Witt/Kieffer Appoints CHRO
April 16, 2018 – Executive recruitment firm Witt/Kieffer has appointed HR veteran Tiffany Morris as its chief human resources officer. As a member of the senior leadership team, Ms. Morris is charged with supporting the overall achievement of the firm’s goals and managing the life cycle of the employee experience.
“We welcome Tiffany to the firm and are confident that her breadth of experiences across the HR spectrum, coupled with her engaging style, will serve as an asset to our growth and development,” said Andrew P. Chastain, president and CEO of Witt/Kieffer. “We look forward to the invaluable guidance she will bring to the firm.”
Ms. Morris has decades of senior leadership experience in culture building, talent management and organizational development. In her previous position as a strategic consultant at High Ground, a technology service provider. In this role, she focused on creating value enhancing programs across engagement, talent management, learning and people analytics. Prior to High Ground, Ms. Morris spent more than 15 years with Sears Corp. in roles such as VP of HR and VP of talent management.
“I am excited to bring my skill-sets to Witt/Kieffer and further develop its thriving culture and commitment to values,” said Ms. Morris. “As an active leader, I’m excited to build out and oversee the Witt/Kieffer employee experience, from recruitment and training to performance management and engagement.”
Witt/ Kieffer, based in Oak Brook, IL, assists hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, medical schools and physician groups; biotech, pharmaceutical, diagnostics and medical device companies; colleges and universities and not-for-profit community service and cultural organizations with senior administrative recruiting assignments. With more than 100 search professionals nationwide, its consultants recruit CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CNOs, physician executives and other leaders.
CHROs
Today’s effective CHROs are clearly part of the executive teams that develop and execute business strategy. “Gone are the days when people in this role are seen as the keepers of the administrative people functions,” said Alan Guarino, vice chairman in the CEO and board services practice for Korn Ferry.
“Increasingly, the CHROs that we work with own the talent solution side of the business, aligning talent work streams to drive the business toward the organization’s objectives,” he said. “Companies where the CHRO focuses on this strategic set of responsibilities are positioned to gain the upper hand, because they are likely to better execute their strategies.”
For CHROs, chief talent officers and other C-suite HR executives, the crossover skills required in the search business are nearly identical, and Hunt Scanlon Media has recently tracked a number of successful transitions. We have taken note of the trend among top-ranking HR executives joining executive search firms. Here’s a look at some of the more prominent ones:
Boyden recently added veteran human resources executive Michele Marchesan as a principal in the firm’s Milan office. In his 30-year career, Mr. Marchesan has overseen numerous searches for C-suite and senior-level management throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. He most recently served as senior vice president and CHRO at Datalogic.
Russell Reynolds Associates added former AOL HR executive Stephanie Angelini as a member of its human resources officers practice. She is based in New York. At AOL, Ms. Angelini was a vice president and HR business advisor for content and consumer brands. She was responsible for designing and leading human resources strategies across a 1,200-person organization.
Johnson Executive Search expanded with the addition of former human resources executive Stephanie Owens as a recruiting advisor. Ms. Owens spent 30 years in Silicon Valley recruiting high-value talent. Previously, she served as HR director at DLA Piper for 11 years. Before that, she held HR roles with Exodus Communications and Gary Cary Ware & Freidenrich.
hrQ appointed Brent McCombs as vice president and managing director of its Houston office. Mr. McCombs comes to hrQ from Intermountain Health, where he served as AVP-HR overseeing talent acquisition and workforce optimization. He previously held a role within a KKR portfolio company.
Grace Blue Partnership named Jean-Michel Wu as its Asia Pacific chief executive officer. In addition, he will join the global board of Grace Blue, which specializes in creative, media, communications, and the marketing sector. Mr. Wu previously served as chief talent officer at McCann Worldgroup.
Battalia Winston appointed Frederick Lamster as a partner in the firm’s retail practice. Mr. Lamster is a veteran human resources and staffing professional whose career spans more than 25 years. He was previously CHRO for Orchard Brands (recently acquired by Bluestem Brands), a $1.1 billion catalog marketer.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
