ZRG Partners Posts 18 Percent Revenue Gain

May 6, 2016 – ZRG Partners has posted revenues in its Americas region of $11.1 million, up 18 percent, for 2015. The firm now ranks as the 23rd largest search firm, according to the latest statistics report released from Hunt Scanlon Media. ZRG currently has 37 consultants across 17 offices global offices, and reported $13.6 million worldwide last year.

ZRG has been expanding its consultant ranks and sector specializations over the last several years and now provides human capital services to a number of key markets, including financial services, aerospace & defense, consumer, cybersecurity & defense / intelligence, education, healthcare & life sciences, industrial, non-profit, private equity & venture capital, professional services, and technology.

“2015 was a game changing year for ZRG Partners,” said CEO Larry Hartmann. “Our focus last year was setting the foundation for achieving our next milestone of $50 million in revenues and beefing up our infrastructure to support this.” To that end, ZRG completed a private equity fund raise in the first quarter of 2015 which, according to Mr. Hartmann, “has provided fuel and capital to now safely execute our long term growth strategy. We are on pace to exceed $25 million in revenues in 2017, based on these investments.”

During the year, ZRG added 10 managing directors, including three from the CTPartners fallout. “We have beefed up our industrial and life science practices significantly this past year with the additions of Jim Aslaksen and Andy Talkington as well as Richard Morford and Susan Baldwin,” said Mr. Hartmann.

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The firm’s growing consumer practice was augmented with the addition of Mary Kier in Chicago. ZRG also addressed one of its industry gaps, in the area of technology, by bringing in two partners with a focus in this sector. “We are pleased that our North American footprint was extended to Canada during the year, with the addition of a Toronto office and the hiring of David Kinley and a support team there,” he added.

“We are pleased to see that the fruits of our investments in 2015 have already been yielding strong results in the first quarter of this year,” said Mr. Hartmann. He said the firm’s revenue run rate is now pointing to 40 percent year-over-year growth, based on the additions and investments during last year. “We remain optimistic and positive about the results of 2015 and how they have set the table for the next phase of growth for the firm.”

Highlights from 2015 include:

• ZRG Partners acquired certain assets of Pyramid International, a 10-year old executive search firm located in Lausanne, Switzerland. As part of its asset acquisition agreement, AJ Ravenhorst, the firm’s CEO, joined ZRG as a managing director and is now a member of its global life science practice.

• As noted, the firm expanded into Canada with the addition of David Kinley as managing director in a new Toronto office. He supports the firm’s growing private equity-backed recruiting practice where he has extensive experience in technology company search assignments.

• In November, former CTPartners’ recruiter Susan Baldwin joined ZRG as managing director to further build out the firm’s healthcare services practice. Her focus has been with healthcare payers, pharmacy benefit management, and specialty healthcare services companies.

• In October, the firm added Rahul Kapur as managing director to support growth in its payments and retail banking sector. Mr. Kapur has worked as a practice leader with several top consultancies, including Cognizant, CapGemni, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Capco, and Mastercard Advisors.

• In September, Richard Morford joined ZRG as managing director to help expand the firm’s global industrial recruiting practice and augment its efforts in the life sciences sector. He works out of the firm’s corporate offices in New Jersey and support his clients globally. Mr. Morford was most recently with RSVP Group US, an executive search firm focused on the life sciences and chemicals industries.

• As Mr. Hartmann noted, the firm added Jim Aslaksen as managing director in its global industrial practice. He has over 20 years of experience in leading assignments for CEOs, board directors and other senior level executives for global industrial organizations, frequently working within the chemical and process industries markets. He joined ZRG from CTPartners where he was a vice chairman and co-head of its global industry practice.

• Andy Talkington also joined ZRG from CTPartners. Mr. Talkington is based out of Houston where he is further building the firm’s global industrial practice. With more than 16 years of executive recruitment experience, Mr. Talkington previously served for two years as vice chairman and co-head of the global industrial practice at CTPartners, where his search practice was concentrated in placing top executives in board of director, CEO, and executive-level management positions within the industrial sector.

• In June, ZRG Partners opened a new office in Phoenix with the addition of David Bruno as managing director. Mr. Bruno has a long history of conducting board of director, C-level and critical VP and director level searches in the Phoenix market. His search career includes spending more than 22 years with DHR International where he served as a senior client partner/managing director as well as vice chairman.

• During the year, ZRG launched a new cybersecurity and government / defense & intelligence recruitment practice with the additions of search consultants Stephen Spagnuolo and Phoebe Henderson. Most recently, Mr. Spagnuolo founded SASearch Advisors, deploying an extensive network across Wall Street and the national security communities to help bridge companies’ emerging cyber security needs. Ms. Henderson was previously a partner with Northwind Partners.

• And earlier in the year as mentioned, ZRG added former Cook Associates CEO Mary Kier as managing director. She is based in the firm’s Chicago office and serves ZRG’s private equity, consumer and industrial practices.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media