Talent War Group Opens Doors

April 20, 2021 – Mike Sarraille and George Randle have launched Talent War Group, an executive search and leadership consulting firm that will combine top talent processes and insights with executive placement, talent advisory and leadership development services. The authors of ‘The Talent War: How Special Operations and Great Organizations Win on Talent,’ the firm’s founders said the new firm “offers today’s businesses and organizations an advanced, competitive approach in the battle for hiring, developing, and engaging high-performing, A-player leaders.”

“The Talent War underscored the importance of aggressive talent design and execution,” said Mr. Sarraille, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and graduate of the University of Texas McCombs Business School. “It also highlighted how hard it is for companies to attract, develop and engage leaders without ongoing insight, oversight and support. Talent War Group was born out of that critical need.” Mr. Sarraille founded and served as a board of director for the VETTED Foundation, an executive level transition program, and was a former principal at Echelon Front, a management consulting firm. Mr. Randle is an experienced talent executive, veteran, coach and mentor. He has over 20 years of Fortune 100 and Fortune 1000 global human resources and talent acquisition experience.

“A true sign of a talent mindset is when you treat your human capital with the same discipline, rigor, and focus you place on your financial capital,” said Mr. Randle. “It is the single greatest weapon a company has in the battle for top talent—and the only way to win it.”

Talent War Group aligns candidates with a company’s goals, metrics, and cultural attributes. Once hired, the Talent War Group provides both the client and the candidate receive ongoing team and executive coaching, to help ensure long-term success and impact. Through full-service organizational strategy, on-call executive HR coaching, and leadership development support, Talent War Group works with businesses to develop a high-functioning, high-performance culture. Talent War Group also designs custom leadership development and executive coaching programs taught by former special operations and executive leaders, range from in-class or virtual leadership development curriculums to leadership development excursions.

Open for Business

Over the past year, new recruiting firms have put out shingles around the world in a wide range of industries. Here’s a look at a recent sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Mark Oppenheimer, former CEO Americas for Marlin Hawk in New York, has launched Modern Executive Solutions in Atlanta. He co-founded the new search outfit with his wife, Michelle Domanico, who serves as chief financial officer. Modern’s purpose, according to Mr. Oppenheimer – who serves as chief executive – is to improve “diverse representation within leadership teams.” The firm has spent months collecting, tracking, and analyzing feedback from hundreds of C-level executives before launching recently. Modern bills itself as “an innovative executive search and integrated advisory solutions firm,” underpinned with market intelligence and assessment capabilities – strong points of Mr. Oppenheimer’s while serving in various leadership capacities at Marlin Hawk over a 12-year career with the London-based recruitment provider.

Debra L. Lee, the former CEO of BET Networks, and Rabia de Lande Long, an executive coach and management consultant for top companies, have launched a bi-coastal consulting firm, the Monarchs Collective, centered on elevating black executives and women. “The Monarchs Collective answers the calls for – and clear business value of – diverse leadership, and partners with organizations and executives to make it easier to discover, develop, and promote exceptional black and women executives for boards and leadership roles,” said the firm’s new leaders in a statement. “Frustrated by a perceived lack of qualified candidates who bring diversity but inspired by the great number of extraordinary talent in their networks, the co-founders launched the Monarchs Collective to break old systems and networks. They seek to accelerate efforts to expand leadership pipelines and create measurable and sustainable systems for engaging and retaining diverse talent.”

Ahmad Popalyar has launched Succession Executive Search, a recruiting firm that specializes in finding investment banking and private equity professionals, as well as C-level executives across the middle market. “To win the war for talent, you have to first understand that the battlefield isn’t the same as it was even five years ago,” said Mr. Popalyar, who serves as president and CEO. “It’s digital now. In order to find and attract top-tier talent, you have to be connected to the virtual communities – where the networking, engagement and thought leadership is happening. You must meet the candidates where they are, and actively engage and build relationships with them before they even think about taking on their next role,” he said. “If not, you’ll find yourself spending six to 12 months trying to find that right person that could have been found in one week.

Recruitment industry veteran Tim Walsh has launched Vetted, a boutique recruitment and outplacement firm focused on supporting Greater Boston’s innovation ecosystem. “We want to help companies navigate this new world of talent acquisition, where remote hiring and the renewed importance of diversity hiring have come to the forefront,” said Mr. Walsh. “With all that’s happened in 2020, it’s more important than ever to give back. To put that into action, we’re proud to donate 10 percent of our profits to local charitable causes while partnering with Boston-area businesses who share that mindset and are excited about the good we can do together.”