Russell Reynolds Associates Acquires Kilberry
August 15, 2023 – Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) has acquired Kilberry, a leadership advisory firm based in Toronto that serves investors, CEOs, and C-suite leaders across North America. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Bringing Kilberry into the fold will further bolster RRA’s top-shelf leadership advisory capabilities with some of the most talented consultants in the sector,” said Constantine Alexandrakis, CEO of Russell Reynolds. “Richard and the entire Kilberry team will be a huge asset to RRA thanks to the rigor of their methodologies, the depth of their relationships, and the quality of their insights. We can’t wait to start working with them and bringing their expertise to our clients.”
Kilberry was founded more than 10 years ago by CEO Richard Davis, a licensed industrial-organizational psychologist. The firm’s services include executive assessment, CEO succession, executive coaching, top team effectiveness, and private equity advisory. Mr. Davis joins RRA as a managing director. He and his team of 10 colleagues will join the firm’s Toronto office.
Dr. Davis advises key executives in sports/entertainment, banking, technology, private equity, retail, manufacturing, and media. He has experience working with CEOs globally, including those leading Fortune 100 companies or who are otherwise in the public eye. Prior to founding Kilberry, he was a partner at RHR International, where he led the private equity services practice in Canada. Earlier, he was owned a media company focused on the education and healthcare industries.
Kilberry’s clients range from leading public companies to family businesses to private equity firms, as well as a roster of Fortune 100 firms and highly visible clients across the financial services, consumer, and sports industries. Its strong presence in Canada is a powerful lever to drive greater growth throughout this market.
“For the past decade, Kilberry’s management psychologists have provided clients with high-value insights that enable leaders to make confident decisions about their business and people,” said Dr. Davis. “I couldn’t be more excited to join forces with premier leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates to create extraordinary shared value for our respective clients.”
Newly Acquired
Russell Reynolds recently acquired Nvolv, a boutique leadership consulting firm serving CEOs and C-suite executives of global businesses. Founded in 2017 by Bob Marcus, Nvolv serves as a partner in enabling CEOs and executives to accelerate the development and transformation of individual leaders, their teams, and their wider organizations. Nvolv’s team bring more than 30 years of experience as thought leaders, change strategists, executive coaches, and process consultants, “this making the business a natural fit to complement RRA’s renowned leadership advisory services,” the search firm said.
Related: ZRG Acquires Walking the Talk
“Our acquisition of Nvolv represents a powerful opportunity for us to bolster our client offerings and further strengthen our preeminent position as leaders in C-suite leadership advisory services,” said Mr. Alexandrakis. “Bob and the entire Nvolv team have an enviable track record of building deep relationships and driving extraordinary results at the most senior levels of organizations, and we look forward to joining forces to increase the depth of both firms’ impact in advising and coaching C-suite executives, preparing the next generation of senior executives, supporting new leader integration, de-risking CEO succession, and aligning top teams to deliver on their transformation agendas.”
ZRG Acquires Interim Education-Focused Search Provider The Registry
ZRG, a global talent advisory firm and portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, has acquired The Registry, a Peabody, MA-based interim executive solutions firm specializing in higher education. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The Registry is the nation’s top firm providing the best-matched interim solutions to institutions of higher learning, especially colleges and universities that are going through challenging transitions,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Adding The Registry to the family of ZRG companies puts us in a leadership position in providing talent solutions in higher education.”
“This acquisition is a huge win for ZRG,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures based in Greenwich, Conn., which helped facilitate the transaction and served as a strategic advisor to ZRG and The Registry. “It complements a fast-growing interim solutions platform that ZRG has been strategically building, but it also enhances one of ZRG’s key executive search verticals in higher education.” Mr. Scanlon said the acquisition is ZRG’s largest to date. “Calls for interim leaders are gaining wider traction as demographics shift and talent needs change,” said Mr. Scanlon. “The most sought after ‘on-demand’ roles are increasingly found across the C-suite – and now in every industry – and that makes interim solutions one of the biggest growth areas of recruiting,” he said.
Through the acquisition, Mr. Marcus joined RRA as a managing director in the firm’s New York office. He has strong experience working with C-suite leaders – particularly first-time CEOs and CEOs pursuing significant transformation objectives – and is an expert in change strategy and leadership development. For 30 years, Mr. Marcus has been an advisor, mentor, coach, strategist, consultant, confidant, and friend to leaders around the globe. He has experience working with CEOs, CFOs, CHROs, and other C-suite leaders, and especially enjoys partnering with first-time CEOs, executives preparing for C-suite roles, and emerging women leaders. RRA also welcomed Nvolv’s team of consultants and operational staff as part of the acquisition.
“Today’s CEOs and C-suite leaders are looking for a range of services from their leadership advisory partners and this combination of our collective expertise and experience will reshape the leadership advisory landscape,” said Mr. Marcus.
Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory and search firm. Its 520-plus consultants in 47 offices work with public, private, and non-profit organizations across all industries and regions. The firm also conducts in-depth organizational culture assessment and measures the cultural fit of key leadership and candidates in the following areas: arts and culture, global development, higher education, non-profit health and human services, public sector, social justice and advocacy, as well as trade and professional associations.
Russell Reynolds provides executive search services across all areas of the global media, entertainment, technology, and athletics markets. The firm’s consultants bring the experience and ability to assess competencies and cultural fit of board members, CEOs, senior functional leadership and players, with expertise in professional sports teams and leagues (CEOs, general managers, coaches and players); digital, media and entertainment; and technology-based start-ups.
Related: ZRG Acquires Turnkey Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
