Riviera Partners Names CEO

March 8, 2018 – Executive recruitment firms have made a number of top leadership appointments this past year, many focused on strategy, growth, branding efforts and operations. The latest: Riviera Partners has named Will Hunsinger as its CEO.

Mr. Hunsinger has been part of the Riviera team for the past two years, serving as chief operating officer before his promotion. During that time, he has helped drive significant expansion of Riviera’s executive search practice as well as launching R[2] (R Squared), Riviera’s marketplace for software engineering talent that combines data science, machine learning and recruiter curation to match talent.

Mr. Hunsinger spent his entire career in the technology industry as a consultant, advisor, entrepreneur, executive and investor. Prior to Riviera, he was digital practice operating director for private equity fund TPG Growth. Mr. Hunsinger also held roles as chairman, CEO and co-founder of SportStream (acquired by Facebook), president and CEO of Vulcan-backed Evri and served as entrepreneur in residence for consumer-focused venture capital firm Maveron. He previously held senior positions at Gap Inc., Overture (acquired by Yahoo) and Accenture.

“Riviera Partners has experienced significant growth over the past two years,” said Michael Morell, co-founder and managing partner of Riviera Partners. “Will’s leadership and operational expertise will allow us to capitalize on this momentum, continue scaling our business and ensure our recruiting professionals have the support and freedom to focus on exceptional service delivery to our clients.”

Ali Behnam, co-founder and managing partner of Riviera Partners, said Mr. Hunsinger should prove a strong addition to the firm. “Technology, data science and machine learning have the potential to transform recruiting and deliver an exponentially better experience for our clients and candidates,” he said. “Will’s vision for how to unlock that potential and his experience growing companies is exactly what we need to take Riviera’s talent platform to the next level.”

Headquartered in San Francisco, Riviera Partners is a global recruiting firm specializing in the technology industry. The firm provides clients with optimal placements by combining recruiter interactions and experience with data-driven findings about candidates. It has additional offices in Palo Alto, Los Angeles and New York. The firm has recruited for key executive roles at Pinterest, Postmates, Tinder, Twilio and partnered with venture-backed concerns, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Benchmark, Accel, Menlo Ventures, KPCB, Greylock and General Catalyst.

​Leadership Appointments Rising at Search Firms

Leadership appointments have been gaining traction at executive search firms in recent months. Here’s a look at several taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Columbus, OH-headquartered firm Taylor Strategy Partners appointed Mike Gamble as its new president. Mr. Gamble has been instrumental to Taylor Strategy Partners’ growth since joining the firm as vice president of business development in 2015, the firm said. He has more than 20 years of experience designing comprehensive talent acquisition solutions for leading …

Chicago-based Quick Leonard Kieffer named Steven M. Derks as its president and CEO. He took over from Roger Quick, who now serves as vice chair. Mr. Derks brings over 25 years of executive level leadership and experience to his new role. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president and CEO of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 

TillmanCarlson appointed Kelly Carlson as its president and CEO. Entering its 16th year, the firm says her promotion sets the stage for growth, innovation and the ability to provide a clear alternative to larger human capital firms. Ms. Carlson joined founder Rob Tillman a year after the search firm was founded after having worked with him in her for Russell Reynolds Associates. 

DRG Search appointed Dara Klarfeld as its new CEO. She is now responsible for leading all aspects of DRG’s work with organizations in the non-profit sector. Ms. Klarfeld worked in the non-profit sector for more than a decade before joining DRG Search. Ms. Klarfeld worked in the non-profit sector for more than a decade before joining DRG Search.

Hong Kong-headquartered search firm Bó Lè Associates announced that Pierre Zhuang has resigned as CEO and the board named David Chan, managing director and its Shanghai office head, as its new CEO. Mr. Chan joined the firm in 2015 and was head of Bó Lè Associates’ Hong Kong office prior to taking on the role as head of Bó Lè Shanghai office in August of this year.

U.K.-headquartered Armstrong Craven, a specialist executive search and intelligence consultancy, has named Tom Mason as its new CEO. Mr. Mason previously served as senior vice president at Pontoon Solutions, part of the Adecco Group.  Before that, he was a partner at boutique firm Mason McLoud and managing director for EMEA at Allegis Global Solutions.

U.K.-based executive search and interim firm Holmes Noble appointed Donna Chapman as its CEO. Her experience at board level includes mergers and acquisitions, commercial directorship, HR, talent strategies and growth through successful leadership for listed companies, privately-owned and private equity-backed organizations.

Non-profit executive recruiters Higher Talent appointed Mindy Cohen as president and managing partner. Ms. Cohen has been instrumental in establishing the firm’s dedication to educational institutions and non-profits across the country over the past 15 years. She has recruited senior executives, nationally and internationally, for non-profit organizations…

Lois L. Lindauer Searches (LLLS) named Deb Taft as its new CEO. The carefully planned changeover comes as the firm celebrates its 20th anniversary. Chosen by founder Lois L. Lindauer to lead the firm into the next era, Ms. Taft brings over 25 years senior-level development and executive management experience to the role.

Sales-focused executive recruitment provider TwentyPine has promoted Jamie Coakley to CEO. In her new role she is responsible for leading growth strategy and execution of the company’s long-term vision across operations, sales and marketing. Ms. Coakley has a history of re-energizing growth and profitability for mature recruiting and staffing companies.

Heidrick & Struggles recently named Krishnan Rajagopalan as its new president and CEO. Mr. Rajagopalan has served as acting CEO since Tracy Wolstencroft took a medical leave of absence in April. Based in Washington, D.C., 57-year-old Mr. Rajagopalan also leads the firm’s executive committee. He has been with Heidrick for 16 years.

San-Francisco-headquartered executive search firm O’Rourke & Associates appointed Rebecca Bower as president. Ms. Bower is widely regarded as a top leadership advisor with a career that spans nearly 25 years in human resources, management, training and sales. O’Rourke & Associates specializes in credit union industry recruiting.

Ratliff & Taylor appointed Beth Sweeney as its president, where she now has full profit-and-loss responsibility for each of the company’s three practices: executive search, leadership development and career transition. Ms. Sweeney previously served as market president at the firm. Ms. Sweeney will have full profit-and-loss responsibility for each of the company’s three practices.

Executive search firm Cobalt Recruitment tapped James Wakefield as its CEO. Mr. Wakefield joined Cobalt in 2007 coming from the management team at Michael Page in London. In 2009, Mr. Wakefield moved to the UAE to help Cobalt establish a presence in the region, and in 2014 he was promoted to international managing director.

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