True Search Appoints COO and CFO
September 16, 2022 – Executive recruiting firm True Search has named Kate Vanek as global chief operating officer and chief financial officer. “Kate is a proven strategic COO and a high-impact finance executive who will help solidify our operational maturity, which will ultimately benefit our clients, teams and candidates,” said Brad Stadler, True co-CEO and co-founder. “Kate’s expertise will also ensure we continue to be the most innovative and efficient firm in our industry while maintaining our unique culture.”
“In addition to her professional experience, Kate has a leadership style that motivates and inspires,” said Joe Riggione, True co-CEO and co-founder. “She complements our outstanding operational leadership team and steps into her new role as an already-trusted partner with a deep understanding of how we’re reshaping the talent management industry to be more transparent, people-focused, and technologically sophisticated.”
Ms. Vanek has deep experience leading operations and finance for complex, multinational companies. She joined True earlier this year as general manager of its EMEA and APAC businesses, which she will continue to oversee. Going forward, Ms. Vanek will be responsible for growing and scaling True’s global investments and ensuring operational success across the firm’s worldwide team and 21 offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC.
Ms. Vanek’s professional experience spans strategy and business operations, finance, M&A, investor relations, DEI initiatives, and leadership development. She took the helm of True’s EMEA and APAC operations in April after departing BlackRock, where she was COO of global finance and CFO of EMEA. Previously she served as Nielsen’s CFO of its U.S. media business and as SVP of global investor relations.
In addition to her leadership responsibilities for both the EMEA and APAC businesses, Ms. Vanek will oversee all of the firm’s functional departments and will share her data and technology-forward viewpoint of how to operate as a global firm and expansion of True Search, AboveBoard, Thrive, and TrueBridge.
“True is at an exciting inflection point where we’re building on immense growth and actively constructing the talent management firm of the future we believe will be the industry standard,” said Ms. Vanek. “Through it all, we’ve maintained a people-first focus and continual investment in new data technologies that will push the boundaries of what an executive search firm can be. I’m thrilled to continue this journey with True and help realize that dream.”
Serving the Private and Public Sectors
Working in both the private and public sectors, True Search has offices throughout the U.S. as well as the EMEA and APAC regions. Since the late 1990s, the firm’s founders have refined their search process with a blend of data-centric insights, relationship-building, and experience to produce a methodology that consistently improves hiring decisions and accelerates growth. Its clients include Jet, Work Front, and Summit Partners. True Search is a subsidiary of True Platform, a global portfolio of human capital services and products for high-growth tech and tech-enabled organizations. True recently placed No. 7 on the Hunt Scanlon Media “Top 50 Recruiters” ranking.
Related: True Search Expands Leadership Team
Recent Funding
LLR Partners, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia, made an investment in True this past spring. The partnership is aimed at developing and expanding innovation within the talent space.
True Search has added Aisha Christian as general counsel, Didi Dayton as head of platform and community, Ms. Christian will oversee corporate transactions, employment law, risk management, compliance, governance, and M&A activities. A Harvard Law graduate, she has held senior positions at KIPP NYC, CNBC/NBC Universal, Russell Reynolds Associates, and Rent the Runway. Ms. Christian brings corporate experience, professional search experience, and has insight into how the legal department of a scaling organization should operate. Ms. Dayton comes to True from Wing Venture Capital, where she built a substantial network of CXOs, CISOs, data scientists, and technical leaders and led business development to help advise and grow Wing’s early and growth stage portfolio companies.
LLR Partners, which has raised more than $5 billion to fund investments across the technology and healthcare sectors, is said to have bought into True’s mission to disrupt a stagnant industry in desperate need of tech-driven talent solutions. “They expressed interest and we were compelled to listen, even though we were not looking for a financial partner,” said Mr. Stadler at the time of the investment. “Through our discussions, we quickly became aligned on how they could operationally and strategically support our long-term vision.”
“We also aligned on our ability to control our own destiny with no pressure to transact,” said Mr. Riggione. “Our collective vision is for True to remain independent and become the industry’s dominant brand. We couldn’t be more excited about partnering with LLR to get there.”
Related: True Search Recruits New CFO for PE-Backed MikMak
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
