Odgers Berndtson Expands U.S. Corporate and Government Affairs Recruiting Practice

February 18, 2021 – Odgers Berndtson has expanded with the addition of Tonya Muse as partner in the U.S. corporate and government affairs practice based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. “We are delighted to welcome Tonya Muse to the firm,” said Steve Potter, CEO of U.S. Odgers Berndtson. “As a seasoned corporate and government affairs executive, Tonya brings a deep background in industry and trade association leadership initiatives as well as non-profit experience to Odgers Berndtson. Tonya will work closely with Conrad Woody to continue to grow our search work in this area, helping advise clients on government affairs, corporate communications and public affairs, and trade association CEO and leadership roles.”

“Tonya’s significant trade association CEO leadership experience will help us continue to build our already strong and growing practice,” said Conrad Woody, head of the U.S. corporate and government affairs practice. “I’ve known Tonya for many years and I look forward to partnering with her to foster innovation as well as to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion within the corporate affairs and association sectors. It is a great pleasure to welcome her to the firm.”

Ms. Muse was previously executive director of the Council of Manufacturing Associations (CMA) at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a position that she held for six years overseeing the leadership, direction and management of more than 250 trade association members. She represented the NAM to industry and association leaders and was responsible for engaging Council of Manufacturing Associations members to broaden and advance the NAM’s advocacy efforts. Prior to joining the NAM, Ms. Muse spent three years as director of membership for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, with a membership of more than 90,000 girls and adult volunteers. Before that, she spent 17 years with the Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) serving as the senior vice president and executive director of the EMA Foundation for Paper-Based Communications, where she oversaw education and training, membership, meetings and fundraising efforts. Ms. Muse currently serves on the board of directors for the National Capital Area of the Alzheimer’s Foundation and is a former board director of A Wider Circle, a non-profit organization whose mission is to end poverty.

“I am excited to join Odgers Berndtson as it continues to grow its U.S. presence in these important sectors,” said Ms. Muse. “The firm has an outstanding reputation and I am looking forward to working with the global team as it recruits and develops diverse executive leadership to help solve the fast-changing demands of government, trade, and non-profit organizations facing important strategic and transformational challenges.”

For more than a half century, Odgers Berndtson has delivered executive search, leadership assessment and development strategies to organizations globally. The firm’s 250-plus partners cover more than 50 sectors and operate out of 59 offices in 29 countries. The U.S. wing of the firm launched in 2011 and is one of the fastest growing search firms in the Americas. Odgers Berndtson currently has U.S. offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Expansion Wave

Odgers Berndtson has experienced a wave of recent growth. The firm hired Darin DeWitt as partner and head of the firm’s healthcare services practice. He will be based out of the Los Angeles office. Mr. DeWitt has more than 20 years of experience in executive search, most recently as a leader of the life sciences and healthcare practice and as a member of the financial services practice at Caldwell Partners where he focused on building senior management teams for leading and emerging companies and for private equity and venture capital groups.


Odgers Berndtson Names Head of U.S. Professional Services and Human Capital Practices

Odgers Berndtson has appointed Sayed Sadjady as partner and head of its U.S. professional services and human capital practices. Mr. Sadjady most recently served as a senior partner with Ernst & Young leading the firm’s people advisory services practice in the technology, media and entertainment, and telecom industry.


The firm also opened a new office Bogotá, Colombia to help meet a growing demand from organizations in the Andean region for executive search expertise. In conjunction, Odgers Berndtson will also launch its interim executive arm, Odgers Interim, in Colombia. Odgers Berndtson Colombia will be led by managing partner Roberto Hall, a veteran of the Colombian executive search industry. “The Colombian launch will enable us to draw upon Odgers Berndtson’s global network and combine it with our experience of local markets across all the major cities in Colombia,” said Mr. Hall. “With Odgers Interim we will also have a critical differentiator to most of our competitors, providing us with the ability to meet the full spectrum of client talent demands, whether those are permanent or interim leadership.”

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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