Spencer Stuart Appoints Financial Officer Practice Leader
January 25, 2018 – Chicago-headquartered search firm Spencer Stuart has named Christopher Gaunt as leader of its financial officer practice for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Gaunt works on a variety of main board CFO appointments across industries in the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and for private equity-backed portfolio companies. He has a strong international focus, often for clients in emerging economies who wish to access the global executive talent pool.
In addition to his experience conducting finance function searches, Mr. Gaunt has deep expertise in building teams for newly emerged or growing organizations as well as private equity portfolio companies. He speaks English, French and Portuguese.
Mr. Gaunt joined the firm in 2013 as a consultant. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, he worked with Heidrick & Struggles where he most recently served as the managing partner of its U.K. CFO practice. He began his career in search in the firm’s New York office.
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Earlier, he worked as a management consultant for the Washington, D.C.-based Advisory Board Company. In that capacity, he led consulting teams working with senior executives across industries on their human resources strategy and operations.
Spencer Stuart has conducted more than 1,400 finance searches over the past 24 months for clients that include Fortune 500, FTSE 100, DAX 30 and HS 100 companies, as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies, emerging companies and non-profit organizations. Financial services is one of the firm’s top producing global search practice sectors, which is today comprised of a team of 40 consultants. Joel von Ranson leads Spencer Stuart’s financial officer practice in North America.
Big Five Naming Overseas Practice Leaders
The Big Five executive search firms have named several new leaders overseas in recent months. Here is a brief sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
Korn Ferry named May Knight as country managing director, Korn Ferry Hay Group. She is based in the Hong Kong office. In her role, Ms. Knight will drive Korn Ferry Hay Group’s growth in Hong Kong in alignment with its general regional strategy. Ms. Knight has over 25 years of experience from operational and consulting roles in Asia and Europe.
Heidrick & Struggles appointed Ian Johnston as managing partner, culture shaping for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has been a senior leader of culture shaping in the European region for the past 15 years, serving most recently as partner. He is known for enabling CEOs to lead with vitality, vision and clear purpose.
Russell Reynolds Associates named Peter L. O’Brien as the region head for Asia Pacific. He is responsible for managing Russell Reynolds’ business across the region and driving growth in key markets, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
