Hahn and his team of seasoned industry experts form the headhunting firm most preferred by discerning companies around the world, wherever and whenever the need for quality talent arises across a wide range of industries.

As one of Asia’s most respected headhunters, Stanton Chase serves old guard and new blood alike, with an enviable mix of clients including established Hongs and trailblazing newcomers. Hahn’s ability to bridge East with West is well regarded, and as a resourceful, sharpshooting headhunter, his network is legion. Today, social networks are modernizing a somewhat traditional industry, bringing him unprecedented access to the finest talent and mind-blowing market intelligence.

“It’s Not All Clicks, It’s People!”

LinkedIn has revolutionized headhunting. Since it triggered the era of online networking, the world has transformed into a global village, with information being shared 24/7. But quality assessment remains at the very heart of the industry, for which you need human resources. After all, it takes people to understand people. Social networking may complement this fundamental function but it cannot replace it.

“Social networks bring people together across boundaries but you need an experienced professional to act as the synapse across which the magic can happen. You need an expert whose experience transcends cultures, who understands cross-border professional relocation issues, has a broad understanding of competitive compensation trends, and is conversant with an array of corporate cultures. For that you need more than bricks and clicks. You need people to help people and fortunately, that’s where we got it right from day one. Today, the Internet is enhancing, not replacing, the foundations of our business.”

Greater China Prospects

The Greater China region is the new arena for global business. Not only because of China’s own growth, but also thanks to the humungous potential of the developing Asian markets, the stagnating American and European economies, and the progress of industry in giants like India and China.

Social networks can help identify new opportunities like never before, for firms like Stanton Chase to cash in on.

“The trick is to cope with this swelling wave of business without compromising the quality of our service simply because every new mandate is seen as the first of many.

Sectors like banking and finance, logistics, law, manufacturing, IT and industry are experiencing exemplary growth in emerging Asian markets. This means increased demand for local and foreign talent to soak up the glut, but it is for our industry to remember that we are about more than mixing and matching for a profit.

We must ensure each mandate continues to be seen as a reflection of our ability to bring about lasting, perfect matches between employers and employees,” says Hahn.

Growth Assured

“Yes, LinkedIn is certainly boosting business and with its anticipated multi-lingual capabilities, the sky is the limit. Thanks to resources like LinkedIn we have more transparency, the greatest possible reach, and the ability to collect and share insights like never before. It has contributed vastly to the efficiency and agility of the industry and I am delighted to see just how well this has worked for us at Stanton Chase. Social networking not only exposes opportunity but also showcases quality headhunting experts on a global platform and that is hugely encouraging,” says Hahn.

Stanton Chase’s four regional Greater China offices (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai) are staffed with experienced Asian and Western Consultants speaking over fifteen different languages.

Hahn says, “Using cutting-edge online MPA psychometric assessment tools, we ensure timely and effective evaluation of the ‘best’ candidates from defined target markets whilst focusing on retained, long-term partnerships.”

Stanton Chase specializes in board level appointments (including independent non-executive directors) and other senior functional positions in management, sales, marketing, finance, human resources, operations and IT, with a focus on:

• Consumer Products / Retail / Services;
• Life Sciences and Health Care;
• Industrial (including Automotive, Natural Resources/Energy);
• Logistics and Transportation;
• Technology
• Professional Services
• Financial Services

“The fun has only just begun,” says Hahn rubbing his hands playfully. With Stanton Chase’s international presence, the power of social networking, and the demand in Asia, good times have arrived! It’s up to us to make the most of it and we will,” concludes Hahn.

“Ten years ago, foreign companies were seeking Turkish executives, while the Turkish companies were looking for foreign directors,” George Cross, International chairman of Stanton Chase London told Daily News in a written interview. “Today Turkish companies want to utilize Turkish professionals with global expertise.”

He said the bilateral attraction stemmed from the fact that “the rapidly growing economy raises big demand for stronger executives.”

Likening the trend to the Indian case, Cross said talented native professionals came back to their homeland or never thought to leave for career opportunities abroad.

Speaking about women’s representation in Turkish management boards and business in general, he said he thinks nobody can “prevent a woman from achieving and having a better career.”

“In certain parts of the word where diversity on Boards is very important, if there are two equal finalist candidates, the company may well choose the diverse candidate” he said.

George Cross, International chairman of Stanton Chase London

The aim of this research is to examine the tenure of CEOs in Finnish listed companies during the period 1990-2011. There were 38 companies, which were listed in the Helsinki Stock Exchange during the entire period. The CEOs’ tenures, personnel, turnover, end EBIT figures were analysed for this research in order to find out if we can make difference from the CEO tenure and companies’ financial performance.

Click here to read in full

One such survey was carried out in October 2012 in Poland. Almost 1,000 top executives took part in the survey. The survey was carried out in Polish and was the first such survey carried out by the Stanton Chase Warsaw office. We are pleased with the high response rate and delighted to share the results.

The results closely correlate with the insights gained by Stanton Chase executive search consultants and specialists in their day to day contacts with the leading executives in Poland.

This survey consisted of 23 multiple choice questions in three different categories. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on:

• the current economic situation and outlook
• personal career drivers
• whether top Polish managers of today are Euro class.

The respondents were also representative of the key business industry sectors including Consumer Products and Services, Technology, Industrial, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Logistics and Transportation, Natural Resources and Energy, Financial Services, Professional Services, Government, Education and Non Profit.

Click here to read in full

This sentiment is particularly appropriate for the oil and gas industry which today is facing a significant talent and knowledge gap that actually began in the 1980s resulting in many potential engineers and geophysicists looking elsewhere for careers. The ones who remained are spread throughout the world and are in high demand as the oil and gas sector rebounds at an astounding rate. As you recall, the price of a barrel went from $35 to $10 in the 1980s, resulting in massive layoffs throughout all segments of the energy industry.  It resulted in one of the largest downsizings of a highly capitalized, labor intensive industry ever known.  Once concentrated in western countries, the talent has now been spread thin as major companies throughout the world are competing for talent that can deliver oil and gas products.

China, for example, has oil and gas interests in Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, the Sudan, Venezuela, Peru, and Azerbaijan. It clearly illustrates how committed China is in developing an energy pipeline that will feed the growth of its economy.

Like the “Law of Raspberry Jam”, the talent is out there but it is spread thin throughout the world, among countries which view oil and gas as the next gold rush that will lead them to prosperity and a position of leadership in a world in desperate need of energy.

So, what happened to the talent pool?

It actually began shrinking in the 1980s when roughly 25 percent of engineers and geologists left the industry.  At the same time in the 80’s, college enrollment for petroleum engineer and geology students dropped significantly, thereby starting a “perfect storm” that has resulted in the talent gap of today. During that decade, oil reserves were hard to find, there was the initial talk of our planet running out of oil, and the notion of a world relying on alternative sources of power. The trend is likely to continue, according to one study indicating that approximately 22,000 engineers and geoscientists will retire the industry by 2015.

The components of this perfect storm include:

• Colleges saw a decrease in those pursuing these degrees
• As exploration techniques became more sophisticated, there is a recognition that oil and gas is plentiful
• There has been a proliferation of national oil companies (NOCs) throughout the Middle East and Africa, increasing the demand and competition for qualified energy professionals.
• There has been a proliferation of independent oil and gas companies that also are expanding from their traditional regional operations into international exploration efforts
• China and India are desperately seeking out reserves for huge populations that have become increasingly consumer-based, requiring more and more energy

It is compounded by the retirement of Baby Boomers (born between 1954-64) from C-level positions, resulting in a glaring absence of talent available to move into these vacant and projected positions of leadership. In the oil and gas industry, it is known as the “Great Crew Change.” Statistically, there are few 40-50 year olds capable of running these companies. And while universities are pumping out engineers and geologists, it will be decades before they are ready to run these companies.

The scenario is really very similar to the technology boom in the 1990s which resulted in companies aggressively identifying, recruiting, and ultimately compensating these individuals. The executive talent, albeit scarce, is available. It’s just a matter of locating, enticing, and securing these individuals.

And, there is a growing awareness in the industry that these companies have a responsibility to run environmentally safe and efficient operations. The recent Deepwater Horizon disaster was in part due to people who had years of experience in the industry, but were new to their positions on this ship.

So, it’s not all gloom and doom but today’s companies must develop a strategy that reaches out across borders while also grooming and retaining younger executives who can move into leadership positions in 15-20 years.

One of the first steps is to fill this gap for the near-term future. The bad news is that the investment portfolios of the recently retired C-level executives took a hit. But, the good news is that the investment portfolios of the recently retired C-level executives took a hit.

From a personal level, it’s not a good scenario but from an industry perspective it comes at a good time. These former hi-level executives are going back to work as high-priced consultants. They are supplementing in-house teams and mentoring the younger stars being groomed for future leadership positions.

This is a temporary and willing workforce, so oil and gas companies of  all sizes must develop a strategy for bringing these valuable resources into the fold. They must:

• Locate these individuals
• Develop an attractive package that will give these retirees flexibility along with appropriate compensation
• Allow flex time, involving activity on-site and from home

Another source of talent comes from the military. Many officers are leaving the armed forces due to the withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan. These trained leaders can be attractive to oil and gas companies. For example:

• Many military specialties are transferable such as accounting/administrative, mechanics, technicians, quality assurance/quality control, etc.
• Veterans with direct, prior petro-experience and/or education
• Drilling rig or rig service jobs

These veterans also have quality leadership skills which transfer directly to managing large groups of people on drilling sites or at corporate headquarters.

Another source of talent is among expats who migrated from the United States to NOCs in Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and Nigeria. Others are with firms in China, South America, the United Kingdom, and India. The one common denominator is that they are all seeking assets and reserves as a road to profitability and energy self-sufficiency. There is significant cross-border activity and the demand for this talent is global.

The stakes are clearly high as new methods of exploration have identified  reserves offshore and throughout the world. Talent has always come at a high price and today’s oil and gas companies must be willing to develop strategies to identify talent for the short term and cultivate executives for the future.

RICK DAVIS | Stanton Chase International Executive Search

Global Practice Leader, Natural Resources & Energy

Davis-StantoChaseRick Davis is the Global Practice Leader for Stanton Chase International Executive Search Natural Resource and Energy practice. He is a Director of the firm’s Dallas office and has more than 25 years of senior level executive search experience within the oil and gas industry and related financial services sectors. Stanton Chase is a global retained executive search firm with 72 offices in 46 countries.

Stanton Chase International focused on strategic enhancements to its international search and leadership services at its 46^th Global Partners’ Meetings held in Istanbul, April 4 – 7.  Approximately 70  Stanton Chase Partners from around the world attended the Istanbul meetings.  Numerous business and industry leaders from Turkey and Europe also attended, continuing the Stanton Chase practice of working closely with industry leaders to understand their needs.

“These meetings are an important part of the continuing evolution of Stanton Chase as a leading international search  consultancy,” says George Cross, International Chairman.  “We highlight important areas of service that we want to address and develop.  Our meetings are also important for our Practice Groups, which meet and focus on the service and business issues in their sectors,” he said.

A highlight was the April 4  keynote presentation and panel discussion on the topic of matching strategy with board and c-suite hiring.  Held during a client reception attended by 200 partners, clients and guests from the Istanbul business community, this discussion highlighted the significance of aligning strategies and corporate governance methods in different regions, strategic hiring processes and the approach to C-Suite hiring.

The panel was moderated by Dr. Tommy Weir, Founder and Managing Director of the Emerging Markets Leadership Centre.  Panelists included:

• Ayşegül İldeniz, Intel Regional Director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa,
• Çagrı Alkaya, Stanton Chase Turkey Managing Partner, Stanton Chase International Board Member & Vice Chairman,
• Tayfun Bayazıt, Marsh & Mclennan Chairman, TÜSİAD Vice Chairman, Doğan Holding, Migros and TAV Independent Director,
• Jeffrey Johnson, Boeing Middle East President and Boeing International Vice President.

The panel discussion was followed by break- out sessions in which leaders in each sector discussed implications within their Practice Groups.  Special guests in these discussions included:

• Rachid “Ben” Bengougam, Hilton Worldwide Vice-President HR Europe
• Okyay Öztuğran, Damco Turkey CEO
• Selahattin Hakman, EnerjiSA Group President  (Sabanci & EON JV)
• Steven Young, Bosch Turkey  CEO
• Gülsüm Azeri, Petrol Ofisi (OMV) CEO, Turkish Airlines Board Director
• Güldem Berkman, Novartis Turkey Country President
• Tansu Yeğen, IBM Country Manager (Turkey)
• Selim Elhadef, Ernst & Young Turkey Advisory Leader

Industry Practice Groups are integral to the Stanton Chase service approach and were the focus of all meetings on April 5.  Each group had its own breakout session which addressed client needs and trends in key sectors.

Another highlight was the Business Excellence working session on April 6 which presented several significant strategic initiatives to the Partners.  Each initiative focused on an important area of service and performance.  Topics included assessment, strategies for connecting effectively with clients, and the use of social media tools. Key presentations were delivered by:

• Joanne Sheldon, Relationship Manager at LinkedIn, on recruiter professional services;
• James Meyer, London-based consultant in strategy, innovation and training solutions, on best practices in strategic consulting;
• Dr. Tommy Weir, Founder and Managing Director of the Emerging Markets Leadership Centre, on dimensions of executive assessment.

Partners had time to discover and enjoy Istanbul and learn about the Turkish market. “Istanbul is one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities and business centres, and a treasure of history and culture,” said Cross.  “It was a pleasure to be here, to meet so many Turkish business leaders, and to experience the vitality of this great city,” he said.

The 47^th Stanton Chase International Global Partners’ meeting is scheduled for October 2013 in Moscow, Russia.

About Stanton Chase International

Stanton Chase is ranked within the top 10 global retained executive search firms. With proven expertise in key sectors of the global economy, Stanton Chase has 9 international Specialist Practice Groups that operate as international teams.

Stanton Chase is owned by its partners who take individual responsibility for delivering outstanding quality for each assignment.  Stanton Chase is a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants. For all information about us, please visit www.stantonchase.com.

It is easy to find career rockets which just every other year want to test their market value and raise their salary.

Russian recruitment market is very fragmented with different kind of players in the market. Many want to make fast and easy money. The fee a top level Executive Search consultant will charge is not low. Therefore it is important to be convinced about the add value an Executive Search consultant will deliver for your company. His/Her role is to be the ambassador of your company.  He/She should equally understand your business, candidate’s expectations and the market.  This requires thorough study of your business, market strategy, plans, goals and budgets. In addition it is very important to understand your corporate values, culture, organization and personnel development plans. This will give tools to the Executive Search consultant to find the best matching candidates. This will also require work and effort. An analytic and systematic research will bring wanted candidates from right sources. The best candidates are often the ones who are not active on the labor market. In order to convince these candidates to consider a career move requires thorough understanding of the market, your business and candidate’s expectations. For this one has to have knowledge and experience. It is easy to find career rockets which just every other year want to test their market value and raise their salary.

For a serious candidate salary is not the only decisive factor when making a career move.

For a serious candidate salary is not the only decisive factor when making a career move. The reputation of the company, reputation as an employer (here social networks are very important), commitment and plans for the market, corporate and management culture, possibility for learning and developing professionally and career plan are equally important when making the decision. The position must fit to candidate’s career plan and situation where the candidate finds himself/herself at the moment in his/her life.

Serious candidates are ready to compromise in earnings provided that other parameters in the offered position will fall in place. A professional Executive Search consultant who understands your business, market and candidate’s motivation and drivers is able find to your company and for the position the best matching candidates – not only the most expensive ones.

Paul Holm is a partner of Stanton Chase International from Moscow, Russia

By Sukran Tumay – Senior Partner, Stanton Chase Turkey

Researches show that only a mere 7% of our daily communication is verbal. That means 93% of communication is actually non verbal. Non verbal communication comprises many aspects that cannot be utilized verbally, such as body language, facial expressions, gestures, clothing, the use of colors and objects, and even the tone of voice. In short, everything about our image conveys non verbal messages to other people. Therefore non verbal communication is a vital, inevitable and unstoppable type of communication…

To take things further, the same research shows that we decide whether a person is friend or foe in 3 to 7 seconds of meeting them. Therefore a strong first impression goes a very long way in establishing a solid relationship. A weak first impression is very difficult to overcome and is a major indicator in our decisions of taking the relationship further or not. In our daily routine, we immediately and unconsciously analyze the effects of non verbal communication. This means that people in communication have only as much time as the blink of an eye to get it right. Let’s take Mark Zuckerberg as the extreme example.

Among people that are unaware of who Zuckerberg is, how many people would see him entering a business meeting sporting his flip flops and guess he is the founder of a magnate like Facebook? Certainly Zuckerberg’s will to reflect his position or to keep a low profile is very important, because what kind of an image a person would like to convey is a purely personal decision. But one should also consider that cases like Zuckerberg are very exceptional indeed!

Combination of ABC

Based on this example it is worth elaborating on what we mean by image. First of all it has to be clarified that the word image does not only stand for clothing. Image is the combined ABC effect created by Appearance (A), Behavior (B) and Communication (C). The cohesive and harmonious co-existence of these three concepts is a must in correctly expressing ourselves. A  CEO could be wearing a luxury designer suit however if his stance is not assuring and confident, the suit will not add to his image because even though he/she has got the suit right the missing Behavior and Communication components will be even further emphasized.

Mixed Messages

Everyone has their own personal image but the key issue here is whether this image fits the person’s competencies, social status and his position, or correctly reflects his situation. This of course is based totally on the assumption that the person DOES want to reflect who or what he/she is. After becoming an image consultant, following an eye opening and challenging training period with the London Image Institute, I noticed that one of the biggest mistakes made by most is giving mixed messages.

For example, a mistake made by many ladies in business is wearing the power suit to symbolize authority, strength and leadership yet leave their hair in locks and curls symbolizing youthfulness, romanticism and femininity. Even though it may look attractive, it nevertheless is a mixed message in effect. It is totally possible to work on our images to ensure that we are correctly perceived by others, in other words that we are perceived by others as we want them to see us. This and more is totally achievable through image consultancy provided to individual men and women.

Kalle Soikkanen, Finland

Having seen me and knowing the business I´m in, the CEO friendly but firmly gave me a challenge. He told me that he put an advert to Helsingin Sanomat, our nationwide newspaper Sunday edition, asking for a Sales Director. He received 108 applications. Apparently there were some competent, capable and even linguistically able applicants; of which at least eight were worthy of a further investigation.

I took on the challenge seeing a decisive battle between public and executive search. If the recruitment truly is to get more value in a critical change situation, then public search is a half-hearted and a lazy solution. I promised to give him a better and more motivated candidate than those 108 within a week. The bet was a lunch and the decisive factor was the final recruitment decision.

Three weeks later the decision was done. A new sales director with additional competencies compared to those 108 candidates signed the contract. He also fits the company life cycle very well.

I will get a lunch. And I caused a price disturbance in the market. However I believe the company truly benefited from the decision. Even though the final evaluation of victory should be done after a few years. Then we will be able to examine the value generated by this recruitment. But for now the loser of the bet also thinks that he has one more ace in his hands when he´s facing competition.

Executive Search is a demanding and arduous process, but one has to evaluate costs vs. benefit in every investment. And in critical situations you should not take the quickest path. Advertisement based recruitment process is easy and quick, but does not give the best results.

Out of the convention came a unanimous commitment from the four Managing Directors – Koert Jansen in Amsterdam, Edward (Ted) Muendel in Baltimore / Annapolis, Ed Savage in Los Angeles, and Robert Watsham in London to set up a new company with a new business philosophy, clear performance objectives, and a structure focused exclusively on global executive search.

Ted

Ted Muendel, one of the original Co-Founding members and former Chairman of Stanton Chase International, speaks to the Executive Newswire on the origins and structure of Stanton Chase International, which was born from the downfall of Marlar International and has grown today to become a global organization with market access/presence in four regions of the world and a ranking achievement among the top performing executive search consulting organizations in the profession.

ENW: So Ted, who was the first to hold the helm of this newly formed Stanton Chase International back in 1990?
Ted Muendel: Well, following an endorsement of a formation strategy by all four companies present, Koert Jansen was appointed as the first Chairman of Stanton Chase International.  In his role, Koert and his leadership were the catalyst for building the newly formed company.  It was his ideas and incorporation concepts that became the early foundation of our legal entity.

ENW: What was your role in the beginning?
Ted Muendel: At that time, I served as Koert’s counterpart and “sounding board” and we closely worked together.  I specifically focused on expanding our group in the Americas, including both North and South America, while Koert focused on developing new offices across Europe.  During this formative period, we held several follow up meetings in Annapolis / Baltimore, Maryland for the purpose of further developing our new company, expanding its global reach, and establishing its name.

ENW: Did you know from the start that you would call the company Stanton Chase? How did that come about?
Ted Muendel:  First we started with the development and structuring of the new organization, then came the selection of the new name.  There were a number of proposals that were exchanged between the founding offices.  We started by considering family names of the different members of shareholders from the four offices.  The name “Stanton” came from the Baltimore office and the name “Chase” came from the London office.  After legal confirmation and registration, it was adapted and all companies agreed to change over to the new brand name.

ENW: So from a financially challenged organization into the new and restructured Stanton Chase, what were the guiding principles that allowed Stanton Chase to succeed where not only the previous organization failed but other global structures also failed over time?
Ted Muendel:  Earlier in our careers, Koert and I were both general management consultants, so we approached our company formation and structure in a unique way and wanted to make it enduring and lasting. When we studied and identified why other organizational structures did not succeed, we concluded that we needed to develop a different model.  In this regard, we decided to base Stanton Chase on the concept of equal ownership and equality of status. This became our founding principle. in other words, we wanted Stanton Chase to become a holding company owned equally by all Shareholders which in most cases  were offices, and in other cases  entire countries. In turn, with unanimous approval, this “federation of shareholders” took hold as an organizational model and our new company gathered momentum in 1992.

As we evolved, the principle of “friendship and trust” became the driving force to keep our  organization cohesive and unified and “inter office referrals” became the economic consequence that confirmed the soundness of our original concept. Actually, to this day, the cultural dynamics of our company are still valid and represent not only our system of values and beliefs, but also the foundation of our successful global organization.  As you know, we are now a true international organization with a diversified and robust structure, which includes 72 offices in 46 countries.  This achievement has not been an easy task, and  certainly remains a sense of pride for all shareholders, and especially for me, being one of our original co-founders .

ENW: In an integrated organization which has a top down hierarchical approach to leading and managing across borders, the model is easy.  I suppose it was a little bit more complicated for Stanton Chase, as you had to deal with “entrepreneurial shareholders” as you mentioned. Did this consideration complicate things?
Ted Muendel: To a certain extent, I suppose it had the potential to be more complicated, but we kept it straight forward. You see, if you take a look at Stanton Chase today, you will understand that throughout the company’s history, it has been our belief that building strong relationships based on trust, primarily between partners, and then also between us and our clients, represented a key pre-requisite for successful business development.  Frequent communication and interaction were  key drivers to achieve this trust. So we setup and emphasized that we should always have two Shareholder meetings per year, with an agenda which enabled consultants to interface on committees, to drive business development  together and to participate in social activities, including a “significant others” program. In this way, our culture  created a bond, which was both personal and professional, and unified our vision and commitment towards the organization’s growth and development.

Today, the evidence suggests that we have developed the correct emphasis and that our culture based on friendships has sustained the cohesiveness of our organization. As a result, inter office business development and referrals have flourished. Moreover, I personally believe  that our culture remains our most important asset today, and it is what will continue to drive us forward.

ENW: Are you telling me that this is the only ingredient to a successful organization?
Ted Muendel:  For sure not  the only ingredient, but the secret ingredient, for in our    profession, most organizations are boutique entrepreneurial structures and, to sustain both the independent and interdependent working relationships, a unique culture has to be put in place    In short, I believe we got it right from the beginning.

Naturally, as our organization grew and became more developed and complex,   we had to rethink  our original policies, systems, processes, procedures, and   revise and amend our  bylaws and General Operating Procedures through committee and board recommendations and formal shareholders’ approval.

And today, they provide both a legal and procedural framework to standardize how we interact and conduct business between all offices and with our clients, ensuring that we operate as a single organization, serving  a variety of clients in different industries across multiple geographic borders and cultures.

ENW: We understand that at some point, outside of being one of the co-founders, you also served as Chairman.  What was your role about, back then, and what were the key issues and challenges?
Ted Muendel: I originally did not want a Board seat for reasons of including other shareholders from our early founding group. However,  around late 1993,  I  was drafted and   officially agreed to   become   on the Board from a “behind the scenes”  role. At that time, my responsibility was to continue to scout for, find and add new offices in North and South America, starting with Brazil, where we recruited Eline Kullock, who remains with us  today, Chicago headed  then by Jim Piper, Argentina headed by Claudia Fernaud who is also still with us, and much earlier Dallas, founded and managed by Ed Moerbe who only recently retired. Other offices followed quickly.  We also developed a New York affiliate office at that time.

Founding Member Group Photo

Then, when shareholders elected me Vice Chairman in 1998 and later Chairman in 2000, a role I held for two terms, we continued to develop our global strategic plan for building an effective top ten global ranked executive search firm with annual growth revenue at $100milliion  USD.  Again, it was not so much the revenue target that was as important as the compass heading.

In defining our goals, we questioned ourselves on the type of organization we wanted to become and how prominent we collectively desired to be in the executive search profession.  To assist us in this important water shed process, we brought in an outside facilitator who was knowledgeable about our profession and asked him to study and survey us and to assist in developing our strategy for advancement.  One of the most significant challenges we faced then as an organization was how best to evolve from privileged geographic outreach to an organization based upon practice specializations. After much debate and assessment of what we all wanted, we voted to modify our strategy and to focus on specializations across regions and countries in order to provide the best collaborative expertise for our clients and assignments. Other elements of our strategic plan were also developed and approved and we advanced forward as an organization with to best redefine our future and to achieve the next milestone in our growth.

Today, we are almost there with our ranking among the highest 1% in the profession and our numerical recognition among the largest 15 executive search firms worldwide.

ENW: Any regrets?
Ted Muendel: On the contrary. In reflecting back, the opportunity to be a driving part of building Stanton Chase has been a unique responsibility which I hope many others may experience in continuing to serve. In effect, Stanton Chase almost doubled during my watch from 20 or so offices when I took over leadership from Koert.

In retrospect, my involvement has truly been a rewarding experience as well as a learning one to appreciate how the world economies and businesses interact to form “one market and one economy”.

Further, it has been an honor to serve Stanton Chase and as I think back upon the history of our formation, I have certainly enjoyed working closely with our various Boards and Committee members to develop and fine tune the way we operate and to expand our global structure.

Here is to a robust future for a great organization and team of excellent consultants and shareholders worldwide. Thank you, again, for the opportunity to serve and I am very proud of what we have all accomplished together.

Ted Muendel’s Profile & Background
Ted Muendel’s background has been one of international adventure and the creation of new business opportunities. He has enjoyed building many successful companies and leading great teams of professionals.

Ted’s career  started with a specialty steel company in Pennsylvania (Allegheny Ludlum International) where over time, he  was assigned various management roles at newly acquired subsidiary companies around the US.  By leveraging this experience and after completing an honors night school masters (MS) degree in Business, Ted was recruited by one of the leading US general management consulting firms in Los Angeles and solved problems for many Fortune 500 clients. When he left management consulting and  for a couple of years, Ted was hired to  direct   a California based consumer products company as the  Vice President & General Manager.. Then, fast forward with other colleagues, he set up an executive search consulting organization which today has evolved into Stanton Chase.

Along the way, Ted Muendel became active in his alma mater, Lehigh University, and was elected President of the International Alumni Association and later served for 9 years as a Trustee. Lehigh has honored him several times for leadership achievements.

He has served on many for profit and non-profit Boards during his career including the United Nations Business Council, an international manufacturing corporation, several university entrepreneurial centers, and many non-profit organizations where he held Chair positions, and a vineyard wine business operation in Sonoma, CA.

Ted was appointed  a Senior Fellow of the Business School at the University of Maryland and elected a Trustee of the Baltimore International College. He continues to enjoy leading management development seminar programs and contributing his observations on the “new reality” and on coaching management on how best to deal with the changing dynamics of the global markets.

Ted and his wife Diane have two grown children and having lived at many locations throughout the United States, they are now residing near Annapolis, Maryland.