Lindauer Recruits Chief People Officer for Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
September 30, 2025 – Lindauer has assisted in the recruitment of Sarah Cox as chief people officer of Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The search was led by Lindauer senior vice president Paula Fazli, who co-leads the firm’s higher education practice alongside SVP Faith Montgomery.
“With Paula Fazli’s support and guidance, we cast a wide net and considered candidates from a range of backgrounds, including from outside academia,” said Dan Shore, chief operating officer of the broad. “We hired someone as chief people officer who we couldn’t have anticipated at the beginning of the search. And yet she is exactly who we hoped we’d find for the role. That speaks to the level of trust we had in Paula as our search partner from start to finish.”
Prior to joining the Broad, Ms. Cox served at L.L.Bean in functional management and leadership roles for more than two decades before being named vice president of human resources in 2016 and then chief human resources officer in 2021. She played an important institutional executive leadership role and cultivated strong trust and followership from L.L.Bean’s varied stakeholder groups.
At the Broad, Ms. Cox will shape the institution’s human resources strategy in alignment with its scientific and operational excellence, overseeing a team to grow and cultivate a thriving, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture.
The Broad Institute brings together a diverse group of individuals from across its partner institutions — undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, professional scientists, administrative professionals, and academic faculty. The culture and environment at the Broad is designed to encourage creativity and to engage all participants, regardless of role or seniority, in the mission of the Institute.
Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals, academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities, and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice and other mission-driven non-profits. The firm has led searches for the Boston YMCA, Center for Applied Special Technology, Healthy Minds Innovations/Center for Healthy Minds, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cockrell School of Engineering, among others.
Deb Taft, chief executive officer, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the non-profit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.
Ms. Fazli also serves as co-leader of the firm’s higher education practice along with Faith Montgomery. Ms. Fazli has partnered with public and private research universities, private liberal arts colleges, and arts and culture organizations to navigate periods of change. “Throughout her respected career in executive search, Paula has helped some of the most prestigious institutions in the country navigate periods of change and bring in leaders who shape future generations,” said Ms. Taft. “Her commitment to serving as a trusted client partner in every aspect of an executive search aligns strongly with Lindauer’s own philosophy.”
Related: Lindauer Places Chief Development Officer for Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Ms. Montgomery co-leads Lindauer’s higher education and K-12 practice areas and leads executive searches and talent management for client partners across a broad spectrum of education, healthcare, arts, social justice, and policy arenas. Prior to joining Lindauer in 2014, she held senior leadership positions across the non-profit sector. Ms. Montgomery currently serves on the national board of the African American Development Officer’s Network, the Boston Chapter Board of Jack and Jill, and is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy, and The Giving Institute.
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Assignment
Lindauer also recently assisted in the recruitment of innovative educator and accomplished musician Kevin Haden as dean of music for the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. “It is an honor to announce that Kevin Haden will be joining our Boston Conservatory community as the next dean of music starting in July,” said Michael Shinn, executive director for Boston Conservatory at Berklee. “Kevin’s experience in the performing arts is tremendous, and his care for his students and community resonates in all that he does. Kevin is a phenomenal artist, educator, and administrator, and he brings a tremendous amount of artistic versatility and dynamism to his professional work.”
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With more than 25 years of experience spanning higher education and the performing arts, Mr. Haden comes to Boston Conservatory from Curtis Institute of Music, where he served as senior associate dean of strategic engagement and institutional excellence. While at Curtis, he developed strategies to advance the institute’s artistic and educational programming and led initiatives celebrating community values, access, and inclusion.
A classically trained musician with degrees from NYU in composition and theory, Mr. Haden also maintains a vibrant career as a multihyphenate artist, working as a singer, songwriter, recording artist, arranger, music director, and equity actor. His discography includes numerous record label and independent releases as a solo pop/folk/soul artist and electronic dance music vocalist, and his voice and vocal arrangements can be heard on top international dance labels such as Defected, Soul Heaven, D4 D4NCE, Glitterbox, 925 Music, and Isolation Nation.
Related: Lindauer Recruits CEO for Tech Goes Home
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
