PierceGray Expands Staff with New Vice President
September 11, 2026 – PierceGray has expanded with the addition of Kara Hennessey as vice president in the firm’s finance practice. She will be based in the New York office. “PierceGray is excited to welcome Kara Hennessey to the team as our newest vice president,” the firm said in a LinkedIn post. “Kara brings almost 10 years of executive search experience, with depth in financial services and fintech. Her finance expertise will be a valuable addition as the firm continues to grow. Please join us in welcoming Kara.”
With nearly eight years in executive search, Ms. Hennessy recruits senior finance leadership for high-growth companies backed by venture capital and private equity, with particular depth in financial services and fintech. She has worked in finance her entire career, first inside the industry and then transitioned to recruiting for it.
Ms. Hennessy began her search career at Kingsley Gate, then spent four years at True Search, where she advanced from Associate to principal, before returning to Kingsley Gate as a vice president. Prior to executive search, she worked at Morgan Stanley and at Institutional Investor.
PierceGray is a specialized, retained executive search firm focused on building leadership teams in investor-backed environments. The firm is functionally-focused, hiring executives and building teams in the following disciplines: operations and supply chain, sales and marketing, finance and transformation, and general management. PierceGray’s clients include private equity firms and portfolio companies as well as publicly-held companies across North America. PierceGray has been operating since 2006 and serves clients in nearly every industry sector in North America.
Matt Hamlin is the managing partner of PierceGray. Based in New York, he leads the firm’s day-to-day operations as well as key client engagements, specializing in C-suite placements in high-growth transformational environments.
Related: PierceGray Expands Search Team
Prior to PierceGray, Mr. Hamlin was a management consultant focused on procurement and supply chain, gaining exposure to private equity during his time at Alvarez and Marsal. He has worked across nearly every industry sector, with search experience aligned to PierceGray’s functional offerings.
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PierceGray is led by industry practitioners, search professionals, and human capital specialists to ensure the right mix of real experience and talent acquisition expertise. More than 95 percent of the firm’s work is generated through referrals.
PierceGray has served more than 90 private equity funds across their portfolios, ranging from founder-led, early-state investments to high-growth multi-national environments. The firm is focused on high-growth, investor-backed environments. More than 80 percent of PierceGray’s search volume is in private equity-backed portfolio companies.
Related: Do You Really Need an Executive Search Firm?
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
