Odgers Berndtson Launches In Houston
March 30, 2016 – Odgers Berndtson has opened a Houston office with the addition of three new partners who will service the leadership needs of clients in the energy and industrial space. Jim Thompson, Gary Payne, and Mary Campagnano, all formerly managing partners at Allen Austin, have joined the firm in its new location.
Mr. Thompson will serve U.S. industrial companies in oil & gas, power, renewables, clean technology and related industrial businesses. Prior to his time at Allen Austin, where he was a member of the firms’ CEO and CMO practices, he spent more than 25 years as an industry executive with Fortune 500, multi-national, energy, power and renewables companies.
“The demands across the energy spectrum vary widely today,” said Mr. Thompson. “For traditional oil and gas, the challenge is finding executives who can manage people and capital resources in tight and fluctuating markets.” The power industry, he said, needs senior leaders who can manage rapid change while the industry navigates a paradigm shift in its traditional business models. “Renewables and clean tech require C-level suite executives who can straddle the management of both high growth and new technology,” he added.
Mr. Payne will focus on recruiting for C-level positions in industrial manufacturing, distribution, clean tech, oil & gas and power with roles in general management, finance, supply chain, international leadership and human resources. He combines more than 30 years of experience in executive / board search, executive management and systems integration consulting. Prior to entering executive search, he served in leadership roles with IBM and as chairman and CEO for a private equity-backed specialty manufacturing company.
“There are extensive talent opportunities as we move forward, especially around renewables and clean technology,” said Mr. Payne. “Short-term, oil and gas is surprisingly active in the midstream and downstream sectors. The petrochemical market is very active.” Clean tech and renewables, he said, require C-level senior leaders with the rare combination of experience in both energy and high tech.
Ms. Campagnano will leverage her chemical, power, oil and gas senior talent relationships by focusing on the full energy value chain (upstream, downstream, midstream) and related industrial products and services (PVF, EPC and environmental). She has more than 20 years of business and executive search experience augmenting talent in high growth and turnaround companies for energy & industrial resources, professional services and private equity. She started her search career at Russell Reynolds Associates.
“In the last 18 months, we have attracted more than 11 sector specialists to our team in practices ranging from media / consumer / digital and aerospace defense, to healthcare / life sciences / pharmaceuticals,” said Steve Potter, managing partner for Odgers Berndtson’s U.S. operations.
“Jim, Gary and Mary, along with Fran Luisi, will become part of Odgers Berndtson’s global energy practice, which includes specialists in Aberdeen, Scotland, and Calgary, Canada. They each bring a unique perspective on what we call integrated energy, the broad spectrum of energy from traditional oil and gas to power, renewables, clean technologies and a wide range of industrials that support the energy sector.”
Odgers Berndtson has added a number of recruiters in the last 11 months, including Jane Griffith, John King, Gino Picciano, Lynn Muirhead, Jules Orpin, former Norman Broadbent president Sally Drexler, Belinda Humphrey, Pamela Santos, Steven Payne, John Hawkins, Tina Veen, Paul Aldrich and Keith Macomber.
In February, the firm acquired Charleston Partners, an executive search and talent advisory firm that exclusively recruits HR professionals and advises on human capital management issues. Francis Luisi, founding principal of Charleston Partners, joined the firm to lead the Odgers Berndtson U.S. HR practice, working from the firm’s New York and Houston offices.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
