Closer

Klemens Wersonig is the Austrian founder and CEO of TARGET Executive Search.

Since 25 years he is focusing on senior recruitment and headhunting across CEE. He has personally interviewed over 20.000 managers in Central Europe and successfully placed over 500. 

Being from Austria he was one of the first “pioneers to the East”. He crossed the “iron curtain” back in 1988 and started to work in Hungary, managing a start-up company in trade and real-estate development. During 5 years he managed a team of 40 people and he also learned Hungarian. From this time he left a landmark in the centre of Budapest: Converting the Southern Vaci utca into a pedestrian zone was his idea and achievement for which he convinced all the city authorities and secured the funding. Today this has become a major tourist attraction.

Before coming to Hungary, he received a 1 year Rotary scholarship in Canada and then finished a doctorate in business administration at the WU-Wirtschaftsuniversität Vienna. He was AIESEC president in Vienna and had traineeships in USA, Canada and France. Besides his native German he speaks fluent English, French, Hungarian and studies Slovak. In 1994 he founded the TARGET Executive Search Group. Next to his CEO role for the entire Group, he enjoys to take care of his own key clients and find the right managers for them. He also served for many years as a Board Member and Vice President of the global executive search network – INAC, in which TARGET is the partner for CEE.

Being French and living in Vienna for more than 25 years, he worked in the industrial and consumer goods area at multinational companies. At top management level he had international sales and marketing responsibilities (CEE). He is used to managing the business development objectives of a company and the demands of top managers to reach them.

After his double studies in France and Germany (Business Administration) he worked in Germany, Canada, France and Austria. His native tongue is French, however is also fluent in German, English, and small talk in Czech.

As there is no university for head hunters in the Czech Republic, Jiří graduated in Biology and Geology.

He has dedicated his entire professional life to Executive Search. In addition to his experience in the HRDepartment of an international industrial group, he spent 13 years working for one of the leading Executive Search companies in the Czech Republic, which specializes in search and selection of managers and experts for international clients. Despite starting as a generalist, his main focus has gradually shifted to the Industry and Manufacturing sector as well as to German-speaking clients. 

Tiina Joronen (M. Sc., Business Administration) is an experienced HR professional with demonstrated history of working in various HR roles both in consultancy and in business sector. She has practical experience of working in leadership teams and in developing leadership skills.

She is skilled in Executive Search, talent management, performance management, change management and in organization development. She has a demonstrated history of working in a global working environment and in various change situations, including M&A, post-merger integration and restructuring.

With her long and broad experience including not only HR, HRD and recruitment but also finance, business administration and management, Hanna has a deep understanding of business and all the challenges related to high level recruitment. During her career she has handled hundreds of successful executive, management and expert level open and direct recruitments and assessments.

Hanna is a person with a real “passion to people” – her aim is to connect the right people with the right positions, and help organizations reach their goals. She is experienced in working with high level management teams in organizations of various sizes and to manage demanding projects.

Hanna is Partner and co-founder of Kangas & Svinhufvud Oy, a Finnish HR consultancy company.

Over 20 years of experience in HR consultancy and management. Deep understanding of HR related challenges across various sectors, especially from insurance and finance but also from social and health care, industrial and service sectors. This is Martti in a nutshell.

During his career Martti has worked – among other demanding positions – seven years as Country Manager in an international HR services company. He enjoys challenging assignments with a deep-dive into customer’s business case. Thanks to his client-focused approach he has several long-term customer relations and a solid reputation as a highly reliable executive level business partner.

Since 2014 Martti is Partner and co-founder of Kangas & Svinhufvud Oy, a Finnish HR consultancy company.

With a degree in Human Resources, Céline Narcy joined Jean-Marie Leroy’s team in 2005 as a researcher. She develops a very good knowledge of the job market of senior executives and managers of Real Estate and Social Housing. Faced with the dynamic generated, she became in 2007, consultant referent of the practice before taking the direction. Particularly faithful to its network, it builds for 13 years, a professional and benevolent relational network with the actors of the movement both with the leaders and the service providers whether they are in banking, technical, institutional or private investment partners. She is very interested in opening up these business sectors to profiles from other worlds.

Business School. After 15 years of experience in an international recruitment consulting firm (PA Consulting Group), he moved to the position of Manager France Sud. Henri Micheron founded Quadra in 1995 in Aix-en-Provence then in Paris. Henri Micheron has extensive experience recruiting executives and managers for major French and international groups and, since 1990, for the establishment of General Management and management teams of major local authorities.

With more than 15 years of experience as a leader and in-depth understanding of the human resource business, Morten Tange has broad experience and insight into HR and management. His main areas of expertise are outplacement and recruiting. Morten takes a deep interest in the people he works with and dedicates himself to finding a suitable match for any company and candidate.
Morten is an entrepreneur and investor, owning multiple companies and holding positions as a Board Member in a wide range of organizations.

After starting his career as a start-up and communicating particularly in the public sphere, Jean-Marie Leroy founded Quadra Public Service, which he led among the leaders of the public sector, its satellites, and social landlords. 
A lawyer by training, he has been involved with senior executives for more than 15 years to give all their power to the qualification of the need to recruit, to the variety of the origin of the profiles of the candidates, to the right positioning of the decision-maker in this structuring choice. 
Note that it is generally solicited in the context of hiring sensitive or difficult and high level, and strategic advice of leaders. Coach of leaders, he is led to pursue collaborations in the long term … and everything in discretion.

Mr. Schütz holds a bachelor degree in Business Administration, qualified in business communication and Human Resource Management. He further gathered experience at a well-known engineering company within the global steel industry.
He is specialized in the fields of social media recruiting and direct search with main focus on industry, consumer goods, IT/Telco, Chemistry and Insurance. Furthermore he manages organisational development projects and sales campaigns.

Graduated in Psychology and Business Administration

Several years of experience in the field of Human Resources Management and Management Development in consumer goods and telecommunication. Independent human resources consultant since 1999. Extensive experience in personnel consultancy. Main Focus on Financial Services, Industry, IT/Telco. Guest Speaker FAZ and St. Gallen. Expert Group Leader for Renewable Energy.

Executive Search, Management Audits, Coaching.

Graduated in German Language Sciences in Hungary and in Intercultural Communications at the University LMU in Munich, Germany, Dominika has always been a “bridge” between cultures, companies, and candidates.

Coming from relationship management at the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce in Budapest, in 2012 Dominika has started her career as a headhunter at TARGET and found her mission in serving companies and candidates with the best possible service and bringing them together. After several years as Managing Partner for Hungary and Austria, she moved back to Germany in 2016 with her family and has continued her career in Human Resources Consultancy, finding the right candidates for top managerial, middle level and expert positions in different industry fields. Since January 2022 Dominika joined TARGET Group again, now as Managing Partner Germany.

Her Executive Search activity has been focused on projects especially in the logistics, constructions, automotive and manufacturing sectors. She speaks Hungarian, German and English.

Anikó holds a degree in Human Resources Management from Szent István University. She combines headhunting & recruitment agency experience with international corporate HR work. Since she has set on both sides of the table, she can understand clients very well and facilitate the successful match making.

During 20 years Anikó has gained extensive experience in recruitment, headhunting, direct search and interviews in a wide range of industries. Working with people is her mission in life. Besides her native Hungarian, she speaks English and studies German.

With more than 20 years track record in both international and domestic Executive Search firms. Alessandra’s main focus has always been the industrial market, with clients ranging from Oil & Gas, Renewables, Industrial Engineering, Electric/Electronic devices, Automotive, Industrial Automation, Chemicals, Design.

Alessandra has supported international clients in setting up their business in Italy, providing advice on the Italian labour market.

Remy’s educational background is on the cutting edge of Human Resource Management and Commerce. During his master’s degree studies he focused on the cultural dimension of organizational management: from both a local and international perspective, he focused on issues of organizational culture, ethnicity and diversity in transnationalorganizational relationships. In addition, his studies focused on intervention strategies for cultural change associated with efficiency and effectiveness in organizations.

Remy Rodenhuis has over 20 years of professional work experience. For the last 17 years he has been working in the Executive Search field, serving a wide range of clients in sectors such as Telecommunications, Energy, Oil & Gas, FMCG, Manufacturing and Retail. Since 1994, he has been the owner of the Nassau GROUP. Since 2005 Remy is also a Board member at the INAC organization, where he started as the VP of Finance, and then became the President of this unique Executive Search Network in 2010.

Joanna Dulniak holds a master degree in Psychology with specialization in: Organization and Management, from the University of Wroclaw, Poland. She has been working in human resources consulting since 1994. During the years 2002-2012 she gained experience in the Warsaw office of one of the largest Polish executive search organization as the leading Senior Consultant and then as Executive Search Director with responsibility for the recruitment team. From 2013 to 2016 she led her own recruitment firm.

Joanna has completed hundreds of recruitment projects for top managerial, middle level and expert positions. She thrives upon 20+ years of headhunting experience resulting in a great network with the most successful Polish and CEE managers. In February 2017 she joined TARGET Executive Search as Managing Partner in Poland. Apart from her native Polish, she speaks fluent English and basic Russian.

Legal studies in Lisbon University and Executive Business Management in AESE/IESE.

Rui is the founding partner and head of the firm’s practice in Portugal since 2001. With more than 25 years of business experience, he held several executive positions in domestic and multinational organizations, in sectors like Consulting and Insurance. Prior of founding Ad Capita Executive Search, he was Managing Director of a major Human Resources Consulting group. Rui is also Co-founder and Board Member of INAC – Executive Search Worldwide. Fluent Portuguese, English and Spanish. Good French.

Graduating the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Master of Organizational Psychology, Felicia is constantly preoccupied by the development of the individuals and organizations.

With 10 years of experience as HR Consultant, Felicia developed her career within various HR activities: HR audit/ organizational diagnosis, individual assessment, career management, recruitment/ Headhunting, performance management etc.  Within the last 5 years her activity was focused on the Executive Search projects, especially in the pharmaceuticals, FMCG, automotive and manufacturing sectors. She speaks Romanian and English.

She graduated in Economics and International Relations.

Worked as a Euro-Info Officer and Project Manager prior to starting her career in executive search in 1999. Built her career step by step from a consultant, took over the Slovak subsidiary management in 2002. Became the company partner in 2008. Presently Managing Partner Slovakia with 20 years of sound headhunting and recruitment experience in executive search, speaking native Slovak, further English and German.

Became MBTI Step 1 Certified Practitioner in 2010.

B.Com Economics (Hons), University of Zululand, South Africa.

B.Com,University of Zululand, South Africa.

As Head of Research, Lusanda leads a team of research professionals and the mentoring of researchers and quality assurance of all research projects form part of her responsibilities. She is a well networked and experienced search professional with more than 5 years’ experience.

Lusanda joined Fusion Consulting in 2008 in a research capacity, a role she fulfilled for just over a year. She then progressed into a Senior Researcher role, focusing on executing research projects across multiple industries in both South Africa and the rest of the African continent.

She has been Head of Research since 2011.In this role she ensures exceptional delivery from a research perspective on search assignments across various sectors, whilst simultaneously keeping abreast of current trends and changes in the search industry, both locally and internationally.

Over the years she has gained solid knowledge and expertise in the field of talent attraction across various industry sectors and countries on the African continent.

B.Sc Information Systems and Psychology, UNISA, South Africa.

Siviwe is a Director of Fusion and she has overall responsibility for the client portfolio at Fusion which includes new business development and developing further strategic alliances with blue chip organisations in various regions.

Siviwe entered the executive search industry in 2000, as a Researcherwith a well-regarded executive search firm, an environment where she developed and honed her skills within the research specialisation.

In 2004, she joined Fusion Consulting as a Senior Researcher and later progressed to fulfil a Business Development function.

Having spent time in both research and the business development and account management sides of the business, Siviwe was then well positioned to transition into her most recent role as Head: Business Development.

In this role, she has successfully managed and executed a range of executive and middle management assignments for the Africa region.

As a Director of Fusion Consulting, Siviwe’s focus is on managing and providing strategic guidance to the business development team within Fusion. She also has overall responsibility for the client portfolio.

B.A. Psychology (Hons), North-West University, South Africa.

B.A. Philosophy (Hons), North-West University, South Africa.

Ilana is a Director of Fusion and leads the Research and Operations divisions of the company. She is an experienced and respected search professional with more than 15 years’ experience.

Ilana joined Fusion Consulting in 1999 in a Research capacity, progressing to a Head of Research function within three years. In this role she worked with both national and international clients, building a firm track record of industry knowledge across multiple sectors and a dedication to exceptional delivery.

For the last five years, Ilana has been a Director of Fusion Consulting, focusing on managing Fusion’s operational and research processes, ensuring that the company maintains its track record of excellence and adopts international best practices in its approach.

Victoria holds a Degree in French Philology and Simultaneous Translation from L’Université Catholique of Paris and a Master’s degree in Human Resources from the Instituto de Directivos de Empresa of Madrid. Prior to joining Magallanes Consultores de Dirección, as a Partner Consultant, Victoria worked for over ten years for a leading Executive Search Company. Since 2002, she has been the shareholder of Magallanes Consultores, and has successfully managed a team of professional consultants.

Lidia holds a Degree in Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid and Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the Business School CESMA.

Before joining MAGALLANES Consultores de Dirección S.L., she worked in the Commercial and Management areas in Services companies. In addition to this, she carried out duties in Assessments and Clinic and Psico-pedagogy diagnostic.

Extensive experience as manager, as well as in leading change, both business and organizational wise. Trained in leadership, sales, recruitment and selection. Extensive background as Consultant in Recruitment, Executive search and Business Development with assignments in both the private and the public sector.
Previous positions are, among others, as HR-manager and Site manager in companies in strong growth. Most recently, as Global HR manager for a fast-growing company in the IT industry.
Ready to drive change,
when you need it.

Bachelor degree in Economics and Marketing from Växjö University. Further education in leadership, Executive search and also a certified board member. Extensive background as Consultant in Recruitment, Executive Search and Business Development with customers in the manufacturing industry as well as the public sector.
Previous positions are, among others, product manager for fast-moving consumer goods, project manager at an advertising agency, CEO in the service industry, and most recently as CEO of a manufacturing company.

Theoretical background:
Bachelor of Science (BSc) in International Business and Economics at Uppsala University. Certified Therapist at Psykosyntes Institutet in Gothenburg. Further education in Psychometric Testing and In-depth Assessment.

Professional experience:
12 years of experience from positions within international purchase and project management. Leading positions within marketing and sales, with personnel in Sweden as well as abroad. 5 years of experience as consultant at a leading international consulting company, with responsibility for the company’s concept development in Sweden, with focus on market- and customer analysis.
Co-founder of People Impact in 2005.

Specialization:
Executive Search, In-depth Assessment, Business and Competence Analysis as well as Individual Development/Coaching.

Theoretical background:
Bachelor of Science (BSc) with a focus on behavioral science at Lund University. Further education in Psychometric Testing and In-depth Assessment. Education in Board Management/Corporate Governance at Executive Foundation Lund (EFL), Lund University.

Professional experience:
13 years of experience of marketing, communication and sales in leading positions, Key Account Management and business development. 8 years of employment in consultancy at a leading international consulting company, responsible for the company’s business development in the Öresund region, training of new consultants, and as project leader of major international accounts. Participation in development projects for the EU Commission in Brussels (360° in-depth assessment). Co-founder of People Impact in 2005.

Specialization:
Executive Search, In-depth Assessment, Operational and Competency Analysis, as well as Management Audit. Anne Barbosa is Authorized Executive Search Consultant of ESK (Föreningen Sveriges Executive Search Konsulter/Association of Swedish Executive Search Consultants)

Clarence Lobo heads the firm’s practice across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries including the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Erstwhile, Managing Partner of the India office of a top six global executive search firm and board member of their international board representing member firms in the Asia Pac including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, the Middle East and India, Clarence specializes in Board & CEO level positions in addition to senior level hires in Financial Services as well as Business & Professional Services.

Prior to that he co-founded Personnel Search Services in India, a pioneer in executive search in India.

With over 25 years involvement in the field of Executive Search and extensive experience in developing and managing strategic relationships, Clarence has identified world-class leadership teams and board members in top blue chip companies. His systematic and creative approach has resulted in the delivery of optimal recruitment solutions to many clients including multi-national conglomerates, entrepreneurial companies, and leading corporate houses. Clarence has advised clients during restructuring, compensation benchmarking and organizational development initiatives. He is a regular speaker at leading academic and business forums Clarence has a commerce degree from the University College of Commerce, Jaipur and and MBA from the Xavier Institute, Jamshedpur (affiliated with Loyola University, USA).

Michelle is Chief Executive and Founder of Holmes Noble. As well as being Chief Executive, Michelle has responsibility for leading the Board Practice and works with leaders both nationally and internationally to create and develop high performing boards.

Michelle began her early career in research, working for one of the UK’s leading broadcasters. She moved into recruitment in 1994 and then into Executive Search in 1999. She joined the European arm of a US-listed search firm as Managing Consultant and later as Director. Michelle led the growth of a number of successful divisions over the next six years, enabling the office to become the largest and fastest growing operating outside of the US.

Michelle has also held multiple Trustee roles with her last appointment as Director at Sidney Stringer Multi-Academy Trust. She is also a member of Chapter Zero.

Amy is a Member of the Board and Managing Partner at Holmes Noble. She has operated in Executive Search for over 17 years. She began her career within Banking, working for the European division of a head-hunting firm.

She joined Holmes Noble in 2007 to develop the global Infrastructure Practice where clients ranged from multinational and listed organisations through to regional and privately held SME’s and start-ups. She joined Odgers Berndston recruiting executives and leadership teams across the Energy, Infrastructure and Manufacturing sectors.

In 2015, Amy returned to Holmes Noble where she has overall responsibility for the Retail, Logistics & Supply Chain and Energy & Infrastructure Practices globally.

Amy is also a capital development committee member at Town Hall Symphony Hall and a member of Chapter Zero.

James has been involved in senior executive search for the past nine years and has conducted a range of assignments both domestically and abroad.

His experience includes working on the appointments of CEO’s, CFO’s, COO’s, Regional and General Managers as well as highly specialized senior management roles in Finance, Private Equity, Property and Construction, Resources and Engineering, Agribusiness, I.T Services, Health, Education and Not for Profit.

James is also a qualified psychometric tester.

Pia joined Pacific Search Partners from the Health sector, where she was the practice co-ordinator for busy specialist medical practices. In these roles she was often required to do extensive internet and industry based research on various matters related to the clinic, and medical practice growth and development. Accordingly, she developed outstanding research skills which have proved to be very transferable into our executive search practice.

With an eye for detail and inherently curious mind, two outstanding attributes for a Research and Administration Co-ordinator, Pia has a friendly demeanour and strong customer-focus which positively impacts any potential candidate sourcing assignments for our clients.

Pia is an avid reader of comic books, aspiring cyclist and proud member of the Victorian Country Women’s Association

René is the founder of Pacific Search Partners. His career began in accounting and finance before finding great joy in the advertising, media and publishing sectors for 25 years. At Pacific Search, René focuses primarily on Board and C level appointments as well as strategic General Management level assignments. His specialist practice areas include Agriculture, Mining, Oil & Gas, Media, Education and Professional Services.

René is a regular speaker on Board related matters and provides advisory services to Boards and CEO’s.

Mr. Calvente holds a degree in International Trade from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (1987) and a post-graduate degree in Human Resources Management from Universidad Austral’s IAE Business School.

His previous professional experience includes Sud Petrol Argentina and the Ministry of the Economy’s National Trade Promotion Agency.

Miss Maria Elena holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Universidad Diego Portales (1991), Chile. Has over 20 years’ professional experience in Bank and Transportation Industries in commercial, finance and human resources areas in companies such as Banco Bice, Focus Search and LAN Airlines and over nine years in personnel selection and skill-based interviews.

Francisco Silva Betancourt is a Finance and International Relations professional from the Universidad Externado de Colombia with studies in Insurance at The Chartered Insurance Institute in UK and Social Security at Rosario University.

He has over 15 years of national and international experience in marketing and sales, finance, social security consulting, banking, telecommunications and communications in both the public and private sectors. His international experience includes the following positions: social security adviser for ISS -the Banking Superintendence of Colombia and Ecuador, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Trust Division Manager at the Guatemalan Financial Group, Director of Administration and Finance, and Commercial Director at Atento Telefónica of Spain, founding partner of call center companies, telemarketing, delivery and alternative advertising in Ecuador and Colombia, and Advisor to the Ministry of Communications in Colombia.

Santiago Silva Betancourt is an Economist from the “Universidad Externado de Colombia” with a specialization in Banking and Finance from the “Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale” in Italy. He has completed specialized top human talent management, reengineering, strategy and process optimization training in the United States and Colombia.

Before becoming a partner at TALENT PARTNERSHIP, Santiago worked for Korn Ferry International as head of the Ecuador office for 3 years. He also spent 13 years working for consulting firms (Arthur Andersen as Manager in Colombia and Deloitte & Touche as Responsible Consultant for Ecuador) and was Vice Chairman of Grupo Financiero Popular for 3 years.

Patricio studied Industrial Psychology at Ecuador’s Catholic University and pursued graduate studies in Business Administration in the Senior Management Business School at Francisco Vitora University in Madrid, Spain. Before becoming a partner at TALENT PARTNERSHIP, he worked for 5 years as Human Resources Manager for OleoductosCrudosPesados OCP Ecuador S.A. and for 4 years as General Manager OED consultant (Organizational Development). He also was the Representative in Ecuador for the Colombian Consultancy Firm PSICOMARKETING, Project Coordinator in Entrepreneurship Education at UTPL, Vice President of Human Resources at Grupo Financiero Banco de Préstamo, regional Human Resources Manager at Conticorp Group, and Chief of Staff at Banco Continental.

Ángeles holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration in the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Qualified in organization and Re-engineering process,  and is Certified in Competences Interview Methodology by DDI, in SEL, Insights and Assessment as a Top Talent Evaluation Consultant.

She has 18 years of experience in Human Resources, and has occupied executive positions in Human Resources in Financial institutions and 10 years in headhunting companies in Recruitment and Selection of Top Executives. Ángeles has worked with Corporate clients in the IT industry, Consumer Goods, Financial, Pharmaceutical and Services.
Ángeles founded Strategic Top Talent in 2007.

Marcela D’Alessio is a global executive search partner in INAC Perú – Global Executive Search with a distinguished career in business and marketing, holding key local and regional roles such as Marketing Director in a multinational company and as an independent Board Director. ⁣
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This allows her to leverage her business and marketing expertise to provide excellence experience and delivery in executive talent acquisition that solves clients business and organizational needs becoming a strategic partner. ⁣
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Marcela’s unique combination of prowess in headhunting, business acumen, and marketing and branding skills will be instrumental in the growth and consolidation of INAC Global across five continents.⁣

Mr. Balbin is an Industrial Engineer from the Universidad de Lima and holds an MBA degree from Universidad de Piura. He has a broad experience, working for over 17 years in leading companies in mass consumption and retail business such as Procter & Gamble and Forus (retail company for global brands such a Columbia, Hush Puppies, Nine West, Billabong that operates in Chile, Perú, Colombia and Uruguay) as Marketing Director and General Manager, having responsibilities for many Latin America countries as Perú, Venezuela, Colombia, México and Central America. He has over 5 years of experience in recruitment and personnel selection, coaching and mentorship. He also acts as a board member for a number of local companies and teaches in the Universidad de Piura MBA program.

Bill Petry, Executive Vice President in our St. Louis office, brings a diverse business background and a wealth of recruiting experience to Sheer Velocity. He has extensive experience in recruiting and business development in both domestic and international environments; new product conceptualization and launch; and developing strong business partnerships. He is equally comfortable consulting with senior executives and frontline managers.

Most recently, Bill was the Managing Principal for a boutique recruiting and consulting organization, providing top talent as well as executive coaching services to his clients. Prior to that, he worked for a premier executive outplacement firm as their Director of Business Development, growing the business and assisting executives through their career transitions. He has also served as a business development manager for an international inspirational products organization.

Bill started his recruiting career in the United States Navy, where he received several commendations and the Navy Achievement Medal. Bill lives in St. Louis with his wife, Debi, and is the father of 11 children. He is actively involved in the Boy Scouts, youth groups and other community organizations.

Michael Burroughs serves as the Managing Director of Sheer Velocity’s St. Louis office. He is also the Practice Leader, Executive Integration and onboarding, a value added component of our business.

Michael brings over 15 years of executive recruiting experience to Sheer Velocity, including ten years spent as Managing Director of the St. Louis office of a “top five” global search firm. He has recruited well over one hundred executives to posts ranging from director to public company CEO, in a variety of industries across the US, Asia and Europe. Michael focuses his search work in the areas of general industrial, manufacturing, life sciences, healthcare, aerospace & defense, and nonprofits.

Prior to entering the search business, Michael was the top organization development executive for divisions of three Fortune 500 companies: McDonnell Douglas, American Express and Aramark. He also held executive positions in operations, business development, program management and sales, and his experience extends to smaller companies as well. He was the COO of a healthcare contract services start up, and has owned an organization development consulting practice, Segue Consulting Group, LLC, since 1998.

Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Middle Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Clark University.

Todd Cowles is the Managing Director for the Seattle office of Sheer Velocity. Before joining Sheer Velocity as a retained executive search consultant, Todd brings years of experience in sales leadership, recruiting and independent partner channel development to our organization. Beyond his “day jobs” across the years, he also has a unique background in non-profit volunteer, event and board work.

The bulk of Todd’s career has been spent building businesses within the building automation and energy management industries, both in the United States and abroad. From Fortune 100 companies of Siemens and Honeywell to a couple of start-ups, Todd will tell you he has been very fortunate to have had experience ranging from formal training and very structured business practices to dealing with the blank slate of very raw businesses coming out of the ground. Recruiting key employees for his organization and their channel partners has been a key driver to profitable growth across the years.

Todd is a strong believer in matching individuals to companies and roles based on motivation, culture and potential to succeed. There can certainly be technical skills and specific experience as minimums, but the match needs to be made on the things that cannot be taught. Todd has felt both the pain and the satisfaction of a hire that misses the mark versus one that perfectly matches the person to the opportunity. He understands how costly the misses can be and how everyone wins when things are done right.

Todd has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. He lives in Redmond, Washington with his two sons. Any spare time is spent outdoors, biking, hiking, skiing and kayaking. Volunteering and community service is an energizing part of Todd’s life as he works with several local charities, plus he is the director of his own small non-profit to support a large mountain biking event each January in Seattle.

Angie has more than 15 years of Human Resources recruiting experience. In her role, she specializes in the national placement of top caliber Human Resources talent at senior executive levels from Chief Human Resource Officers (CHRO), Chief Talent Officers(CTO), Vice Presidents and Directors. 

Her focus includes several functions including Organizational Development, Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, Labor Relations, Talent Management, Strategic HR Analytics and HR Systems positions.  Angie challenges her clients and candidates in the same way she challenges herself by “daring them to be great”.  This simple, but reflective, philosophy has helped her lead and consult her clients and candidates to make life- and business-altering decisions that positively affect careers and corporations for years to come. Through her unwavering integrity and transparent approach, she regularly creates exceptional partnerships.  Angie’s tenacity complimented by her expert knowledge of Human Resources, consistently delivers pragmatic and strategic long-term placements for her candidates and clients in start-up, growth, mid-size and Fortune 500 environments.

Prior to joining Sheer Velocity, Angie was a Senior Partner for Lucas Groups Human Resources vertical, specialized in HR search where she was the #1 Recruiter nationally for her division.  She began her career in executive search as a National Recruiter for Randstad HR, the second largest HR services provider in the World, when she segued from Corporate Human Resources as an HR Manager/Recruiter in the Technology & Security spaces.  Throughout her recruiting career, she’s managed the careers of some of the top HR talent in the nation.  Angie has made it her mission to continue to create exceptional relationships with game-changing talent in the Human Resources space.

Angie’s interest and passion for HR began early on as she holds a BS in Management and Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her zest for life is apparent in her personal life as well as she enjoys reading, Broadway theatre, travel and scuba diving. 

Angie lives in a downtown neighborhood of Chicago, with her husband and two small children; big sister Piper and little man Brax.  Though she has lived in Chicago for over 15+ years she has never fallen off the Green Bay Packer wagon.

Kirsten Parus joins Sheer Velocity as Vice President, Strategic Accounts following her tenure as an Executive Search Recruiter working globally for a top five retained executive search firm in their Denver office. Kirsten’s executive placements have focused on Energy, Mining and Construction, Industrial and Financial Practices clients.

Prior to her tenure with the executive search industry, Kirsten worked in banking and financial services for ten years, with institutions such as Mutual of New York, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase. Across her career, she has enjoyed tremendous success building relationships at every level, from middle management to the C-suite.

Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing, from the University of Minnesota. Kirsten resides in Littleton, Colorado with her husband and three daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family, running, skiing and playing golf.

Debra J. Young, PHR, is Sheer Velocity’s Managing Partner and co-founder. She was Executive Vice President of a top five executive search firm working in the Denver, Colorado office prior to co-founding Sheer Velocity. Ms. Young contributes her expertise within the following Practice Groups: Consumer Goods, Energy, Life Sciences, Industrial/Manufacturing, Utilities, and Venture Capital/Private Equity.

Prior to joining one of the top five executive search firms in the U.S., Ms. Young was a Managing Partner with a national, boutique executive search agency, where she successfully managed recruitment and placement of senior-level executives in the disciplines of energy/utilities, oil & gas, consumer goods, retail, life sciences and manufacturing. She has also completed functional assignments for persons with experience in finance, sales, supply chain, operations, human resources, and IT.

Ms. Young earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Denver, her Paralegal Degree from Carthage College, and her Human Resources Management Certification from Villanova University. Additionally, she holds a Professional Human Resources (PHR) Certification. Ms. Young is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the Colorado Human Resources Association. Additionally, Ms. Young serves on the Corporate Leadership Team for Habitat for Humanity.

Jon Gordon is Sheer Velocity’s Managing Partner and co-founder. Before launching Sheer Velocity, he served for five years as Executive Vice President for one of the largest retained executive search firms in the US and was based in Boulder, Colorado.

Before joining one of the nation’s largest international executive search firms, Jon spearheaded several start-up ventures. He has built companies from the ground up that have yielded successful exits for investors and employees alike. Over the course of Jon’s career, he has been recruiting top talent and hiring professionals for over 25 years from middle management to the C-suite. Jon focuses on searches at all levels in Advanced Technology, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Sales, and Supply Chain.

Jon graduated with a degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and three children.