TalentoHCM Acquires De Forest Search

Search firms of all sizes continue to explore and realize their true value in the market. In the latest deal facilitated by Hunt Scanlon Ventures, Talento has acquired De Forest Search, a search firm specializing in the consumer products, media and entertainment sectors. Let’s go inside the latest deal.

August 16, 2022 – TalentoHCM has acquired De Forest Search, a Los Angeles-based executive search firm known for its 28-year history with Fortune 500 companies in consumer products, media and entertainment, alongside deep functional experience in sales, marketing, creative, product, ecommerce, human resources, finance and supply chain. Together, the combined organizations offer a broader human capital services menu and are projected to grow to $1 billion in revenue by 2030. Hunt Scanlon Ventures, based in Greenwich, Conn., facilitated the introduction and transaction between both organizations. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to bring the deep industry & functional expertise of the Los Angeles team into the TalentoHCM platform to continue to obsess over delivering innovative customer experiences,” said Juan Gaitan, CEO of TalentoHCM. “Today’s customers need more from their partners. Our combined executive, management, and professional recruiting offerings as well as contingent workforce solutions bring tremendous capabilities to today’s HR and business leaders.”

De Forest Search is dedicated to recruiting top professionals for positions ranging from manager through C-Suite level. While the firm is widely known in the toy and entertainment sectors for filling marketing, licensing, branding, sales and design positions, it has grown to include many other industries and types of roles in lifestyle consumer products. The recruitment team has served clients ranging from small privately held companies to Fortune 100 companies.

Nationally Recognized Firm

Jill De Forest founded De Forest Search over 25 years ago. Under her leadership, the firm has grown into a nationally recognized recruitment firm and has been successful placing thousands of mid-management through senior executive roles in almost every major city in the U.S. The firm serves a variety of industries including lifestyle consumer products and experiences, web and app-based SaaS direct to consumer products and services, and industrial manufacturing.

“I am excited to join forces with a progressive human capital management firm with global reach and strong presence in multiple U.S. markets,” said Ms. De Forest, CEO of De Forest Search and now managing director of customer development at TalentoHCM. “When I met Juan and the Talento team, I knew that their leadership and track-record of scaling and unlocking value would benefit our customers and employees for years-to-come.”

“Expanding our Los Angeles market gives us the ability to diversify services, expand our reach and provide our customers with a more integrated approach to combating the challenges of today’s talent economy,” said Mr. Gaitan.


Hunt Scanlon Media Launches M&A Advisory Service for Recruiters
These have been sobering days for executive recruiting firms around the globe. Most of them, regardless of size, location, or specialization were caught flat-footed by one of the most sweeping economic crises to ever hit the sector this past year. As a result, the nation’s top search consultants have been resetting expectations and, in the process, setting a new course.

Professional services firms – and executive recruiting outfits in particular – have a long history of finding their way through tough times. Many search firms have used this time to dust off their own continuity and succession plans, or to reconsider that merger or acquisition which was something of a nuisance when times were flush. Others have taken a hard look at their capitalization strategies. This crisis, like no other, has driven many of the most well-known and respected brands in the recruiting business to reassess everything about their businesses, top to bottom.

Behind the scenes, this has been an active period for executive recruitment firms. To meet their advisory needs, Hunt Scanlon Media launched a new set of solutions to assist search firms and talent solutions providers seeking mergers, acquisitions, or funding connections. Founders Scott A. Scanlon and Christopher W. Hunt sit down to discuss Hunt Scanlon Ventures and the state of the executive search industry.


TalentoHCM is a strategic 360° human capital partner, with customer-obsessed advisors who have customer relationships throughout high growth, middle market, and enterprise companies. Founded in 2017, TalentoHCM has supported businesses who are merging, growing, divesting, or retooling their approach. TalentoHCM creates custom, individualized customer experiences based on specific needs.

According to Hunt Scanlon Media, the 50 largest U.S. recruiting firms produced record revenues last year, reporting $5.9 billion in fees, a $2 billion, or 52%, one-year rise. Boutique recruiting providers, which offer more bespoke industry and functional solutions to clients, shattered old records as the flight to search specialists intensified. They reported $2.2 billion in revenues, a 58 percent rise. To view Hunt Scanlon’s latest rankings, visit https://huntscanlon.com/top-50/.

Related: De Forest Search Finds Top Sales Executives for Ja-Ru Toys and Rehrig Pacific Company

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

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