Juno Search Partners Recruits CFO for Council for Relationships
March 20, 2025 – Philadelphia-based executive search firm Juno Search Partners LLC, has placed Mary K. Mackey as the new CFO of Council for Relationships. “Juno Search Partners has made my placement as CFO at Council for Relationships seamless and personable, perfectly embodying CFR’s mission of strengthening interpersonal relationships,” said Ms. Mackey. “I am truly honored to step into this role and excited to work alongside such passionate, talented people in support of a mission that transforms lives and strengthens communities.”
“Mary’s leadership and financial expertise will play a key role in advancing Council for Relationships’ mission of providing accessible, specialized, and expert mental health services,” Juno Search Partners said in a LinkedIn post. “We’re thrilled to have connected such a strong financial leader with an organization making a real impact in the community.”
Ms. Mackey is a seasoned financial executive with over 15 years of experience in finance and accounting. She currently serves as the chief financial officer at the American Board of Surgery (ABS), a role she assumed in 2022. Ms. Mackey’s journey with the ABS began in 2015 when she started consulting for the organization. Her expertise and dedication led to her appointment as controller in 2018. In her capacity as CFO, she is responsible for ensuring the financial integrity of the enterprise through effective management of corporate financial resources. Her duties encompass leadership and oversight of economic strategies, operational corporate planning, financing needs, budgeting, forecasting, cash and investment management, financial reporting and analysis, accounting, and payroll.
Prior to joining the ABS, Ms. Mackey amassed 18 years of experience in public accounting, specializing in audit, compilations, accounting, tax, and forensics. She later transitioned to the non-profit sector, providing finance and accounting consultancy services to various organizations, including medical and professional entities, educational institutions, urban youth groups, and environmental companies.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Council for Relationships is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people from all walks of life improve their important relationships by providing exemplary therapy, educating and training clinicians in the family systems approach, and advancing the mental health field through research. More than 70 therapists and psychiatrists provide counseling to individuals, couples, and families in-person at 10 offices and community-based locations in the greater Philadelphia area and online across PA and NJ.
Related: A Look at How the CFO Role in Private Equity is Evolving
Juno specializes in contingent search, contractor placement, executive search and custom talent solutions for employers to grow and sustain their workforce.
CFO’s Increasing Importance
CFOs are being asked to play an ever-broader role. “The tumultuous environment companies are operating within demand a different skill-set in the CFO chair,” said ON Partners co-president Tim Conti. “CFOs are playing a critical strategic role in companies, not only to pull levers necessary to secure a company’s financial platform, but also to position the company to emerge in a strong competitive positioning in a marketplace where not all will survive. This requires the CFO to lead from the front, be strategic and savvy, to navigate a company through choppy waters. When boards and CEOs do not have confidence that they have this strategic CFO, then they have no choice but to seek out an alternative.”
“In times like these, where businesses demand hyper-agility, being a functional specialist isn’t good enough,” said Bryan Buck, partner at ON Partners. “It’s required now that CFOs can see around corners and understand the physical (and digital) trends that are reshaping their world – and then act quickly. They need to think like P&L owners – not like accountants. Regardless of the product or service their company offers, customer expectations have changed. And the CFOs in highest demand right now are the ones who have proven to be nimble and business-focused enough to drive organization’s to where the puck is moving (both organically and inorganically).”
Financial Services is Booming, CFO Role Continues to Evolve
Despite economic uncertainty and the challenges of finding top talent, the financial sector continues to change and grow. Interviewed by Hunt Scanlon Media, search leaders who specialize in the sector offer their insights on the path forward, the CFO’s responsibilities, and more.
This business environment is also putting more pressure on CFOs. “There’s definitely more need for CFOs to operate with transparency around the realities of the market conditions, how those conditions are impacting the business in the short and long term, and what strategic steps are being taken to address the challenges faced,” said Mr. Conti. “Shareholders understand that market conditions are challenging, and they’ll be more patient in these unique times, but only if they have confidence in the CFO’s leadership and strategy.”
“Yes – and it’s industry-agnostic,” Mr. Buck added. “For public companies specifically, those in negatively impacted sectors are trying to survive the rapid slow down, and maintain various levels of ongoing business operations, while planning and positioning for a potential recovery that could happen within the next few quarters…or the next few years,” he said. “Public finance leaders on the other end of that spectrum are seeing tremendous growth and demand, but they’re also cognizant that current share price reflects Wall Street’s expectation of perfection – leaving no room for quarterly missteps.”
Related: Forward from Finance: From CFO to CEO
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
