Kingsley Gate Partners Finds CHRO for Greif
December 10, 2018 – Executive recruiters are in hot pursuit of chief human resources officers and other senior-level HR leaders across the nation. The best HR chiefs are seen as integral strategic advisors to the C-suite, and the ones in demand are those who are sounding boards for CEOs, report recruiters focused on the space. Why is there such pent-up demand for top flight HR experts?
According to search consultants, corporate leaders are hiring more like-minded sophisticated, proactive, and strategic HR individuals with strong business savvy to drive their people capabilities just as they would a P&L.
Recruiting such talent continues to be of vital importance for companies. One search firm, Kingsley Gate Partners, has placed former veteran Xerox HR executive Bala V. Sathyanarayanan as the new CHRO at industrial packaging products and services company Greif Inc.
“Bala is a seasoned business leader with extensive international experience who will help us drive business results,” said Pete Watson, president and CEO of Greif. “A demonstrated servant leader, his expertise and business focus will immediately contribute to Greif achieving its strategic priorities.”
For the past 27 years, Mr. Sathyanarayanan has worked in a variety of human resources, talent management and operational roles. He most recently served as executive vice president for human resources for North American operations at the Xerox Corp. During his time with Xerox, he led several initiatives that drove business transformations, built winning cultures and provided delivery of business outcomes throughout the enterprise. In addition, Mr. Sathyanarayanan led human resources for the Americas Enterprise Business at Hewlett-Packard, overseeing initiatives in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. His career also includes roles at Avaya, Polaris Software and Coca-Cola.
Greif is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services. The company produces steel, plastic and fiber drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, flexible products, containerboard and packaging accessories and provides filling, packaging and other services for a wide range of industries.
Founded in 2006, Kingsley Gate recruits senior leadership for private equity and venture capital portfolio businesses and Fortune 100 companies. Headquartered in Dallas, the firm employs consultants and recruiters with expertise in private equity, life sciences, technology manufacturing and professional services. Its clients include Best Buy, CenturyLink, Ernst & Young, Here, Ford, Ingram Micro, Medtronic, Neustar, Veritas and Warburg Pincus.
CHRO Recruiting in the News
Hunt Scanlon Media has tracked a number of CHRO search assignments in recent months. Here’s a sampling taken from the company’s daily newswire archives:
Hanold Associates has been retained by Under Armour to help find its next CHRO. Jason Hanold, CEO and co-managing partner of the search firm, is leading the assignment along with partners Katie Wolf and Katrina Prospero. “This is a critical transformational leadership role, partnering directly with founder and CEO Kevin Plank,” said Mr. Hanold.
WinterWyman Executive Search placed Marc Reuss as the new CHRO at Excelitas Technologies. SVP and partner Beverly Morgan led the assignment. Mr. Reuss is a veteran HR executive with a track record of building and leading world class organizations across aerospace, financial services, high technology, medical devices, vaccines and genetics sectors.
Christine Sobhani and Priscila Bonilla of executive search firm Allegis Partners recently helped recruit Darla Haas as CHRO at PAR Technology Corp. in New Hartford, NY. “Darla is a proactive, high energy, pragmatic and hands-on business leader who is experienced at leading organizational transformation in a diverse, global business,” said Ms. Sobhani.
Human Capital Consultants placed John W. Sigmon as the new CHRO of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. The Washington, D.C.-based firm completed the search in less than two months. Mr. Sigmon joined HJF from AARP, where he rose from senior HR business partner to VP, group human resources consulting services, and then to SVP and CHRO.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
