JR Partners Appoints President
February 3, 2017 – Executive search firm JR Partners has named Josh Gonnella as president and senior managing partner. He will be based primarily in Connecticut and New York with responsibility for the firm’s global activities. The firm has 20 years of experience specializing in financial services, global hospitality, and the digital media sectors.
Mr. Gonnella joins founding partner and chief operating officer Joe Wein to lead the organization. He brings experience and a diverse career in financial services to the firm. Prior to accepting his new position, he held senior managing director roles at Lloyds Bank. There, he was head of rates sales within Lloyds’ financial markets division based in London. Upon his transfer to Lloyds’ New York City office in 2014, Mr. Gonnella served as head of financial institutions for the Americas.
Before joining Lloyds Bank, he was managing director and global co-head of interest rates sales at UBS, located in both Stamford, CT and London. Mr. Gonnella began his career at Deutsche Bank where he held various roles in interest rate derivative trading and sales including European head of rates sales.
He also has previous experience in executive search. Mr. Gonnella joined London based Omerta Group as managing partner for North America in 2013 as that firm set out to expand its overseas presence.
“We are extremely excited to announce our new partnership with Josh Gonnella,” said Joe Wein, an executive search veteran who founded JR Partners in 2002. “Josh has the substantial breadth of experience, the in-depth product knowledge and the global network to differentiate our firm from other executive search companies.”
Leadership Appointments Rising at Search Firms
Executive search firms are clearly adept at finding just the right talent for their clients, but when it comes to recruiting top leadership for their own businesses the task can become quite challenging, and often, tricky. After all, recruiters are known to be uber picky on behalf of their clients – so just think what happens when they become the client in need. What many search firms are doing is bringing in leaders from outside the recruiting sector, but who bring industry or functional expertise in an area the search firm specializes in ….. Here’s some further reading from Hunt Scanlon Media.
Snodgrass Partners Names President
Snodgrass Partners said that Tom Jacobs will transition from sports recruitment partner to firm president. Founder Steve Snodgrass, who previously served as president and chief executive officer, will remain CEO. He was a 28-year athletics administration veteran before joining the firm last year.
There have been a number of other leadership appointments at search firms in recent months, many focused on strategy, growth, branding efforts, and operations. Here’s a look at several taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
- U.K.-based executive search firm HW – Global Talent Partner tapped Spencer Jinks to serves as its new CEO. He took over from founding director John Wakeford, who headed the business for six years and now concentrates on growing the firm’s financial services, CFO and chair & NED practice. Mr. Jinks has been with the search firm for almost a decade, having joined as a director in 2007 after six years as executive recruitment director at the Caudwell Group.
- Futurestep, a Korn Ferry company that provides talent acquisition solutions, named Bill Gilbert as president of Futurestep North America. He leads the strategy and growth efforts for both its search and solutions businesses in the region. In addition, he will drive the Futurestep strategy across the region and continue to work closely with Korn Ferry and Korn Ferry Hay Group colleagues to ensure an integrated approach.
- Executive search firm Slone Partners named Leslie Loveless as its CEO. She succeeds Adam Slone, who founded the firm in 2000. Ms. Loveless joined Slone Partners in 2007 and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2014.
- Tatum, an interim services and executive search firm, appointed Macon Albertson as its new president. He replaces Kathryn Bolt, who held the role on an interim basis but will continue to serve as group president of Tatum and Randstad Professionals. Mr. Albertson previously served as SVP of Randstad Professionals.
- Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting appointed Alan G. Medders Ph.D. as its new president. Dr. Medders has had a distinguished career in higher education and foundation administration, fundraising, planned giving, marketing, communications, and fiduciary and asset management. Most recently, he was with Columbus State University in Georgia where he served as VP for university advancement and executive director of the CSU Foundation.
- Sucherman Group named Jamie Waldron as its new president. Mr. Waldron, based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, oversees the firm’s executive search practice. With more than two decades of West Coast leadership, Mr. Waldron has placed dozens of senior level executives at top media companies within the entertainment and social media sectors.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
