Vaco Appoints Co-Leaders of Los Angeles Office

May 23, 2022 – Brentwood, TN-headquartered recruiting firm Vaco has appointed Joslyn Osborn and Stephen P. Smith as co-managing partners of its Los Angeles office. Ms. Osborn will lead direct hire services and Mr. Smith will lead consulting services, joining Frances Moreno, co-founder and senior managing partner, who leads the company’s strategic initiatives and will continue to deliver client service. “Promoting Joslyn and Steve is a key part of our growth strategy at Vaco as they are both proven tenured leaders with deep expertise,” said Ms. Moreno. “Their aptitude will advance our mission to help clients grow their teams and propel candidates ahead in their careers. Steve is exemplary and sets a standard of excellence, while Joslyn is a master at coalescing and integrating knowledge from different team members across Vaco to create the best solutions for clients. Together, they are a powerhouse.”

With nearly 20 years in direct hire, Ms. Osborn previously held positions at national staffing firms including Korn Ferry where she specialized in placing accounting, finance, and technology professionals. She will now oversee direct hire recruiting for a wide range of roles in finance and accounting, technology, operations, human resources, and administration. In addition to serving as co-managing partner in Los Angeles, she will continue her role as national director of finance and accounting for direct hire.

“In this dynamic hiring market, it’s critical that companies have a thoughtful talent strategy for filling immediate needs and also plan for future growth and market advantage,” said Ms. Osborn. “I often recommend that clients take an integrated approach with hiring so that when clients are requiring a strategic position, they can bring in a consultant on an interim basis to maintain the workload and enhance their expertise. I am excited to combine synergies with Steve to amplify this strategy.”

After a decade in technical accounting and financial reporting, Mr. Smith joined Vaco in Los Angeles soon after its inception in 2006 and was previously partner for the accounting and finance consulting practice. Prior to joining Vaco, he served as a global financial reporting CPA for CB Richard Ellis Investors, manager of accounting at NBC/Universal, and senior auditor at Deloitte & Touche LLP. As co-managing partner, Mr. Smith will now lead and expand the team to meet client needs for high-level accounting and finance consultants to help them achieve strategic goals.

“In light of the huge and diverse hiring needs in the competitive LA market, Vaco’s creative and personal approach has helped contribute to our tremendous and consistent growth,” said Mr. Smith. “We’re continuing to build on that momentum as Joslyn and I focus on further specializing in our areas of expertise to expand and deepen our teams and our service offerings. Frances leads with a planned and thoughtful vision, and Jos and I are excited to lead the charge to enable her to laser focus on Vaco’s position in the market.”

Related: Vaco Appoints Leader of Denver Office

Founded in 2002 by Jerry Bostelman, Jay Hollomon, and Mr. Waller, Vaco provides boutique-level service with global reach in executive search, consulting, permanent placement, and strategic staffing. Its areas of expertise include accounting, finance, technology, healthcare IT, operations, administration, and managed services. The firm operates more than 35 offices, with 780-plus employees and 4,300 consultants worldwide.

Recent Acquisitions

Vaco recently acquired Bay State Search, a Boston-based national talent acquisition and outsourcing firm. The deal gives Vaco a foothold into the Boston market and complements its Northeast growth, following the launch of its technology and staffing divisions in the tri-state area last year.

Bay State Search, founded in 2013, serves the accounting and finance, banking and financial services, information technology, customer service, legal work and administration sectors. The transaction closed Oct. 29; terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bay State Search will transition to the Vaco brand in 2022, and its executives will remain with the company. Vaco said it has been looking at Boston for a long time. “Once we met [Ryan Murphy, principal and founder of Bay State Search] and the Bay State Search team, we knew we’d found the right partners,” said Vaco CEO and co-founder Brian Waller. “Like Vaco, Bay State Search puts people and relationships first, and this is the perfect partnership to bring more value to both clients and candidates in the Boston market.”

This follows Focus Search Partners, a Vaco company, acquiring Dallas-based Southerland Group, complementing its existing expertise across the healthcare industry. Southerland Group is a nationally recognized retained executive search firm with specialization in complex integrated delivery systems, hospitals, academic medical centers, children’s hospitals, and payer organizations.

Under the agreement, Southerland Group’s founder Keith Southerland and his team joins Focus Search Partners’ leadership team. Mr. Southerland brings more than three decades of experience leading executive search for healthcare provider organizations to the firm and has conducted more than 1,100 searches for non-profit multi-hospital health systems, professional associations, pediatric health systems, public hospitals, academic medical centers, and managed care organizations.

Related: Vaco Opens New Office in Vancouver

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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