Mary Saxon

Prior to launching Bryant Park Search Partners in 2016, Mary Saxon was a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office, where she led the firm’s global Retail Practice. She was also a key member of the firm’s CEO and Board Practice. Mary has nearly fourteen years of executive search experience in addition to more than twenty years of retail/consumer products industry experience.

With a master’s in leadership studies, Mary is passionate about assessing leadership competencies and cultural fit for her clients. Her focus is on placing Boards of Directors, C-suite executives, and their direct reports, to build successful leadership teams. Mary works across all functional areas of the retail business, including merchandising, marketing, HR, retail operations, finance, and supply chain. Her search portfolio includes many of America’s preeminent specialty retailers and consumer products companies. As a xSan Francisco Bay Area native, she has extensive experience in the e-commerce channel.

Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Mary spent seven years as a managing director with Herbert Mines Associates, specializing in the retail industry.

Prior to her executive search experience, Mary was president and CEO for a luxury home textiles manufacturer with national distribution with retail clients including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and Bed Bath & Beyond. As CEO, she oversaw all functional areas of the business, including design and product development, production, marketing, finance, inventory management, and operations.

A veteran of the retail and consumer products industries, Mary began her industry career with Federated Department Stores and later R.H. Macy’s where she held a variety of merchandising positions in both the East and West Coast divisions.

Education: Mary earned her master’s degree in leadership studies in 2011 from St. Mary’s college and an advanced certificate in executive coaching from Columbia University the same year.