Kingsley Gate Partners Names Talent Acquisition Leader
November 1, 2022 – Private equity-backed Kingsley Gate Partners has named Ali Brainard as senior vice president, senior talent acquisition, North America. She will be responsible for identifying and recruiting partner-level talent for the firm’s North America region. Ms. Brainard will join the firm’s New York City office.
Ms. Brainard previously built and led the talent acquisition team for a $12 billion publicly traded financial institution, NBT Bank. Before that, she spent several years in the executive search space in which she was responsible for leading and managing a team of recruiters, as well actively executing on search assignments across multiple industries and sectors. Ms. Brainard spent six years with Morgan Samuels, serving as director of talent acquisition and HR. Early in her career, she worked for Korn Ferry as a research associate and then senior recruiter specializing in the recruitment of senior administrative and clinical management executives within hospitals and health systems and academic medical centers for Korn Ferry’s healthcare services practice.
Founded in 2015, Kingsley Gate Partners 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, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. Kingsley Gate has completed searches with over 1,400 clients in 32 countries.
Recent Growth
Two weeks ago, Kingsley Gate Partners named Aaron Mitchell Finegold as chief marketing officer. Based in San Francisco, he is charged with overseeing the firm’s full-funnel marketing strategy, external communications, and investment in business-critical capabilities such as experimentation, marketing automation, and measurement. “We are thrilled to add Aaron to Kingsley Gate’s leadership team,” said Umesh Ramakrishnan, CEO of Kingsley Gate Partners. “We spent the last few years building a successful disruptive platform and we needed a next-generation CMO to tell the world our story. Aaron fits that bill to a T. We are now ready for the big stage.” Mr. Finegold has over 15 years of experience in digital marketing, brand strategy, customer insights, user acquisition, and design thinking to Kingsley Gate Partners. He previously spent three years as a senior leader at LinkedIn,
Related: Kingsley Gate Partners Appoints Global Industrial Practice Leader
Kingsley Gate Partners recently appointed Saurabh Gupta as chief digital officer. Based in Boston, he will be responsible for defining the strategy and technical vision of the firm. “Saurabh has proved himself to be both a visionary and builder of cutting-edge HRIS systems to benefit clients, candidates, and firm members,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan. “I’m thrilled to have Saurabh on board to turn our point solutions into a world-class platform.”
Mr. Gupta has over 17 years of cross-cultural experience in developing, shaping, and implementing HCM solutions. He has spearheaded solving global HR technology challenges and has worked for major HR software companies, including Oracle, Microsoft, and Ramco Systems, and for some of the largest enterprises in the world. Mr. Gupta has been responsible for human capital systems implementation in the U.S., China, France, the U.K., India, and Spain. Prior to joining Kingsley Gate, he served as co-founder and chief technology officer at Wrkit Inc.
Kingsley Gate Partners also recently named Francesca d’Arcangeli as chief operating officer. Based in London, she will be responsible for worldwide operations. “I’m delighted to have Francesca on board as our new chief operating officer,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan. “Francesca has been responsible for large operations around the globe, speaks multiple languages, and has lived on three continents. This exceptional international background means that she’s ideally placed to lead our global operations and will play a critical role in Kingsley Gate’s growth and performance as we continue to expand.”
Crescent Cove Advisors Takes Equity Stake in Kingsley Gate Partners
Kingsley Gate recently secured an investment from Crescent Cove Advisors, a multi-asset investment firm focused on technology investments. The equity partnership is expected to fuel the search firm’s growth through global expansion and accelerate a push into talent acquisition AI-enabled software, Mr. Ramakrishnan, one of Kingsley Gate Partners’ co-founders, has been named CEO. “First, I want to thank my co-founders Nancy Albertini and Buster Houchins,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan. “We would not be at this exciting juncture without them. The partnership with Crescent Cove Advisors is a testament to the value that Kingsley Gate Partners has created in just a little over six years. This partnership will ensure that we will continue to disrupt this industry through innovation, continuous improvement of the search process and further attracting world-class talent.”
Kingsley Gate marked the first private equity investment for Crescent Cove and expands the firm’s capital solutions for founder-led technology companies. “As organizations are reshaped during and post-pandemic, we are excited to partner with the Kingsley Gate Partners team and support the company in redefining executive recruitment through the use of technology-driven solutions,” said Jun Hong Heng, founder and chief investment officer of Crescent Cove.
Ms. d’Arcangeli’s focus at Kingsley Gate will be global delivery, growth, and performance across the business. The new role encompasses hiring, people development, organizational development, and M&A. While most of her time will be spent operationally, she will also continue to work with selected clients. Ms. d’Arcangeli has over 25 years of experience in international executive search with a strong track-record in multi-territory searches for senior cross-functional roles including board of directors, C-suite, and operational leaders. She also has extensive expertise working with multinational companies to drive growth through strategic leadership consulting and organizational development.
Related: Kingsley Gate Partners Expands in London
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
