Wurster Partners Merges With ON Partners
March 20, 2017 – M&A activity in the executive search industry continues unabated. The latest: Wurster Partners has merged with ON Partners, a boutique leadership advisory firm focused on technology, life sciences, consumer, industrial and the energy / clean tech industries. The deal bolsters ON Partners expertise in global consumer brand recruiting.
Founded in 2010, Wurster Partners has worked closely with both public and private companies across the consumer industry. The firm has also developed a reputable foothold in corporate officer and diversity recruitment in areas of marketing, digital, information systems, human resources and finance.
With a primary focus on the technology, life sciences, consumer, industrial, and energy / clean tech industries, ON Partners (ON) identifies and recruits C-suite, board and senior executive talent for both public and private companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms.
Founder and managing partner of Wurster Partners, Michael Wurster, joins ON Partners as a partner. He brings nearly two decades of global experience, and significant knowledge of both developed and emerging markets. He has advised international corporations, private equity and venture capital firms, and higher education and non-profit entities, specifically in areas of inclusion, succession planning and executive on-boarding.
Previously, Mr. Wurster served as a senior member of the board and CEO, consumer, financial services and diversity practices for Heidrick & Struggles and Spencer Stuart.
With this addition, ON Partners will boast a consumer practice with deep market knowledge and expertise. Mr. Wurster has worked with a number of global brands, including MGM Resorts, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Hotels.com, Penn National Gaming, Jack Entertainment, Crown Resorts, Star Entertainment Group, and countless others. This complements ON’s consumer internet portfolio of board and C-suite placements with clients including AirBnB, Uber, Pinterest, as well as private equity and venture capital clients.
“Michael has created one of the most successful and respected consumer practices,” said Tim Conti, managing partner at ON Partners. “He is a thoughtful, trusted advisor that cares deeply about his clients and their success. We’re thrilled to have him join our team.”
ON Partners is an incredibly powerful brand, said Mr. Wurster. “The firm’s culture, collective approach, and strong execution methodology were key drivers in my decision to join. I look forward to building and leading a world-class global consumer practice, and broadening our footprint with the support of the ON team.”
Mergers Continue In the Search Industry
There have been a number of mergers among executive search firms since the start of the year. Some provide national expansion opportunities, others more global reach, while still others allow for additional solutions offerings for clients requesting a full suite of talent management services.
Just last month, two specialists, The Buffkin Group and long-time higher education specialist Baker and Associates, joined forces. Now known as Buffkin/Baker, the newly-merged creation boasts offices in Nashville, its headquarters, as well as Chicago, New York, Winston-Salem, Charleston and Washington, D.C. Aside from giving it more bulk geographically, the combination has given the resulting business broadened synergies to search for leaders across a number of disciplines, including healthcare, technology, private club, digital media, digital marketing, financial services, academia and non-profit.
Also in January, executive search firms Thomas Thor Associates, B.V. and KeySource HCI, LLC merged their nuclear industry business interests in the Americas and formed a new company called KeySource Thomas Thor, which focuses on providing executive search services to the entire life-cycle of nuclear providers in North and South America and will be headquartered in Hudson, OH. The combined firm will also have access to the global network of Thomas Thor Associates with operations in Europe and the Middle East.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
