Pearl Street Collective Fills Key Position for Northeastern University

September 22, 2023 – Boston-based executive search firm Pearl Street Collective has assisted in the recruitment of Chris DeMeo to the newly created leadership role of associate vice president of marketing and communications for the office of university advancement at Northeastern University. Co-founders and managing partners Adele Mezher and Maeve Clifford led the assignment.

Mr. DeMeo has a track record of achievement with more than two decades of sales results, brand performance, and global omnichannel execution across D2C, B2B, and Enterprise SaaS industries. “He is energized to welcome Northeastern’s 125th incoming class and, as experience is a transformational force, he is thrilled to help lead Experience Powered by Northeastern, the university’s historic $1.3 billion campaign and supporting initiatives spanning the globe, accelerating outcomes, and creating a better world right now,” Pearl Street Collective said.

Mr. DeMeo most recently served as vice president of global marketing and interim co-chief marketing officer of Workhuman. Prior to that, he spent almost 15 years with Staples, serving lastly as its vice president of global sales and marketing. In this role, he was responsible for a multi-billion dollar private label product sales portfolio, product marketing, digital initiatives, training, and strategic planning across North American and European retail, midmarket, and B2B commercial business units. Mr. DeMeo serves in additional philanthropic leadership positions as a board member at Junior Achievement of Greater Boston and as board of directors chair for the Waltham Boys and Girls Club.

Northeastern University is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, it was founded by the Boston Young Men’s Christian Association as an all-male institute before being incorporated as Northeastern College in 1916, gaining university status in 1922. With more than 36,000 students, Northeastern is one of the largest universities in Massachusetts by enrollment.

Non-Profit Consultants

Women-owned and operated Pearl Street Collective, founded in 2019, provides high-touch executive search and talent strategy services to identify purpose-driven leaders for the non-profit sector. Operating out of main offices in Boston and San Diego, CA with team members around the country, the firm supports organizations in higher education, arts and culture, social justice, human services, philanthropy, health, and more. Pearl Street was named by Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy as the Top Search Firm for Women of Color for two consecutive years.

Ms. Mezher brings nearly 30 years of leadership in executive search to her role as co-founder and managing partner of Pearl Street. Highly skilled in strategic marketing and business development, she began her search career implementing programs that supported new market entry and practice expansion before assuming a search portfolio of CEO and vice president-level engagements on behalf of the Fortune 500 and venture/private equity portfolio companies in technology and industrial manufacturing.

Ms. Clifford has more than 20 years of blended non-profit and executive search leadership to her role as co-founder and managing partner of Pearl Street. In addition to search management, she has led built, trained, and guided research teams for multiple search firms in the non-profit and for-profit sectors, and was an integral contributor to the launch of two national search firms before establishing Pearl Street. Her non-profit career includes functional roles at Harvard University, a charter school network, and a community non-profit, as well as board experience.

Recently Called In

Pearl Street Collective was recently enlisted to help fill two key roles for the University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation (UMAF). The non-profit is seeking chief development officers for the university’s Elaine Marieb College of Nursing and its Commonwealth Honors College. The Elaine Marieb College of Nursing role presents “a unique opportunity to leverage the fundraising potential that exists and to follow multiple pathways towards collaborative, interdisciplinary, and thematic giving opportunities that will significantly increase private support for the university and the college as it serves as a force for innovation, learning, and discovery in preparing culturally proficient nurses for leadership in health for a global society,” said Pearl Street Collective.

In addition to frontline fundraising responsibilities, the CDO will manage an associate director of donor relations, partner with and guide an active and engaged volunteer board, and actively pursue collaborations with colleagues across UMAF that benefit interdisciplinary programs such as the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing & Engineering Innovation.

Related: Is an Executive Hiring Crisis Approaching?

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