‘”The experience we had with Acumen in the search for our Executive Director was superb. We highly recommend Acumen to anyone looking for assistance with an executive recruitment.” – Sarah M. – Chair President, OEDA
The Challenge
A pro-bono Board, comprised of members with other full-time careers, was tasked with hiring an Executive Director to lead and grow the organization. The Board was recently formed by merging two similar organizations into one and the new Executive Director would be the first full-time leader. When it came time to initiate the search, the Board members determined that they didn’t have time or expertise to devote to the challenges of a complex search process. They reached out to executive search professionals and fellow Board Members Acumen Executive & Talent Search (Acumen) for help finding the right person for this mission-critical role.
Solution
Acumen expeditiously took action, executing on their unique, customized 9-step search process. They discovered that the new Executive Director would need to not only manage the daily details of the merger, but also stabilize the new organization in addition to growing revenue and membership. Acumen leveraged their broad network of trusted executives and quickly developed a list of 5 highly qualified candidates and presented them to the Board. Ultimately, the Board decided to hire Avery, who not only had the right skill set for the job but was a perfect cultural fit.
Results
Avery has not been afraid to dive in and navigate the politics that are inherent in this type of environment. She has helped the Board members get organized and is ensuring everyone is on track towards the organizational mission, thriving, and part of a healthy organizational culture. She has set up regular weekly check-ins to get to know the members and learn the status of their projects. The Board gives Acumen Executive Search high marks: “Once they connected us to Avery, it was an easy process for us.” Says Sarah M. chair president “Avery is a dedicated Executive and, quite honestly, she has blown us away.”