assessing, and delivering high performance leaders and transformational leadership teams. Its clients include private equity firms and portfolio companies, venture capital-backed businesses, and publicly held companies across North America. Founded in 1980, the JM Search recruiting team brings together former operating and financial executives, investors and experienced search professionals with deep industry specialization, functional expertise, and proven access to talent spanning multiple industry sectors.
Mr. Henry is a managing partner and co-leader of the healthcare & life sciences practice at JM Search. He has over 20 years of executive search experience across the healthcare industry. Mr. Henry specializes in building differentiated leadership teams for organizations, ranging from private equity and growth equity firms and their portfolio companies to Fortune 100 companies.
Related: JM Search Recruits CEO for Colony Display
Mr. McGinley joined JM Search over 20 years ago and has been instrumental to the firm’s growth. A partner in the firm, he focuses on recruiting CEOs, C-suite executives, and other senior leaders for private equity-backed businesses and publicly traded companies. His clients span the industrial sector, and he leads the firm’s industrial technology practice, where he recruits in segments that include test and measurement, industrial automation, analytical instrumentation, and sensors. Since he joined JM Search in 1998, Mr. McGinley has been recruited across many industries, including industrial manufacturing, packaging, food, and consumer products.
Transforming Portfolio Companies and Driving Value Creation via Human Capital
At the beginning of last year, Gartner predicted a 20 percent rise in turnover rate across industries. Heightened inflation, rising interest rates, post-pandemic priority shifts, and hybrid work preferences have created a fierce scrimmage for companies worldwide trying to hire the people necessary to drive long-term profits.
These challenges are compounded for private equity firms with numerous portfolio companies, according to a report from JM Search’s Trista McCarthy. “Aside from achieving sustainable growth, your team is tasked with ensuring that each company in your portfolio can hire and retain talent for everything from line-level openings to vacancies in the boardroom and C-suite,” said the study. “Because at the end of the day, a healthy EBITDA and proper valuation are only possible with the right people in critical positions.”
Ms. Twitmyer is a principal in JM Search’s industrial practice. He focuses on recruiting CEOs, investment professionals, presidents, COOs, and CSOs for private equity, family, and sponsor-backed companies in the manufacturing, industrial, and infrastructure industries. His background combines experience as a private equity general partner with several successful exits as a P&L operating executive.
Past Search
Kristian Shannon and Jocelyn Scott of JM Search recently recruited Gary Santo as CEO of RX Green Technologies, a producer of commercial cultivation supplies for the cannabis industry. He replaced Wes Matelich, who will remain on the board as an advisor. “With such a strong foundation in place, RX Green Technologies is ready to scale,” said Mr. Matelich. “Following an extensive search led by myself and the board, we are excited to add a leader with Gary’s depth of experience in the cannabis industry and strong history of transformational leadership. Together with his passion for serving customers and brand partners and proven track record of developing and inspiring lean, high-performance teams, we believe Gary is the right person to take RX Green to the next level and accelerate the company’s growth opportunities.”
Related: JM Search Assists LiiV in the Recruitment of New CFO
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
