Kincannon & Reed Expands Search Staff
May 29, 2020 – Waynesboro, VA-based executive search firm Kincannon & Reed has expanded with the addition of Jimmy Paulakuhn as managing director focusing on the talent acquisition needs of its animal agriculture clients. Based in North Carolina, Mr. Paulakuhn brings more than two decades of experience within these markets, including more than six years as director of commercial poultry operations at Pfizer and two years as Zoetis’s national sales director-U.S. poultry.
Mr. Paulakuhn’s experience on the executive leadership team as vice president of live operations with Mountaire Farms, along with his recent leadership in start-up organizations, brings a unique skill-set. “The combination of his experience with Kincannon & Reed’s search expertise has the potential to yield quality slates of thoroughly evaluated candidates for future clients,” the firm said.
“Jimmy’s arrival deepens our commitment to organizations that feed the world and keep it healthy,” said David Turner, president of Kincannon & Reed. “With a diverse background that includes high-level executive positions at both multinational companies and an animal nutrition start-up, he is uniquely qualified to help our clients acquire top talent.”
In March, Kincannon & Reed added Sally Day as a managing director. Based in Ohio, she joins the firm’s food and ingredients team at a time when more and more food companies are facing talent and succession issues.
“Changing consumer preference and major food innovations are having an impact up and down the food value chain,” said Mr. Turner. “Sally’s insights into how the right talent can leverage overall organization growth combined with her ability to identify, evaluate, and recruit talent is precisely why clients turn to Kincannon & Reed.”
Prior to joining Kincannon & Reed, Ms. Day was vice president, corporate purchasing for the J.M. Smucker Co. Her tenure at J.M. Smucker also included responsibility for the leadership and organizational development strategy, establishing foundational elements of talent management, organization development, and leadership and employee development. Previous to her role at J.M. Smucker, Ms. Day held leadership positions with Bestfoods, a division of Unilever.
Established Search Consultants
Kincannon & Reed is an executive search firm exclusively focused on food, agribusiness and the related life sciences. Founded in 1981, the company serves clients throughout the world from locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firm’s mission statement: “We recruit leaders for organizations that feed the world and keep it healthy.”
Kincannon & Reed Assisted the Illinois Soybean Association in CEO Search
Kincannon & Reed has assisted the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) in the recruitment of John Lumpe as its new chief executive officer. He was selected from a deep pool of qualified candidates seeking the position. Managing director Carolyn Schubert led the assignment.
“John Lumpe will be a tremendous asset to the organization,” said Doug Schroeder, chairman. “We are excited about his vision for propelling Illinois soybean farmers to even greater heights. Lumpe will be an advocate for the farmer and coupled with his impressive resume of experience and passion for the work. We are very excited about this next chapter in the history of ISA. We are looking forward to the future under Lumpe’s leadership.”
At the end of last year, Kincannon & Reed expanded with the addition of Kelly Griffin as vice president of search delivery. She leads the firm’s global team of industry-focused research professionals. Prior to joining Kincannon & Reed, Ms. Griffin served 19 years with Spencer Stuart. Her tenure there included senior roles covering the U.S. and Asia-Pacific regions and culminated in the position of director of central research for North America.
“Much of the credit for the high level of client satisfaction we enjoy goes to the experts in KR’s research department,” said Mr. Turner. “Clients may not see all that goes on behind the scenes, but they do experience the results. We want to give our clients every possible advantage in the war for talent. Kelly will help ensure we have the right people and technologies to do just that.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
