Need: Structure and guidance in finding successor to 40-year veteran leader
Service: C-Suite Search
Facing the challenging task of replacing the organization’s founder and CEO, Board and Search Committee Chair Rob Meyer found The Yunker Group’s expertise and experience critical. “The Board and I had never been through anything like this. Jim Yunker did so much to guide me – and all of us – through the process, step by step, and we really needed that.”
“In some cases, Jim was pretty definitive – and that was a big help to us because we needed someone with the knowledge and expertise to help us make the right decisions,” said Rob. “His objective counsel also helped us avoid unnecessary conflict and controversy internally. He could be very direct when that was called for, but he was also professional and could articulate the rationale for following best practice.”
Board leader Keith Kral recalls the Board’s first impression of The Yunker Group: “We interviewed three firms. One wanted to tell us how great they were, one gave us a fancy sales pitch, and one basically said, ‘We want to be your partner. We want to make sure you have an effective process and all the tools you need. And after the presentations, the decision was more or less unanimous, The Yunker Group just clicked with us immediately.”
Though the Board wrestled initially with the decision to engage an outside firm for the search, Keith is confident it was the right choice. He emphasized, “The risk of the unknown – of not knowing whether you could have sourced a more qualified candidate – to me is far greater than the cost of hiring a consultant when it comes to this kind of high-level search. And, looking back, I’m just sure that the candidates we interviewed would not have been sourced through an internal process. I just cannot imagine us not having engaged The Yunker Group.”
Laura Kramer, an HR professional and Board and Search Committee member, concurred that The Yunker Group’s support was essential — and, ultimately, far surpassed her expectations: “Honestly, The Yunker Group just blew me away. I had expectations, and they were exceeded at every level. The quality of the candidates, the background they provided and Jim’s facilitation of the interviews … all of it was just phenomenal. I would sing the praises of The Yunker Group to anyone considering engaging with them.”
Keith emphasized the quality of The Yunker Group’s work and process but also appreciated Jim’s ability as a consultant: “Jim was very calm, very easy-going, very consistent and thoughtful. I found him to be very transparent and honest. He was careful not to sway the group, but he certainly leveraged his knowledge and experience effectively in order to provide useful guidance. He’s also extremely well-connected, which is a benefit when it comes to these kinds of searches. He’s just very competent, very thorough, very adept at carefully managing this type of process.”
Satisfied with a thorough, successful search, Rob summed it up: “Ultimately, I would not have changed a thing. I would do it all over again – in a heartbeat. Someone could argue that, since we ended up hiring an internal candidate, we didn’t need to go through this whole process. But I feel so much better having met and interviewed the very best, most qualified candidates and considered what kind of person we needed to run the organization that we made the right choice. I think it was important to do our due diligence.”
Founded in 1977, Child Focus provides a spectrum of community-based programs from multiple sites throughout 17 southern Ohio counties: early childhood learning, mental health, out-of-home care, training/educational opportunities and much more.