Dwain Celistan
Managing Partner
Dwain Celistan serves as a Managing Partner and leader of the Global Diversity Practice for DHR International in the firm’s Chicago office. He is also a member of the Consumer, Marketing, Financial Services, Industrial and Private Equity practice areas.
Dwain has conducted searches for senior leaders across a range of firms and industries. Over 70% of his placements are diverse candidates.
His clients have included over ten Fortune 500 firms, an assortment of family-owned, private equity-backed firms and universities. His consultative approach and significant corporate leadership experience have helped clients refine their position specifications and better clarify the “right” candidate.
Prior to recruiting, he held senior Marketing, Sales and General Management positions in the US and UK, for large firms in the consumer, industrial and retail arenas. His experience includes roles of Vice-President Marketing and Sales with a staff of nearly 100 professionals and budget of $100MM, and as a Senior Vice-President of Marketing for a $1B division. Importantly, during his career he has reversed declining businesses and accelerated the growth of businesses in multiple roles.
Dwain has coached leaders to help them realize their career goals and improve their productivity. As part of this work, he has published four books, including Recruiter’s Guide to Hiring Diverse Leaders and You’re Hired! Actions to Get and Keep the Job of Your Dreams.
He supports young people on many levels. This includes speaking to groups of students from middle school to graduate level while also actively mentoring and supporting high school students through Link Unlimited and the Illinois Mentoring Project.
Dwain is a graduate of Loyola University and has an MBA from Atlanta University. He has done postgraduate work at Cornell and Stanford universities.
He lives with his wife in Hinsdale, IL and has two daughters.
Solutions
- Executive Coaching
- Executive Search
Industries
