ZRG Partners Appoints Retail Practice Global Leader

March 27, 2020 – ZRG Partners has continued its recent expansion with the addition of Brian Meany as managing partner and global head of its retail practice. He will be based in the firm’s New York City office.

Mr. Meany has spent the past 25 years as managing director for Herbert Mines Associates, where he executed C-suite searches across the retail, fashion, wholesale and consumer product industries. He previously worked at Norman Broadbent and Korn Ferry. Throughout his career, he has completed hundreds of C-suite and board searches for many of the top retail brands. Mr. Meany is known as a market maker in the retail space with broad experience working with public, private and private equity-backed clients.


Get Our Latest Report! Find Out How Top Talent Enriches Returns

For private equity firms, nothing impacts an investment return more than talent. Why? Institutional investors increasingly see portfolio company talent management as a crucial lever for value creation, risk mitigation and growth. But there is a fundamental shift underway at PE firms. They are moving beyond traditional views of human resources to something more transformative – with a heavy emphasis on talent management & development, culture and engagement. According to this latest landmark research report from Hunt Scanlon, it all has to do with unleashing higher levels of leadership performance to boost results. And that has required a hard look at value creation and how top talent enriches returns. 

This year, Hunt Scanlon interviewed private equity leaders and their chief talent officers as well as leading executive recruiters from across the sector. Expertise was shared from leaders at Russell Reynolds Associates; Bain & Company; The Carlyle Group; Notch Partners; Francisco Partners; TPG; Frederickson Partners; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Coulter Partners; Hogan Assessments; Summit Partners; Apollo Global Management; Audax Group; Summit Leadership Partners; Slayton Search Partners; PierceGray; Caldwell; Acertitude; Blackstone; Ares Management; Solomon Page; CEO.works; JM Search; Diversified Search; HREquity; Invenias; FMG Leading; Innova International; Wilton & Bain; Bowdoin Group; Charles Aris; Kingsley Gate Partners; StevenDouglas​ and others from across the PE spectrum.

If you are a PE managing director, operating partner, talent professional or recruiter, this report is designed specifically for you. Insert an ad in our report, reserve your copy today and find out how you should adapt your business in these uncertain times. 


“Leadership matters more than ever with the changing landscape in retail,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Adding Brian to our team to bring the depth of his sector knowledge and his connections to the right leaders will accelerate the work we are doing across the consumer and retail sectors for ZRG.” With the global pandemic leveling many sectors within the retail space, top flight leaders will be in high demand once business returns to normal this fall, according to recruiters who work within the industry.

“It is a great time to help ZRG expand in the retail area,” Mr. Meany said. “The global footprint of the firm and the digital search tools being provided through the Z Score process will broaden my reach and impact. The firm offers sector strength globally in consumer and retail, deep relationships and expertise in private equity, and functional experts for me to partner with across the C-suite. I am excited to help grow this sector and the firm in the coming years.”

Other Recent Additions

ZRG also bolstered its healthcare, life sciences, IT, tech and fintech practices by adding Shelly Scott, Brian Kelley, Chuck Nees and Abe Doctor as managing directors.

Ms. Scott is a seasoned executive search consultant who brings legal, compliance, risk and privacy functional expertise to ZRG’s healthcare and life sciences practices. With 10 years of executive search experience, she has led searches from chief legal officer and chief compliance officer to vice president of risk management, privacy, investor relations, government affairs, technical operations and performance improvement. Prior to joining ZRG, Ms. Scott spent 10 years with BakerGillmore, a New York area legal and compliance boutique search firm, as chair of its healthcare and life sciences practice.

Mr. Kelley adds 30 years of functional, sales, marketing and operational expertise to ZRG’s healthcare practice. Previously, he spent nearly five years with The Onstott Group, where he was a managing director with a specific focus on the healthcare industry. Before that, he served as a partner with The Buffkin Group. Mr. Kelley operated his own boutique search firm, BTK Associates, from 2005-2015.

ZRG Adds Recruiting Specialists Across Several Business Sectors
ZRG recently added government, cyber and security industry specialist Pete Metzger as a senior advisor and managing director. Mr. Metzger’s executive search career extends over two decades, and has earned him a reputation as a trusted advisor to business and government leaders.

Mr. Nees brings a track record of successful searches for C-suite GM, finance, sales and marketing, HR, operations, I/T, and engineering roles for private, public and family-owned organizations to ZRG’s technology practice. Prior to joining ZRG, Mr. Nees was co-founder of a national boutique search firm, Braswell Nees Group.

Mr. Doctor joins ZRG from TritonExec where he served as managing partner and head of North America, driving double-digit annual growth in the region. Previously, he was with Korn Ferry as a leader in the professional services and digital practices. Most of his executive search career has been as a specialist in business and technology services and in growth markets where the effect of digital transformation has created new industries, including fintech and insur-tech.

ZRG, founded in 1999, is a progressive mid-sized global executive search firm that uses a proven, data-driven approach. The firm finds leaders across a broad spectrum of business markets, including aerospace, consumer, education, healthcare services and solutions, industrial, life sciences, non-profit, private equity and venture capital, and technology.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

Share This Article

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments