The Christopher Group Seeks Chief People Officer for Vervent
September 29, 2022 – Talent acquisition strategies at many large companies have become as complex as their balance sheets. And while CHROs play a vital role in overseeing an organization’s broad-based workforce, the chief people officer typically goes beyond overseeing its people policies. The focus instead is on building talent as a key competitive advantage, with more emphasis on culture, which includes values, ethics, and mission.
As companies look to build internal brand awareness and set their sights more on establishing and driving their own unique cultures, CPOs are coming more into vogue. The Christopher Group (TCG), a boutique HR executive search and business solutions recruiting firm, was recently selected by San Diego, CA-based Vervent to lead in its search for a chief people officer. Tom Christopher is leading the assignment.
“Vervent has grown from a niche player in the servicing space into an award-winning, global financial services brand that delivers comprehensive solutions for an array of industries,” TCG said. “This search was highly contested among several of our competitors and we are thrilled to be working with David Johnson, CEO and founder, to help Vervent elevate HR for years to come.”
This position, which reports to the CEO, will play a critical role in building the infrastructure of the human capital organization within Vervent while fostering an environment of growth, employee engagement, and maintaining culture. An opportunity to elevate the HR function and create new systems, tools, and processes in order to create consistency across the organization. This role will serve as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to the leadership team. This executive manages and motivates staff, reviews and assesses performance, builds employee capacity, supports their professional development, and enables employees to optimize their contribution to the department. The individual will oversee the HR administration process and data management, allowing increases in efficiency and effectiveness of HR processes.
Candidates for this chief people officer role should have 15 years of progressive responsibility with a generalist background with broad knowledge of succession planning and development, performance management, organization planning, employee relations, compensation, training, and development.
Vervent empowers companies to accelerate business, drive compliance, and maximize service. As a lending-as-a-service (LaaS) company, Vervent supports industry-leading partners with primary strategic services including loan and lease services, call center services, backup servicing/capital markets support, credit card servicing, and customer acquisition.
Veteran Recruiters
Founded in 1998 by Tom and Paula Christopher (former HR executives with GE, Pepsi, Progressive Insurance, and Citigroup), The Christopher Group is a leading boutique HR executive search and staffing solutions firms. TCG is staffed by former HR professionals and trained search practitioners who use proprietary, scientific and industry-leading systems, tools, and processes. The firm has offices in Willoughby, OH; Sarasota, FL; and Kansas City, MO.
Related: Allen Institute Taps Christopher Group for Top HR Search
Mr. Christopher has a personal practice focused primarily at the VP, SVP, and CHRO levels. He has completed executive HR searches with a diverse set of clients across multiple industry verticals including but not limited to Pepsi, Honeywell, Capital One, BP, Kraft, US Foods, Raytheon, Ingersoll-Rand, Vanderbilt University, Delaware North, CDW, Medco, Citigroup, Johns Hopkins University, Eastman Chemical, Comcast, and many others. With over 30 years of experience in human resources and executive search, his deep understanding of business strategy, organizational structures, and talent acquisition/ assessment/ development have allowed him to become an invaluable search and business partner to senior executives at an array of Fortune 500 organizations.
The Christopher Group recently recruited Case McGee as chief people officer of Clayton Homes Building Group (CHGB), the largest builder of manufactured housing and modular homes in the U.S. and a Berkshire Hathaway company. “This was one of the more difficult and rewarding searches that we have completed in recent memory,” said Nat Schiffer, managing director, who conducted the assignment with Tobin Anselmi, managing partner. “Clayton Homes has such an incredibly successful and defined culture. They are a legendary employment brand in the region and beyond. They do not often recruit from the outside, especially for C-suite roles, and therefore finding the right fit was 80 percent-plus of the challenge in executing the search. Dr. Anselmi and I interviewed scores of candidates that were technically capable of doing the job – but finding the right chemical profile to successfully assimilate into the Clayton professional family was the real trick. This is another example of our ability to meet the needs of the most discerning clients where the stakes of a failed hire could not be greater,” he added.
Related: The Christopher Group Places CHRO for American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
