ON Partners Acquires Olympus Search Partners

February 24, 2023 – ON Partners has acquired Olympus Search Partners and added its founder, Ashley Estes, as senior partner to further expand its market growth in both PE-backed health and wellness, and TMT. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Ashley brings in over 14 years of executive search experience to our team in the areas of both PE-backed healthcare and software,” said Matt Mooney, co-president at ON Partners. “Over the last few years, ON Partners has expanded in the overall health and wellness market, specifically as it pertains to private equity-backed healthcare, IT healthcare systems, and overall health-tech. We see considerable demand and opportunity in this sector and Ashley is a wonderful addition to the team. Both her leadership and expertise will be extremely valuable.”

Prior to founding Olympus Search Partners, Ms. Estes served as a principal at The Lancer Group. She has conducted C-level searches for PE-backed portfolio companies across a variety of verticals for over a decade. Additionally, Ms. Estes also conducted board and operating partner searches for the funds directly.

In 2022, ON Partners made over 400 C-level and board appointments with a 115 percent three-year growth average. Such companies like WellnessLiving, RxBenefits, Thermo Fisher, and Mindbody have worked with ON Partners to onboard executive leadership across each company respectively and the firm notes that Ms. Estes further expands that list of clients. Ms. Estes is a trilingual (English, French, and Spanish) partner and will split her time between the firm’s San Diego and Madrid offices.

“Joining ON Partners is a perfect fit, as I’ll continue our expansion into new subsectors of the health and wellness market, such as telehealth,” said Ms. Estes. “Right now, I’ve seen 70 percent growth in the healthcare industry within my former practice and have been able to work with PE funds and portfolio companies such as Team Select, CareATC, and LLR Partners to solidify opportunities for top talent. Since the pandemic, people want the option to be able to attend medical appointments virtually vs. having to attend in-person and companies like these offer several services.”

ON Partners points to a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) poll that asked if patient demand for telehealth would shift in 2023. Of the respondents, 27 percent of medical group leaders predicted that there will be an increase from last year. In a poll by SingleCare, 93 percent of patients reported that they would use telemedicine to manage prescriptions, and this January, Research and Markets reported that the global telehealth market size is expected to reach 455.3 billion by 2030.

“There is an abundance of opportunity in this market across various executive leadership roles and the ON Partners’ culture perfectly aligns with my approach and style to executive search,” said Ms. Estes. “This is a team that is designed to be present with clients, crafts untraditional solutions, and creates an overall, easier experience. As a marathon runner and triathlete, I am passionate about this industry, and I’m thrilled to find a culture fit with ON Partners.”

High Growth Rate

ON Partners has recorded 115 percent three-year revenue growth rate. The search firm has also built out its executive leadership team to continue its expansion into growth markets, including the appointment of partners Mr. Mooney and Tim Conti as co-presidents. ON has also promoted Vicky Wilkens to chief commercial officer and Greg Kleeh to chief operating officer. They join Mr. Conti, Mr. Mooney, and chief training and development officer Caryn Avante on the executive leadership team.

“2022 represented a major period of expansion and growth for ON Partners, with demand for C-level and board executives across several sectors, including life sciences, consumer, sustainability and cleantech, and private equity,” said Mr. Mooney. “The executive shifts we’re making illustrate our commitment to building the most innovative and disruptive pure-play retained executive search firm in the industry.”

“After a strong 2022, we’ve built momentum going into the new year and the new leadership team has already been hard at work,” said Mr. Conti. “We’re excited about expanding our work into growth markets and continuing to deliver a premiere executive search experience for our ON community, and we’ve never been better positioned to do that.”

M&A Activity for Recruiting and Talent Platforms Expected to Heat Up In 2023
Acquisitions made big news in the recruiting industry this past year, and for good reason. Outside investors caught on to the sector’s expansion potential and long growth runway ahead. Top search leaders also found ways to maximize profit (cutting back on office space helped every search firm achieve a better bottom line in 2022). That made them highly attractive to private equity firms seeking platforms they could accelerate and scale.

With a primary focus on technology, consumer, industrial, and the life science sectors, ON Partners recruits C-level and board talent for public and private companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms. Founded in 2006, the firm’s consultants work from offices in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Menlo Park, CA; Minneapolis. MN; San Francisco; and New York.

As the firm grew it also was recognized in 2022 with prominent industry accolades and awards. For the ninth time, ON Partners was named to Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing companies. The firm was also ranked No. 11 on the list of America’s Top 49 Retained Executive Search firms from C-Suite CV Secure Inc., a resume sharing and tracking technology company for C-suite executives.

In addition, ON Partners was named once again to Hunt Scanlon Media’s CleanTech/Sustainability Top 25, HR/Diversity Recruiting Power 65, Life Sciences & Healthcare Power 50 and Private Equity Recruiting Power 100 lists.

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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